Get Rid of Windows 10 Ads, Office Offers and Other Annoyances

Microsoft slowly began to sneak commercials into the Windows platform with Windows eight, they usually’ve simplest crept up additional in Windows 10. From so-called prompt apps within the Start menu, to nagging taskbar notifications, or even complete display screen advertisements on customers’ lock displays, Microsoft turns out dead-set on working out new tactics to advertise and monetize its merchandise.

Thankfully it is simple to close down these types of annoyances if you recognize the place to appear.

Disable lock display screen advertisements

To eliminate lock display screen advertisements you’ll want to disable Windows Spotlight, which is the default possibility for the lock display screen background and shows other background pictures on a daily basis. It additionally suggests Windows 10 options you could have no longer attempted but, throwing the occasional advert within the combine.

To flip off Windows Spotlight head to Settings > Personalization > Lock Screen and set the background to “Picture” or “Slideshow” as a substitute of Windows Spotlight. Right under this you to find an technique to transfer off “fun facts, tips, and more from Windows and Cortana on your lock screen.”

Banish Start menu ‘ideas’ and different tweaks

It’s nice that the Start menu is again in Windows 10, it is nonetheless no longer absolute best, however it helps to keep receiving tweaks and the tiles UI makes it handy to get admission to your maximum regularly used packages and methods. It may additionally function high actual property for advertisers, taking on precious area for your Start menu.

To save you hectic advertisements and recommendations from cropping up for your Start menu, head to Settings > Personalization > Start and set the “Occasionally show suggestions in Start” atmosphere to “Off”.

If you don’t seem to be an enormous fan of Live tiles you’ll flip them off via correct clicking on a tile and deciding on the choice from the context menu, or you’ll choose “Unpin from Start” to eliminate the tile completely.

By unpinning all tiles at the correct aspect you’ll make a unmarried column Start menu and regain some actual property as smartly. Or in the event you would favor to have a Windows 7-style Start menu there are a handful of 3rd birthday party equipment value trying out, together with Start10 or the unfastened Classic Shell.

Disable ‘Get Office’ notifications

Windows 10 customers who wouldn’t have Microsoft Office put in are introduced to take a look at Office 365, the subscription-based model of the ever present productiveness suite, and experience a month-long unfastened trial. This is finished via a “Get Office” software that sits there for the only goal of selling it.

To forestall those notifications head to Settings > System > Notifications & Actions and turn off notifications for the “Get Office” app. And if you are right here you’ll additionally disable the “Get tips, tricks, and suggestions as you use Windows” possibility from the similar display screen.

But going again to the Get Office software, you’ll additionally uninstall this from the gadget via going into the Start Menu, correct clicking at the app after which deciding on Uninstall. To be sure it doesn’t robotically set up itself once more after a restart, seek for “Windows PowerShell”, rick-click at the icon and select “Run as Administrator”. Then execute the next command:

Get-AppxPackage|? identify -like MicrosoftOfficeHub|remove-appxpackage

Make Cortana much less distinguished or kill it altogether

The seek field at the Windows taskbar takes up an excessive amount of area for one thing that you’ll simply as simply do via urgent the Windows key and get started typing. Windows permits you to both cover it or scale back it to an icon to open up Cortana. Right-click anyplace at the taskbar and level to Cortana at the contextual menu to select your most well-liked atmosphere.

Microsoft’s clever non-public assistant may also be annoyingly continual to get your consideration, and can jump or display notifications and guidelines every now and then encouraging you to make use of it. You can curb her enthusiasm via clicking at the Cortana bar (or button), head to settings and disable “Taskbar Tidbits”.

Microsoft got rid of the technique to transfer off Cortana with the Anniversary Update, however in the event you would favor your seek to stick all in favour of native recordsdata, settings, and apps you’ll nonetheless close down the assistant thru Windows Registry — or the Group Policy Editor too when you have Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise.

You can open the Registry Editor via urgent Windows+R in your keyboard and typing “regedit”.

Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindowsWindows Search. If you don’t see a “Windows Search” folder, correct click on the Windows folder and create a brand new key named “Windows Search”. Then right-click this newly created folder within the left pane and choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name the price “AllowCortana”. Double-click it and set the price to “0”.

You can now shut the editor. The adjustments will take impact after signing out and again once more.

Shut down OneDrive totally

OneDrive is tightly constructed into Windows 10. It has its personal node in File Explorer, and the OneDrive sync consumer runs robotically at startup, asking you to check in. Of route, you don’t have to make use of OneDrive in the event you desire a cloud provider from every other supplier, like Dropbox or Google Drive, however you’ll’t uninstall it like a standard app. And whilst you’ll alternate OneDrive settings in order that the sync consumer does not run robotically at startup, that also leaves the OneDrive icon within the navigation pane of File Explorer.

Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise customers can use the Group Policy Editor to totally close off OneDrive. The atmosphere in query may also be discovered below Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > OneDrive, the place you simply want to double-click the coverage ‘Prevent The Usage Of OneDrive For File Storage’ and set it to Enabled.

Windows 10 Home customers need to edit the registry manually. Press Windows+R in your keyboard and kind “regedit” to release the Registry Editor, then navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftware Insurance policiesMicrosoftWindowsOneDrive. If there’s no key for OneDrive, you’ll want to correct click on the Windows folder and create a brand new key named OneDrive. Add a brand new DWORD worth as DisableFileSyncNGSC and set it to at least one. Restart for the brand new coverage to grow to be efficient.

five days, five killer tech guidelines is a TechSpot per 30 days function

On the 3rd week of each and every month, we’re going to post five killer tech guidelines, one for on a daily basis of the week for a given app, provider, or platform.

This week we’re uncovering nice Windows 10 usability guidelines and tips.

Find more at: Tech Cuber