Who doesn’t want support in everyday life who does research on the Internet, has phone numbers at hand quickly and reminds you of important appointments? Are you thinking of human assistants? Far from it: Microsoft provides you with a voice-controlled assistant that goes by the name of Cortana.

• Cortana is the voice-controlled assistance software from Microsoft.
• It offers many functions such as Internet search, scheduling and navigation.
• Can be used on smartphones and computers with Windows 10.

What is Cortana?

Cortana is the voice-controlled assistant that can be operated on smartphones with Windows 8 or 10 as well as on computers with Windows 10. Since 2014, it has offered users various services such as reminders of appointments, simple searches on the Internet and weather forecasts. To do this, Cortana needs an active internet connection to access the databases on the Microsoft server. Once this connection is established, it can provide you with the most up-to-date knowledge. The assistance can be controlled differently depending on the hardware. Voice input makes the most sense if you want to use Cortana with your mobile phone. Using the keyboard on the PC has also proven its worth.

Set up Cortana

The Cortana software is designed in such a way that even laypeople can use it easily and conveniently. In the first step, you need your own Microsoft account or your access data for it. Then proceed as follows:

• At the bottom left of the taskbar, click the circle next to the Windows icon.
• Click the “Next” button.
• Read the terms carefully before accepting them.
• In the next step, enter your name and click “Next” again.
• To complete the process, log into your Microsoft account now.

Cortana on the smartphone

You also need a Microsoft account to use Cortana on your mobile phone with Windows 10. If you have one, the installation is self-explanatory because you are guided through the individual steps in a user-friendly manner. In the first step, just click on Cortana. Then you have to reveal your name here too, so that your language assistant can speak to you directly later. In the settings you define the data usage. It is now also possible to use Cortana on Android . To do this, download the corresponding app. Since Cortana for Android is only offered in the USA and China, there is only an English-language version at the moment.

Features of Cortana

So that Cortana is a real everyday aid for users, it has been equipped with a variety of functions. Simply ask your personal language assistant any questions that come to mind. To answer, she uses the search engine Bing or the navigation software Here. So that you save yourself the hassle of typing and can even create calendar entries on the go, Cortana is able to create appointments and reminders by voice input. You can also make specific calls to contacts from your phone book. Cortana gradually gets to know your areas of interest and preferences. As a result, user support develops more and more individually over time.

Cortana and data protection

For Cortana to be fully functional, it must have access to data on your phone or computer. If you do not want to disclose all of the information about yourself, various options are available. Ideally, you should pay attention to this directly during installation and define your desired parameters. If necessary, you can completely switch off position and speech recognition when using the PC. A location is required for weather reports, but you can also enter it manually. The diagnostic function transfers large amounts of data from your device to the Microsoft server. If you want to restrict this, it is advisable to select the simple diagnosis.

Deactivate Cortana

First, consider whether you really want to turn Cortana off completely or just restrict user rights. For a complete deactivation press the combination Windows key and “R”. Then a small field opens in which you enter the word “Regedit”. Press enter. Another window then appears where you can search for the entry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Policies \ Microsoft \ Windows \ Windows Search. After double-clicking on “Allow Cortana”, enter “0” as the value. Cortana should now be disabled after restarting the computer. For example, you can open the search field to check. There is now “Search Windows” instead of the typical Cortana features. Since you are working in the registry with this method,experienced Windows users .