hi and welcome back to Techtalk I'm Ken Mingis executive editor Computerworld
I'm here today with Windows guru expert Preston Gralla once again we're gonna
be answering questions about Windows 10 if you're watching us live we're on
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again as usual if you've got questions or comments please leave them in the
comments field we'll try to get to them while we're on the air and if not we'll
circle back and see if we can answer them later so Preston thanks for being
here yeah thanks for having that in terms of circling back we actually are
circling back to one of the questions that had come up at least one or two
episodes ago about the camera app which somebody had written in and said that it
hasn't been working since the last three Windows updates any idea when it's gonna
be fixed do we know well you know it is working for most people I've been using
it on several pcs it works for me I did a little research could not this is not
a widespread problem cases but this happens a lot in Windows because it's
you know it's not like that drivers perhaps it might be bad drivers I could
think of a couple of things the first is we said the camera app it's possible the
app the camera is working but not the app if that's the case uninstall the
camera app and reinstall it that might do it okay doesn't make sense but it
often works if it is the camera itself it's a little more problematic well then
you've got a hardware issue that's gonna have to be replaced right well not
necessarily it might be a driver like you said and there is something built in
to window is called device manager okay that can let you do things now it's a
particularly unpleasant difficult piece of software you want to use unless you
really you must really want that camera back that yeah if you really want it
this is what you got to do so type in device manager into the search box and
then click device manager when it comes up and you'll see the device manager now
you need to find your camera your device most likely it's under imaging devices
okay given its Microsoft it could be under sound it could be under who knows
what it's somewhere there yeah right-click it and when you right-click
in a menu is gonna pop up select update driver if it's an old driver
it'll update it that may or may not work if that doesn't work go back right click
it again and what you can do is you can basically uninstall it so just collect
you know click uninstall and install the thing now if this is a built in piece of
software it might be problematic cuz I'm not sure how you going to install
something that is physically there you know so that may be your problem but if
it's an extra piece of hardware then come back here and select install ok
those things might do it and if not the person should just get in touch with the
manufacturer of the hardware and find out what's going on what's going on
because they might have other reports of this and it may be that you know what
happens over time is hardware and the drivers get outdated as new versions and
windows come out it might be it's over yeah I was just gonna say sometimes you
get something that I mean since we're talking about a problem that's going
back three iterations of Windows it may be that the manufacturer just is no
longer supporting this or operating it and they'll have to find some other
solution that's right that's absolutely right and so it may be that because it
is that I haven't that found any other reports about this so it's clearly if
that's your PC sorry about it but you might be able you might be able to fix
it ok good well good advice at least you
know where historic were to try if you're just tuning in and we're
answering Windows 10 questions with Preston growler so the next question is
it necessary to use a third-party antivirus when Windows Defender is
running in the background no and not only is it not necessary it's not
advisable okay well cause if you have Windows Defender and another piece of
antivirus you're gonna slow down your PC ok because they're both doing the same
sort of thing at the same time they're both in the background though that's
just one more app running in the background but you know what running
there and you know I used to run a third-party app instead a Windows
Defender but I don't think there's much of a difference anymore I mean it's
pretty good its lightweight so it doesn't slow down your PC it works well
so I'd say stay with Windows Defender forget about the third-party there's one
thing though that you can do that I do suggest to do sometimes there is a
Windows Defender and other antivirus software isn't always great at at
killing and finding and killing adware that could pop up window
get really do annoying things there's something called malwarebytes there's a
free version of it of them yeah don't buy it don't buy it just get
the free version and do a single scan and when you do that it it will I had it
has found Edie where I didn't know about it really yeah oh it says this is not
uncommon all that you don't know why but this stuff ends up there so I suggest I
even see that on the Mac side I'm a real apple guy and I don't notice it as much
but invariably my mom will call and say like something's popped up on her
computer I don't know where she's clicking or where it's coming from but
it I mean it does seem to be more prevalent on the windows side on the Mac
side but it's still you can get it on the Mac side too yeah I mean actually my
wife's computer is filled with the stuff all the time yeah I don't know why it is
she certainly visit maybe I shouldn't ask that's that's for another episode so
Windows Defender on its own is good and malwarebytes is good the free version
just to check and see if you can find adware right and just scan don't run it
in the background got it do to the scan and then just just you know just close
it down good advice okay good enough okay a
couple things these are like sort of two questions in one again if you're just
tuning in we're talking about Windows 10 and answering questions with Windows
expert Preston growler what's the next version of Windows desktop when is it
getting released and will it be more user friendly and will it be as user
friendly as predecessors like Windows 7 right so a couple of issues here one is
wins the next one is the next one I know nine should be out soon and we're almost
out of nine we're heading in toward ten and then we yeah it should be out soon
but the thing is when Windows 10 was first released to feature updates a year
yeah when in the fall like we have coming up when in the spring and there
were new features added twice a year um this one around the one called 19:09 is
gonna add zero new features do we think this is the pattern going forward every
fall is just gonna be basically almost like a service pack right we don't know
but that's what we think Microsoft isn't saying Microsoft might like but yeah
they don't want to say but yeah probably once a year again we've talked about
this a little before Windows is no longer the center of Microsoft they
don't want to spend the time or the money nor sure they Windows has a lot of
stuff in it already ye develop new features that nobody nobody
right when you could use your developers and engineers to develop a really cool
other kind of cloud-based things and those kinds of things so there is one
coming out it will have no new features the next one after that will be out next
spring and that would be 2003 yes probably we think yeah and it will have
new features what they are it's a little unclear yet I've been looking at the
very early iterations nothing big yet but you know we still have a while to go
they probably want anything really big because there's nothing really big to
put into it now that let's get back to the Windows 7 I was just gonna say
because I think I know the answer to this but I want to know what you think
yeah so um you know Windows 7 was a great piece of software you know
Microsoft has good windows and bad Windows 7 was a good one
Windows 8 was a piece of junk it was really bad and Windows 8 introduced sort
of a dual interface one floor I remember that yes and one for mobile yeah and
ever since it came out Microsoft has been taking itty-bitty steps to roll
that back to make Windows 10 when it came out more like the desktop and it
can be mobile when you want it at this point Windows 10 it's easy I mean it
really is easy you don't have these dueling interfaces and you're not
Windows 7 doesn't do anything better than Windows 10 and does things worse
than it's less secure it's running out of service which I was just gonna say we
should make the point that it runs out of support in January of 2020 so if you
have an updated you're gonna be without some serious security after January
that's exactly right so um no there will never be Windows 7 again it happened
already and if you have Windows 7 if you really love it then stay with it just be
aware of the drawbacks which is that it's slower and that you're gonna be
insecure you know you can face security problems okay good good to know ok a
reminder where we're talking with Preston growl about Windows 10 answering
user questions here's another one can we install Windows 10 no need to be genuine
just update it over windows 7 without without a valid copy hmm yeah that's two
questions here okay question number one can you install Windows 10 over Windows
7 question number two can you install a not validated copy we don't recommend
this at home but okay exactly did get the question so we might as well answer
so first question can you install Windows 10 over Windows 7 the answer is
yes unless your computer won't we're in Windows 10 what you need to do is
download a Windows 10 compatibility tool for Microsoft run it look at your
hardware say yes no right ok so it can be done now the second part is should we
do it should use can you use an unvalidated copy now unvalidated copy to
me means pirated yep that's my assumption you know and to me it's theft
yeah I mean it's plain simple you're stealing you say well Microsoft's a big
company it's worth billions of dollars doesn't matter
you are still stealing you know if you do this so it can be done
and what all I can say is look to your conscience to be your guide I certainly
wouldn't do it and I don't I think it's immoral and is there a
danger there too if you have a non valid copy of Windows you know who knows
exactly where you got it that there may be things tucked away and then you
wouldn't want I mean it could actually be sort of dangerous to run that oh it
should absolutely you don't know what it is if that's the way you're doing it
yeah now all that being said in fact there is good news for the cheapskates
of the world out there Windows 7 all right which is that Microsoft on
occasion will run promotions to let you upgrade for free from 7:00 to 10:00 now
the latest promotion ran out a little while ago however I've been finding out
that people have been saying even is in September that that premiere may do it
one more time they'll work a skill works right now oh really
okay there's the way you need to do it though is first again check whether your
computer can run Windows 10 if so you're going to need to the way you do it over
Windows 7 is you need to use physical media to install it you can disk an
actual disk so what you do is you download something called the Windows 10
installation tool from Microsoft you run that software it will allow you
to create either a bootable DVD or a bootable USB Drive yep
so what you then next is then you install it using those physical
now what you're gonna need is your windows seven key okay
you might not know your windows said because you're bolded but a long time
ago however there is software out there that will look at your PC and tell you
the key ok when is from a company thing called near soft call product key so
before you do anything obviously get the key write it down
use the installation media run the installation media type in your Windows
7 key people have been saying it still works ok so you might be able to get it
for free now one caveat as I always say before doing a major upgrade actually
there's three pieces of advice back up back up and back exactly so you don't
know what's gonna happen you want your files you want your apps yep so back up
first don't do the invalid thing right if you check right now you might be able
to get it for free anyway yep that's really good advice okay that that's it
for the questions that we've got let me ask do we have anything for people who
have been watching whether they've got any comments or questions made yes we do
we've actually got some comments about Windows Defender Windows Defender lacks
in real time protection sir can't block Trojans from the website as far as I
know neither of those are true it certainly offers real-time protection
runs in the background like all the other antivirus software does and it
checks what you're doing as you do it and there's also something and in fact
that does work with your web browser to stop Trojans I mean it checks things
there so no it you disagree you know I disagree you know you know we'll have to
duke it out okay oh you were talking about keys before so somebody asked do
we need any key to update to Windows 10 yeah you do as I talked about now if you
want to update from Windows 7 again you're gonna have to find your Windows 7
key you can use this piece of software in order to do it if you're paying for
it then you get the key you get a new key ok to your phone you get a new ok
but you absolutely do need a key from 7 to 10 with the same thing be true for
the three people out there who may still running Windows 8 or 8.1 yes you also
need a key from 8 or 8.1 to 10 and those instructions they gave before about
firewood ok install it same thing it's 7 as well as 8 might work now might not
work when Windows when Microsoft runs in a promotion will work but it might still
be working now right worth trawling anyway yeah ok as you mentioned Windows
8 there's a lot of comments out there are people calling it terrible yeah I
think that's a common you know Microsoft seems to do that it's like a good
version a bad version a good version of bad version and and Windows 8 81 was
with known a good version I think it was the worst operating system Microsoft
ever created but how do you really feel I I think you probably have a lot of
company apparently the you know commoners agree somebody says I recently
heard two new vulnerabilities have been seen in Windows ie and in Defender is
this the end of Windows no nothing in Windows no it's nothing end of Windows
there will always be vulnerabilities in every operating system really but
Windows will always have vulnerabilities they come out all the time sometimes
they're really bad sometimes they're not a lot of these vulnerabilities one thing
to keep in mind about them is they're not always found in the wild in other
words these often are not vulnerabilities that somebody gets what
happens is Microsoft has a bounty program and there are people who are
constantly poking and prodding it and trying to find holes in it and report
about it so these vulnerabilities a lot of them are theoretical rather than the
real world that doesn't make them any less dangerous you still need to do
something about it and that's why you need to update all the time update
whenever you can and that's another reason why when we're talking about
Windows 7 before you don't want unsupported soft you don't alleviate
yourself they just have to update all the time constant you know it's
interesting because we have a story up a computer world right now that reporter
Greg Kaiser did last night about a security update for IE for internet
explorer of all things and it was a zero day that had been found by a engineer
from google's threat analysis group and they reported it and so they put it
pushed out a patch so you know these things do happen they are right there
and so Computerworld comp you want to find
that story it's up right now and a warning to IT before win request and
this is actually worse for IT than individuals because these are our
vulnerabilities typically are launched at enterprises I'm in looking my
computer your computer a hallway they care they don't care it's not worth
their time but you know a big company leaving a vulnerability that's how
typically most of the break-ins happen not by brilliant hackers doing genius
things but by looking for which websites and which companies have not patched aha
windows and finding that vulnerability and crawling in like that easily it's
what happened during their campaign to Clinton's campaign that's right and it's
what'll keep happening forever until IT gets smarter about it update update
update after you back up back up back up that's right say that three times okay
so no more questions from the from the viewers oh we do have more okay Windows
10 is updating all the time and getting stuck while during the update what's
going on that's a tough one gonna be lots of things I did so many different
things you could even be a bad internet I mean there's so many different things
it could be I can't solve it it's just it's it's too tough without knowing more
without knowing more without sitting at the computer without trying seven
different things including trying a new internet connection and who knows what
okay that's I can see right now there might be some more trickling in later
that we can see what we can find well Preston listen thanks a lot
obviously lots of good advice here for individual users enterprise users etc
obviously we'll have you back for more questions zeroed in the meantime coming
up next week I'm gonna be here with Michael Simon from PC world Mac world
and our own junior Raphael to talk about Android and Mac and innovation and who
borrows from whom and who steals from whom it should be quite the discussion
that's coming up next Tuesday so please tune back in for that again a
reminder you know we're on YouTube please subscribe to the channel we're on
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like what we what we're and for now I guess that'll do it it's a
wrap and thanks for watching