Microsoft is now using a Windows driver to prevent users from changing the configured Windows 10 and Windows 11 default browser through software or by manually modifying the Registry. Windows Terminal ...

Though Windows Media Player is your computer's initial default media program, each subsequent player that you install tries to replace it. After you've installed several players, Windows may associate ...

Likely fed up with the new Windows 11 default apps interface, Mozilla has bypassed Microsoft's policies to make it easier for users to switch their default browser. In the past, when a Windows ...

When you first install Microsoft Word 2010, it automatically sets itself as the default program for handling Word documents. This means anytime you double-click a Word document from File Explorer or ...

Microsoft uses file associations to set default programs for opening different file types on all its operating systems. As a result, when you open a file, be it text, image, or document, on your ...

David Nield is a technology journalist from Manchester in the U.K. who has been writing about gadgets and apps for more than 20 years. He has a bachelor's degree in English Literature from Durham ...

Windows only: Tiny, portable utility Default Programs Editor makes short work of changing file associations, autoplay settings, and can even change the icon associated with a file type. Once you've ...

Every file on your hard drive (.jpeg, .html, and the like) can be associated with a compatible program, which will open that file format by default. Some applications will change a format’s default ...

Nearly every computer these days comes with a PDF viewer, a program that allows you to read, print, and sometimes edit a PDF file. In the newest versions of Windows 10, the default PDF viewer is ...