Best Microsoft Tools Created For Windows 10 Power Users

Over the past year, Microsoft has quietly released new built-in Windows 10 command-line applications and free Microsoft Store apps that enhance the functionality of the operating system.

Microsoft did not officially announce these new tools in some cases, and they were discovered by users instead.

In this article, we’re going to highlight these new programs and apps so power-users can take greater control over Windows 10.

The Pktmon network packet sniffer

Windows 10 now includes a built-in network packet sniffer called ‘Pktmon,’ with two new features recently added in the Windows 10 May 2020 Update.

As first reported by BleepingComputer, in the Windows 10 October 2018 update, Microsoft quietly sneaked in the real-time network traffic monitoring tool called Pktmon.

In Windows 10 2004, Microsoft added two additional features to Pktmon; the ability to view sniffed packets in real-time and convert Pktmon logs into the PCAPNG support.

As PCAPNG is supported in many network monitoring software, such as Wireshark, it gives users additional options to analyze logs.

Also Read: 10 Practical Benefits of Managed IT Services

Winget package manager

This year, Microsoft released a Windows 10 package manager called Winget that allows users to install and manage apps directly from the command line.

To install applications with winget, you type commands such as “winget search” to search for an app or “winget install” to install one, as illustrated below.

Microsoft has created a curated repository containing hundreds of applications that can be installed and managed using Winget.

Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL 2)

Windows 10 2004 comes with the new Windows Subsystem for Linux 2, which brings increased performance and greater compatibility with a broader range of Linux applications.

Unlike the first-generation WSL 1, WSL 2 includes a genuine open-source Linux kernel based on version 4.19 from Kernel.org. WSL 2 also enables full access to normal system calls, improves compatibility for Linux apps, increases file system performance, and more

WSL 2 includes the following features:

• Full Linux kernel
• Increased file IO performance
• Full system call compatibility
• WSL 2 uses a smaller amount of memory on startup

If you are already using WSL, you can upgrade your installed Linux distributions to WSL 2 using the wsl --set-version command.

Windows File Recovery tool

Microsoft also sneaked in a new Windows 10 File Recovery command-line Tool that allows you to recover deleted files from a hard drive, USB drive, and an SD card.

“Accidentally deleted an important file? Wiped clean your hard drive? Unsure of what to do with corrupted data? Windows File Recovery can help recover your personal data,” the description of the free tool reads.

The tool is a command-line executable named winfr.exe, and its help file can be seen below.

By default, Windows File Recovery Tool comes with three modes of operation – ‘Default,’ ‘Segment,’ and ‘Signature,’ each with their strengths.

Also Read: The PDPA Data Breach August 2020: A Recap of 8 Alarming Cases

PowerToys for Windows 10

Windows 10 PowerToys are a suite of open-source tools that allow you to extend the capabilities of File Explorer, optimize app windows for big monitors, resize images, and more.

Some of the PowerToys include:

• Image Resizer
• Windows File Explorer’s preview pane
• Replace slow Windows Search with Run-like tool.
• Modify Keyboard shortcuts
• Batch File Renamer
• Color Picker

Windows Terminal

Windows Terminal is an open-source multi-tabbed console program that allows Windows 10 users to launch multiple shell/console tabs in the same Windows.

For example, Windows Terminal can have a tab with a PowerShell console, another with the Windows 10 command prompt, and another with a WSL Ubuntu shell.

Windows Terminal is highly customizable, with hyperlink support, mouse support, desktop backgrounds, and the ability to map keyboard commands.

If you are continually using the command line or other shells, Windows Terminal is a tool you want to install.

PowerShell 7

Microsoft has also published PowerShell 7 with a range of new features, including automatic new version notifications, structured data like JSON, CSV, XML, and other improvements.

The new features include:

• Pipeline parallelization with ForEach-Object -Parallel
• New operators:
  • Ternary operator: a ? b : c
  • Pipeline chain operators: || and &&
  • Null coalescing operators: ?? and ??=
• A simplified and dynamic error view and Get-Error cmdlet for easier investigation of errors
• A compatibility layer that enables users to import modules in an implicit Windows PowerShell session
• Automatic new version notifications
• The ability to invoke DSC resources directly from PowerShell 7 (experimental)

PowerShell 7 can be downloaded from the Microsoft Store.