Microsoft is packing more and more advertising into its Windows operating system. In Windows 11, ads now even appear in the Start menu (though Microsoft calls ads for apps or Windows services “recommendations”), and you’ll see full-screen ads for the Edge browser. You can sift through Windows settings and find individual options to turn them all off, but the flood of ads has encouraged resourceful programmers to develop tools designed specifically to eradicate them. Meet OFGB (“Oh Frick Go Back”).
After starting the small program, OFGB displays a selection menu (see the image above) that lets you select which Windows adverts you no longer want to see using checkboxes.
For example, you can switch off ads in File Explorer or on the lock screen, and deactivate ads that appear in the Windows settings menu. You can also use it to banish the various welcome messages that appear in different places in Windows. The developer wrote OFGB in C# and it removes the ads by making the necessary changes in the registry.
Once you have made your selections, in most cases you will need to restart your PC for the chosen ads to disappear from Windows.
OFGB is free and of course ad-free. You can find the download here and a description of the tool here. You can read some background information about the motivations of the developer, who comes from the Linux scene, over at Tom’s Hardware. If you want options, Winpilot also removes ads from Windows 11 free of charge.
This article originally appeared on our sister publication PC-WELT and was translated and localized from German.