Windows 10’s Clipboard experience lets you access a history of items you’ve copied, pin frequently used items, and sync items across all devices. However, if you don’t want Microsoft to sync any sensitive data to the cloud, you can disable it completely.

By default, Clipboard sync is turned off. If it’s already on, you can toggle clipboard features in Settings > System > Clipboard. But when you enable the sync feature, it automatically syncs all text that you copy.

Automatic Clipboard sync across all devices turned on.

To prevent any user on the computer from enabling this and accidentally syncing potentially sensitive data such as passwords to Microsoft’s servers, you can disable this feature altogether.

Home Users: Disable Clipboard Sync via the Registry Editor

If you have Windows 10 Home, you’ll have to edit the Windows Registry to make these changes. You can also do it this way if you have Windows 10 Professional or Enterprise if you feel more comfortable working in the Registry as opposed to Group Policy Editor. (If you have Pro or Enterprise, though, we recommend using the easier Group Policy Editor, as described in the next section.)

Standard warning: Registry Editor is a powerful tool and misusing it can render your system unstable or even inoperable. This is a pretty simple hack, and as long as you stick to the instructions, you shouldn’t have any problems. That said, if you’ve never worked with it before, consider reading about how to use the Registry Editor before you get started. And definitely back up the Registry (and your computer!) before making changes.

You should also make a System Restore point before continuing. Windows will probably do this automatically when you install the Anniversary Update, but it couldn’t hurt to make one manually—that way, if something goes wrong, you can always roll back.

Then, open the Registry Editor by pressing Windows+R on your keyboard, typing “regedit” into the box, and then hitting the Enter key.

Press Windows+R to open "Run" and type "regedit" in and hit the Enter key.

Navigate to the following key in the left sidebar:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindowsSystem

Once here, right-click on the “System” key (folder) in the left pane and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.

Create a new DWORD (32-bit) value in the System key.

Name the value “AllowCrossDeviceClipboard.” Double-click it and set the value to “0.”

Ensure the value data for it is "0" before you click "Okay."

You can now close the registry editor. You don’t have to sign out or restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

To re-enable cross-device synchronization for Clipboard, you can return here, locate the “AllowCrossDeviceClipboard” value, and set it back to “1” or delete it completely.

Download Our One-Click Registry Hack

Rather than editing the registry yourself, you can download our Disable Clipboard Sync across Devices Registry Hack. Just open the downloaded .zip file, double-click the “DisableClipboardSyncAcrossDevices.reg” file, and agree to add the information to your registry. We’ve also included an “EnableClipboardSyncAcrossDevices.reg” if you’d like to re-enable it again.

The warning you receive when adding a Registry hack. Click "Yes" to proceed.

These .reg files change the same registry settings we outlined above. If you’d like to see what this or any other .reg file will do before you run it, you can right-click the .reg file and select “Edit” to open it in Notepad. You can easily make your own Registry hacks.

Pro and Enterprise Users: Disable Clipboard Sync via Group Policy

If you’re using Windows 10 Professional or Enterprise, the easiest way to disable Clipboard sync across devices is by using the Local Group Policy Editor. It’s a pretty powerful tool, so if you’ve never used it before, it’s worth taking some time to learn what it can do.

Also, if you’re on a company network, do everyone a favor and check with your admin first. If your work computer is part of a domain, it’s also likely it’s part of a domain group policy that will supersede the local group policy, anyway.

You should also make a System Restore point before continuing. Windows will probably do this automatically when you install the Anniversary Update. Still, it couldn’t hurt to make one manually—that way, if something goes wrong, you can always roll back.

First, launch the group policy editor by pressing Windows+R, typing “gpedit.msc” into the box, and then pressing the Enter key.

Press Windows+R, type “gpedit.msc” into the box, and press Enter.

Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > OS Policies.

Locate the “Allow Clipboard Synchronization across Devices” setting and double-click on it.

Locate and double-click "Allow Clipboard synchronization across devices."

Set the “Allow Synchronization across Devices” option to “Disabled” and then click the “OK” button to save your changes.

Set this option to "Disabled" and click "OK" when you're done.

The policy change takes effect immediately. You can now close the Group Policy Editor without needing to restart your device before the setting is disabled.

The setting is greyed out and users aren't able to turn it on.

To re-enable Clipboard synchronization across devices, return here, double-click the “Allow Clipboard Synchronization across Devices” setting, and then change it to “Not Configured” or “Enabled.”

Original Article

An IP address identifies any given device on a network. You might need it for online gaming or remote desktop computing. Your Windows 10 PC has an IP address, and there are a few different ways you can find it. Here’s how.
Table of Contents Find Your IP Address from the Settings Menu Find Your IP Address Using the Control Panel Find Your IP Address Using Command Prompt Find Your IP Address from the Settings Menu You can find the IP address of your Windows 10 PC in the Settings menu. But instead of clicking through several levels of options to find it, we’ll use a shortcut to jump straight to it.
To the right of the taskbar, you’ll see a group of several different icons. We want to locate the network icon. The icon design will differ depending on whether you’re connected to the internet via Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Right-click the icon.
Network icon design when connected to Wi-Fi. Network icon design when using an Ethernet connection. Note: If you can’t find the icon on your taskbar, it ..

In Google Docs, you can create and customize multilevel lists in your document with ease. You can format your lists with bullets, numbers, or even alphabetized them. Let’s take a look at the process.

How to Create a Multilevel List

Fire up a browser, head to your Google Docs homepage, and open a new document.

It’s effortless to create a multilevel list in Google Docs. All you have to do is type on a line to begin your list, press Enter after the first item to start a new line, type the next item on your list, and so on. When you’ve typed all the items on your list, highlight all the lines.

A list highlighted in a Google Doc.

Next, click Format > Bullets & Numbering > Numbered List, and then choose a formatting style from the list.

Click "Format," "Bullets & Numbering," and then select "Numbered List."

For this guide, we’ll use a numbered list. If you prefer a “Bulleted List,” choose that instead.

Your list is formatted in the style you chose.

A numbered list in a Google Doc.

While this is a single-level list, the process to create a multilevel list in Docs isn’t much different. When you start to demote and promote items, that’s when it becomes a true multilevel list.

Demote and Promote Lines in Your Multilevel List

Demoting a line indents an item to a lower list level under the previous item, and promoting an item does the opposite.

To demote an item, place your cursor at the beginning of the line.

Click the beginning of a line to place your cursor there.

Next, press Tab to send the item to the lower list level.

A demoted list item in a Google Doc.

If you want to demote an item more than once down a line, continue to press Tab. You can demote an item up to eight times. In our example, we demoted the third line in our list twice.

A list showing an item demoted twice in Google Docs.

Repeat the steps until you’re satisfied with your multilevel list.

A multilevel list in Google Docs.

If you want to promote a line (move it up one level), you can use a keyboard shortcut. Place the cursor at the beginning of the line, and then press Shift+Tab.

Place the cursor at the beginning of a line, and then press Shift+Tab to promote that list item.

You can use this method on multiple lines simultaneously. First, highlight the lines in the list you want to promote.

List items highlighted in a Google Doc.

Next, hit Tab or Shift+Tab to demote or promote the list items.

List items highlighted in a Google Doc.

How to Change the Format of a Multilevel List

If you want to change the basic format of your multilevel list, it’s simple! If you initially chose a numbered list, but decide you want a bulleted list, it’s no problem! It only takes a few seconds to change from one format to another.

Place the cursor anywhere in the list, click the Bulleted list (or Numbered list) icon, and then choose a style from the drop-down menu.

Click anywhere in the list, click the Bulleted list icon, and then choose a new style.

Just like that, the whole list changes to the new style you selected.

A multilevel bulleted list in Google Docs.

How to Customize a Multilevel List

While the level of customization in Google Docs pales in comparison to Microsoft Word, you can use colors and unique bullets to personalize your multilevel lists.

If you want to add some color, highlight a line in your multilevel list.

A highlighted list item in a Google Doc.

Next, click the Text Color icon in the toolbar and choose a color from the palette.

Click the Text Color icon and choose a color.

Repeat this step for each line you want to make more vibrant.

Lines of a list in Google Docs in different font colors.

You can also customize every bullet in your list with a symbol, special character, emoji, or anything else available in the Google Docs special character list.

RELATED: How to Insert Symbols into Google Docs and Slides

To do so, double-click the bullet or number you want to change, and then right-click it to open the context menu. You can choose from a few options in the context menu or click “More Bullets” to see the full list of special characters.

Double-click the number you want to change, right-click it, and then click "More Bullets."

Click the second drop-down menu to choose a category. There are a lot, so be prepared to spend some time browsing.

Click the second drop-down menu to choose the category.

Click the third drop-down menu to refine the characters even further.

Click the third drop-down menu.

Once you’ve chosen the categories, click the character you want to designate it as the new bullet.

Click the character you want to use as your new bullet.

An alarm clock is a ridiculous choice for a bullet, but you can choose anything you want.

Repeat this process for each bullet you want to replace until you’re satisfied with your multilevel list.

A multilevel list in Google Docs with alarm clocks, eyes, two people, and a hand holding up an index finger as bullets.

These custom bullets act as the new style for your list. Anytime you promote or demote an item, it will do so with the current level’s bullet (provided you’ve chosen one for that level).

That’s all there is to it!

Original Article

At a time when businesses worldwide were shedding money because of the pandemic, Zoom saw revenue growth of 370% in just one quarter, becoming a household name and a verb in the process. But right from the start the service faced pointed questions about security, and to their credit, the developers did their best to address them quickly.

In the light of Zoom’s beefed-up security mechanisms, here’s what you can — and should — configure to ensure maximum protection while Zooming.

1. Make the meeting unique

You can set up a Zoom conference either with a Personal Meeting ID (PMI) or, for one-off chats, with a one-time link. Tied to a user’s account, a PMI persists unchanged for a full year from the last login, so anyone who has attended at least one PMI-based meeting can connect to any future conversation using the same PMI, even if you don’t invite them. Therefore, avoid using personal links, and instead create a separate link for each meeting — it takes just a few seconds.

2. Require invitations

Publicly sharing a link to a meeting is risky. You might as well spray-paint party details on a public wall and hope no one crashes. Notify each participant individually, whether by e-mail, messaging app, or another convenient means. If you realize someone’s missing from a call already in progress, send an invitation right from Zoom.

3. Set up face control

Even if you sent a link personally to a friend or colleague, that’s no guarantee someone else won’t use it to join the call: Your friend might have forwarded the link to someone else, or it could be a mischievous kid brother — or a hacker.

The Waiting Room can help you make sure that there’re no uninvited guests on the call. If you enable the feature, attendees will remain sequestered until you look over the names and nicknames and decide who to let in.

After the meeting starts, you can send someone back to the Waiting Room if, say, you need to discuss something with a smaller team. You can also choose to enable the Waiting Room for everyone or only for guests who are not signed in to their Zoom accounts.

4. Lock the Zoom meeting

Once everyone is in, you can lock the meeting so that no one else can join. That way, even if the link to your video chat is available to outsiders, they will not be able to use it. Incidentally, locking has become one of the most effective ways to combat Zoombombing, the practice of invading Zoom calls, which became widespread during the pandemic.

5. Enable end-to-end encryption

Zoom has long used point-to-point encryption (P2PE), whereby private keys are stored on the server. P2PE protects against simple data interception, but hacking the Zoom server enables an attacker to decrypt the conversation.

Therefore, Zoom developers added end-to-end encryption (E2EE), which stores keys only on users’ devices. Enable end-to-end encryption and a green shield with a padlock will appear in the upper left corner of the Zoom screen. That icon means the call is protected against eavesdropping.

Bear in mind that end-to-end encryption is disabled by default for a reason: With it enabled, participants using the Lync or Skype clients, the online version of the Zoom Web client, or any third-party clients for Zoom will not be able to join the call. In addition, users with free accounts will be asked to confirm their phone number and add a payment method.

6. Check the channel’s security

You can check at any time to see if outsiders have used a man-in-the-middle attack to connect to your communication channel. Click on the shield icon and you will see a secret key. The host can read it out loud, and participants can compare it with their own. The numeric key is directly related to the end-to-end encryption mechanism that connects attendees’ devices. If the host’s key matches those of the call participants, that means the connection between the end devices has not been compromised. If an attacker has interfered with it, the sequence of numbers will be different.

When the host’s functions are transferred to another participant, or someone joins or leaves the meeting, the system generates another secret key, and participants can check it again.

7. Get extra protection

To hide your IP address — and the call itself — from outsiders, be sure to connect using a secure connection such as Kaspersky Secure Connection. Using a VPN is especially important for calls conducted over public Wi-Fi.

Don’t forget to use a reliable security solution, either — no matter how much Zoom has improved its security, it cannot do anything about malware that has already set up shop on a call participant’s device.

Original Article