After setting up Windows 11, these 9 steps are non-negotiable for me

Microsoft's default settings for Windows 11 are filled with tiny annoyances, including unnecessary taskbar icons and unwanted apps. Here's how to declutter your PC and maximize its security.

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Setting up a new Windows 11 PC -- or resetting a gently used Windows 11 PC, so it's as good as new -- is pretty easy. Deceptively easy, in fact. After you click through the dialog boxes and adjust the few available settings as part of the out-of-the-box experience, you end up at the Windows 11 desktop.

But your work is not complete. Microsoft's default settings aren't necessarily tuned for you, and a default setup comes with a handful of annoyances that you can quickly fix. 

Also: New laptop? How to wipe your old Windows PC clean before getting rid of it

When I set up ...