Flush DNS in Windows

Posted on by Adam Fowler

How to Flush DNS in Windows

  1. Click on the ‘Start’ button
  2. Type ‘Cmd’ and press Enter
  3. In the Command Prompt window, type ‘ipconfig /flushdns’ and press Enter
  4. If successful, you will see the results “Windows IP Configuration Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.”

Applies To: Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7

The ‘ipconfig‘ command has been around since very early versions of Windows and is used to show details of network connections. The /flushdns switch will clear any DNS records currently remembered, which means any name resolution will be freshly looked up from your DNS server rather than using cached records.

How To Check What Version of Windows You Have

Posted on by Adam Fowler

What Version Of Windows Do I Have?

Check with one easy command!

  1. Right click ‘Start’ and choose ‘Run’
  2. Type ‘winver’ and press ‘OK’
  3. A window will show up showing the main version of Windows you are on (such as Windows 10), followed by the version and build details.

Applies To: Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP

The menu that pops up in Windows 11 after right clicking the Start button (Blue 4 boxes)

The ‘winver’ command goes all the way back to even before the Windows for Workgroups 3.11 days, and was a GUI version of the ‘ver’ command.

As you can see above, the version (2004), OS build (19041.572), and edition (Pro) are all listed.

How To Update Microsoft Edge

Posted on by Adam Fowler

How To Check For Updates on Microsoft Edge

  1. Click the Ellipsis (…) in the top right corner
  2. Under ‘Help and Feedback’ click ‘About Microsoft Edge’
  3. The page that shows up will tell you if you’re on the latest version, or give you an update link to click on.

Applies To: Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7

Microsoft Edge (Chromium version) should just update by itself. If there’s an update ready to go, you may see an arrow over the top right hand corner ellipsis, which just means you need to restart the browser when you want the update to apply.

New versions (known as builds) are released frequently – on a 6 week cycle for features, and security updates as required.

If you’re still on the old Microsoft Edge (known as Microsoft Edge Legacy), then check Windows Update as this will automatically upgrade you to the new Edge.

Bing Daily Wallpaper On Your PC

Posted on by Adam Fowler

Microsoft Bing’s Free Daily Wallpaper on your PC

Bing releases a daily wallpaper that can automatically be shown on your PC. The images they use are impressive shots of nature, and it’s actually quite nice to see a new daily photo. You can download this for free directly from Microsoft at the link below.

Applies To: Windows 10, Windows Vista, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 7

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/bing/bing-wallpaper

The Bing Wallpaper app from Microsoft is a quick install that sits in your taskbar. On a daily basis, it will download and update your desktop wallpaper with a new nature photo.

By right-clicking on the ‘b’ in your taskbar for Bing Wallpaper, there’s a few options:

First you’ll see a description of the image and photographer. If you don’t like today’s wallpaper, you can go back through previous days to one you prefer. The enable daily refresh is on by default, but if there’s a photo you like and don’t want it to change, you can just turn that off.

It’s an easy and free way of keeping your desktop fresh, and a chance to see some awesome photography!

How To Launch Command Prompt As Admin

Posted on by Adam Fowler

How To Launch Command Prompt As Admin

(also known as Elevated Command Prompt)

  1. Click “Start”
  2. Type ‘cmd’ and Command Prompt will appear as the first option
  3. Right click ‘Command Prompt’ and choose ‘Run as Administrator’
  4. Click ‘Yes’ to the prompt ‘Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device’ (If asked, enter an administrator username and password). Click ‘Yes’
  5. Command Prompt will load under the Administrator context, and you will be able to see the word ‘Administrator’ in the top left of the window.

Applies To: Windows 10

Administrator: Command Prompt

It might seem frustrating to try and run a command in Command Prompt to be told that you need to run it as administrator, and then go through more clicks to open it again in an elevated fashion – but it’s designed this way for security reasons.

It’s tied to Microsoft’s User Account Control (UAC) behavior which drastically reduces the attack surface your computer has – a program can’t perform many functions that change things about your system without permission granted through a pop-up window.

There are ways to turn off UAC, but doing so puts your computer at a much greater risk of being compromised; so please take the slight annoyance of a few extra prompts to keep your computer safe and healthy.