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Remove 2nd Windows Defender Taskbar Icon

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With the release of the new Microsoft Defender, available to Microsoft 365 Subscribers, yet another icon was added to the taskbar at the bottom right.

Remove Second Windows Defender Taskbar Icon

The old Windows Security (white shield icon) is no longer needed as the new Microsoft Defender (blue shield icon) will be taking over, eventually.

To remove the (to be replaced) Windows Security (white shield) icon from the Windows Taskbar simply open Windows Task Manager by right mouse clicking in a blank area on the Taskbar.

Select the “Startup” tab from the top or left side of the Task Manager window. Right click on “Windows Security notification icon” and select “Disable” from the drop down list.

Note that you can also “Disable” the new Microsoft Defender but I don’t recommend it as I am not sure if you will receive notifications should it discover a security threat.

If you wanted to uninstall and remove Microsoft Defender completely, then simply go to your Start menu. Locate the new Microsoft Defender app and right mouse click it to reveal a menu with the option to “Uninstall“.

 

Conclusion

I hope this article has helped you reduce the number of taskbar icons. I welcome your thoughts, questions or suggestions regarding this article.

You may support my work and future improvements by sending me a tip using your Brave browser or by sending me a one time donation using your credit card.

Let me know if you found any errors within my article or if I may further assist you by answering any additional questions you may have.

 

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Remove Microsoft Authenticator Greyed Out Account

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Recently used my Microsoft Authenticator to access an email address on my mobile phone which I only needed temporary access to. After which I removed the email account from Outlook on my phone only to have it remain (greyed out) within Microsoft Authenticator.

To remove the greyed out account from Microsoft Authenticator I had to go to my phones’ “Settings” then “Accounts and backup” followed by “Manage accounts“. To my surprise, even though I deleted the email address from Outlook, the email account was still there. Once I removed the email address and reloaded Microsoft Authenticator the greyed out account was gone.

Conclusion

I hope sharing my experience on how I successfully removed an unwanted, greyed out account from Microsoft Authenticator has helped you.

You may support my work by sending me a tip using your Brave browser or by sending me a one time donation using your credit card.

Let me know if you found any errors within my article or if I may further assist you by answering any additional questions you may have.

 

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Disable Windows 11 Lock Screen Requirement

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If you log into your Windows 11 PC using a local account and password you must first click or swipe on the lock screen to reveal the password input prompt. This extra step is not really necessary and can be removed using the following registry edit within this article.

This way, upon boot up, you may simply begin typing your password without first having to click or swipe away your lock screen.

 

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Synchronize Microsoft Authenticator Between Devices

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WARNING! The instructions herein are for my own personal use to jog my memory since I keep forgetting to take my memory pills. These instructions may be wrong and may cause you to lose all of your stored two factor authentication codes. This will obviously prevent you from accessing your two factor authentication enabled accounts. Do not attempt to synchronize your Microsoft Authenticator between devices using this article. Now back to jogging my memory.

 

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Recover Wireless Password on Windows

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This article covers how to recover your Wi-Fi password via the Windows command prompt on a Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC.

 

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Disable Outlook Roaming Signatures Feature

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This article covers a recent update from Microsoft for Outlook on Windows regarding the synchronizing of roaming email signatures. Read the full announcement regarding Outlook Roaming Signatures from Microsoft’s Support Website.

 

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Auto Clear Downloads Extension, Chrome Web Store

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A Brave browser extension to clear all completed downloads and hide the downloads icon in toolbar after two minutes. The Auto Clear Downloads Extension was cloned from the Always Clear Downloads 2 Extension which would auto clear downloads after 5 seconds. Like my 30 second version better? [Buy me a cup of coffee].

I published the Auto Clear Downloads Extension source code on GitHub. Feel free to review the source materials and provide me with your feedback. As for me, I love it! But hey, I am biased.

 

 

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Google Maps Integration

Use Google Maps with Screen Off on Android

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While traveling with Google Maps providing navigation I discovered that I could not sleep the screen without Google Maps navigation closing. I would then have to restart Google Maps navigation each time I opened the screen. In short I believe this is due to the power settings for Google Maps app on my Android phone.

Note: This article is intended for my use only and simply serves as a mental refresher.

 

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Bypass Auto Mounting of Disks in Windows

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Occasionally I will have a drive that is on the verge of failure and is experiencing issues with being detected by Windows.

This article covers how to bypass the automatic mounting of disks or new volumes on Windows so that I can manually access the disk for attempted data recovery. If the instructions are vague that is because it is intended for my use only and serves simply as a mental refresher.

 

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Bypass Windows 10 Login Password

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Occasionally I will have a client who forgets their Windows 10 login password.

This article, which is strictly for my personal and educational use only, covers how to bypass the Windows 10 login screen so that I can, with their consent and permission, access client data for recovery or properly reset their Windows 10 login password.

 

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