How to Use the Microsoft Store in Windows 8 and Later

Find everything you need in the Windows App Store for Windows 8 and Windows 10

Every device—be it a smartphone or a desktop computer—needs apps. Learn more about the Microsoft Store, also called the Windows App Store, which allows you to choose from thousands of available apps to use on your Windows device.

Instructions in this article apply to Windows 10 and Windows 8.

How to Use the Windows App Store

There are a couple of ways to access the Microsoft Store. Once there, begin browsing, searching, and installing the apps of your choice. Here’s how to use the Windows App Store on your PC:

Select Start and choose Microsoft Store. The Microsoft Store is also available on the web if you prefer to access it that way.

The Store takes advantage of the user interface that was introduced in Windows 8, so you’ll notice it’s laid out with a visual tile design that makes it clear what apps, games, movies, and other content are available.

Browse the store. You can get around the store by swiping your touch screen, scrolling your mouse wheel, or clicking and dragging the scroll bar at the bottom of the window. Poke around and you’ll find the store’s apps are laid out logically by categories. Some of the categories you’ll see include:

• Games — Includes hit titles such as Minecraft and Angry Birds.
• Social — Contains apps that keep you in touch, such as Twitter and Skype.
• Entertainment — Apps that pass the time like Netflix and Hulu.
• Photo — Photo editing and management apps like Instagram and Adobe Photoshop Elements.
• Music & Video — Apps for listening and watching like Slacker Radio and Movie Maker Pro.

To view all of the other titles in a category, select the category title. By default the apps will be sorted by their popularity, to change this, select Show all in the right corner of a category list. You’re taken to a page that lists all of the apps in that category, and you can select sorting criteria from the drop-down lists at the top of the category page.

If you aren’t interested in seeing everything a category has to offer and would rather only view those apps that are most popular or new, the store offers custom views accessible as you scroll the main category view, such as Top Free Apps, Trending, and Collections.

Search for an App

Browsing is fun and is a great way to find new apps to try out, but if you’ve got something specific in mind, there’s a faster way to get what you want.

Type the name of the app or a keyword describing the type of app you want into the Search box on the store’s main page and press Enter.

As you type, the search box will auto-suggest apps that match the words you’re typing. If you see what you’re looking for in the suggestions, you can select it.

Install an App

Once you find an app you want, download it to your computer to begin using it.

Select an app to view more information about it. View the Description, see Screenshots and Trailers, and to view what other people who downloaded the app also liked. At the bottom of the page, you’ll find information about What’s new in this version, as well as System Requirements, Features, and Additional information.

If you like what you see, select Get to download the app. When the installation is complete, both Windows 8 and Windows 10 will add the app to your Start screen.

Keep Your Apps Up to Date

Once you start using Windows apps, you’ll need to make sure you keep updates current to ensure you get the best performance and newest features. The Windows App Store will automatically check for updates to your installed apps and alert you if it finds any. If you see a number on the store’s tile, it means you’ve got updates to download.

Launch the Windows App Store and select the three dots in the top-right corner of the screen.

In the menu that appears, select Downloads and updates. The Downloads and updates screen lists all of your installed apps and the date they were last modified. In this case, modified could mean updated or installed.

To check for updates, select Get updates in the upper right corner of the screen. The Windows App Store reviews all your apps and downloads any available updates. Once downloaded, those updates are automatically applied.

While many of these apps are designed for use on a touch-screen mobile device, you’ll find that most work great in a desktop environment. Take some time to see what’s out there, there’s an impressive supply of games and utilities, many of which won’t cost you a thing.

There may not be as many apps for Windows 8 and Windows 10 as there are for Android or Apple, but there are hundreds of thousands available.

Where are Windows Store Apps installed & how to access the folder

UWP apps can be accessed from and started by clicking on the Tiles on the Windows Start. But where are they installed or located? The Universal or Windows Store Applications in Windows 10/8 are installed in the WindowsApps folder located in the C:\Program Files folder. It is a Hidden folder, so in order to see it, you will have to first open Folder Options and check the Show hidden files, folders and drives option.

Now you will be able to see the WindowsApps folder in the C:\Program Files folder.

Access or open the Windows Apps folder

Before you read further, we suggest you create a system restore point first.

Now, if you try to click on it to open it, you will not be allowed to, but you will instead see the following road-block.

Clicking on Continue will open the following warning box, saying that you have been denied permission to access this folder.

To gain access to the WindowsApps folder, click on the Security tab link. The following Properties box will open.

To be able to view the contents of the folder you must have at least Read permissions. Click on the Advanced button to open the Advanced Security Settings for the protected folder.

Clicking on Continue will open a box that will list down the permission entries for the folder. You will now have to give yourself permission, and you can do so by changing the Owner from TrustedInstaller to your name. Do note that, as an example, I have given myself complete blanket permissions, but you may give yourself limited permission as are required, by editing the permissions entries from its settings.

You may click on the desired entry and click View to see the individual permission entries and make changes there too. You will have to change the Principal / Owner first, however.

To do so, click on Change in the earlier step and enter the object name and click on Check Names too, as this will check if you have entered the name correctly, and correct it, if you haven’t.

I repeat, as an example, I have given myself complete blanket permissions, but you may give yourself limited permission as are required, by editing the permissions entries from its settings, as shown in the Permissions Entries box above.

The permission will be changed and will see a dialog box.

You will have to close the explorer window and re-open it.

You will now be able to click open on the WindowsApps folder and see its contents.

Any hacker or malware that gains access to this folder, could potentially modify the apps source code maliciously. So it might be a good idea to change the permissions back to their defaults, after you have completed your work. To do this, you have to simply reverse or undo the changes you made in the Advanced Security Settings.

If you wish to only see the list of all the apps along with their shortcuts, you can copy-paste the following in explorer address bar and hit Enter to open the following Applications folder:

Using this way you can change the permissions of any folder in Windows.

To reverse the changes, you need to retrace your steps and undo the changes made – or else you could go back to the created system restore point.

Date: September 8, 2018 Tags: Folder, Windows Apps

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How Secure Is the Windows App Store?

The Windows Store took a hammering when it first launched in early-2012, criticized for poor apps and security issues. Four years on, is the Windows Store now a reliable and secure service?

The Windows Store took a hammering when it first launched back in early-2012. It was widely criticized for a poor selection of apps, its usability was terrible, and the apps themselves lagged way behind their desktop counterparts in terms of features.

But the biggest problem it faced — and still faces — is security. It was littered with scams and copycat products, seemingly innocuous apps were found to harbor malware, and the list of requested permissions was often out of control.

But has the situation got any better? Is the Windows Store now a reliable and secure service, or are there still problems?

In this article, I take a look at what the store used to be like, what it’s like now, and draw some comparisons with other popular app stores.

The Way It Was: Fake Apps Everywhere

Originally, the Windows Store offered a poor user experience. Searching for popular software — such as the incredibly versatile VLC Player or iTunes — would yield thousands of results. Hundreds of them would copy the legitimate app’s logo, description, and screenshots.

Just take a look at what a search for VLC used to look like:

And here’s a screenshot of two apps purporting to be Apple’s iTunes software:

If you weren’t a savvy computer user, it was easy to be lured into the trap.

The trap was especially effective if there wasn’t an official version of the app in the store. For example, because VLC made an app, the legitimate download was listed first. Apple did not release a Windows Store version of iTunes — so every single listing was fake.

Often, the only way to tell the app was not the real thing was to read the small-print, but even that wasn’t a fool-proof method.

The fact Microsoft allowed all these apps to enter the app store is bad enough in itself — but the worst part is that thousands of users were ripped off in the process. The fake apps almost always charged for the download, and prices as high as $10 USD were not uncommon.

Why was Microsoft so slow to respond to these complaints? The cynics would say it’s because the company took a cut of every sale.

What’s the Current Situation?

The situation has improved greatly; Microsoft have introduced lots of new checks and balances, and it’s easier than ever to find apps you can actually trust.

For example — the store’s terms and conditions have become a lot more robust.

They now include the following line:

Security tests: This first test checks your app’s packages for viruses and malware. If your app fails this test, you’ll need to check your development system by running the latest antivirus software, then rebuild your app’s package on a clean system.

They also address the fake apps problem:

Offer real value with your app. Provide a compelling reason to download your app from the Store.Don’t mislead our joint customers about what your app can do, who is offering it, etc.Don’t attempt to cheat customers, the system or the ecosystem. There is no place in our Store for any kind of fraud, be it ratings and review manipulation, credit card fraud or other fraudulent activity.

Sounds great, but there are still issues.

The Malware Problem

It’s worth noting that back in 2014, when the fake apps problem was at its peak, there was no evidence of malware at play. Malwarebytes and Avast both said they couldn’t find any apps laced with malware within the store.

However, some of the shadier apps undoubtedly have a malware problem — with the viruses often being delivered by deceptive in-app messages.

For one such example, you only need to look back to May 2016. A BitTorrent client called Torrenty presented itself like this after being opened for the first time:

It looks fine in theory — but that «Update pending» message was not part of the app’s interface. It actually linked to a web page that immediately tried to download a program titled Setup.exe. According to ZDNet, the file was flagged as dangerous by 24 different anti-virus scanners.

A year ago, another user complained that his daughter had downloaded an app called Video + Subtitle DX. It had changed his search screen, placed adverts all over the operating system, and installed a remote access application.

A cursory Google search reveals many similar instances.

At Least It Includes a Digital Signature

One redeeming feature of the store is that it makes use of digital signatures.

These allow the store to know which apps are installed on your machine along its key characteristics.

If an app’s code is attacked by malware, the signature of that app will be changed. This alerts Windows and the operating system will block the app from running. It’ll even download a new, clean version from the App Store.

It’s not fail-safe — hackers are notorious for finding bypasses and loopholes — but it’s a step in the right direction.

How Does the Windows Store Compare?

How does Microsoft’s offering stack up against its biggest three rivals, the Google Play Store, Apple’s App Store, and Ubuntu’s Apps Directory?

Here’s a quick summary of the security features in place across those three stores.

Apple App Store

Apple’s App Store is thought of as the gold standard in terms of security. In theory, it’s bulletproof — everything needs to run in a sandbox, apps can only communicate through pre-approved Apple channels, and the company boasts a dedicated team of app reviewers.

But even the sector’s original trendsetter isn’t immune from problems.

For example, in February 2016 it was discovered that Chinese developers had managed to upload an app that was actually a third-party App Store client. It presented itself as an English-learning app to reviewers and people on IP addresses outside China, but within China, it showed users how to set up a provisioning profile and download modified versions of popular apps for free.

It’s not a stretch of the imagination to understand how this loophole could be exploited by serious cyber criminals.

Google Play

Google Play has suffered from its own problems in the past. The store still isn’t as robust as Apple’s offering, but it’s been getting much better.

Google now claims it vets every app developer, insists installed apps are regularly scanned for problems, and also requires every app to be housed in a virtual sandbox.

Ubuntu Apps Directory

Ubuntu’s developers don’t have the financial clout of Microsoft, Apple, or Google – but they still manage to do a rigorous job of keeping the store safe.

They also use a review process for new apps and all apps in the store run under «confinement». In practice, it means apps only have read/write access to a set of specific directories and they need to declare security policy groups for access to be granted to most of a device’s functionalities and content.

Are they better or worse than the Windows Store? You can draw your own conclusions.

Do You Trust the Windows App Store?

What have your experiences with the Windows Store been like?

Were you caught out by a rogue app? Did you discover malware in something you downloaded? Or do you think the store’s reputation is now largely unfair given the recent improvements?

You can let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.

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Dan joined MakeUseOf in 2014 and has been Partnerships Director since July 2020. Reach out to him for inquires about sponsored content, affiliate agreements, promotions, and any other forms of partnership. You can also find him roaming the show floor at CES in Las Vegas every year, say hi if you’re going. Prior to his writing career, he was a Financial Consultant.

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