I'm usually a fatalist when it comes to technology. If something doesn't work the way I want it to, or the way I expect it to, and there's no dotfile nearby to hack on, I throw up my hands in despair and curse the sad state of the entire industry.

That's why I only today decided to search for "how to make the windows unlock screens top advertising bing" (I meant to type "unlock screen stop advertising bing," but Google knew what I meant).

I was referring to this ad, of course:

Yes, in fact I am aware you can get points by doing some Microsoft-related thing, because this ad has been haunting my login experience ever since I installed Windows 10. I assumed it was about Bing, but after closer inspection it might have something to do with the Microsoft Store? Also, any time I tweet about how I don't like Bing, someone is quick to tell me that you can get points. Everybody's so eager to give me points, but nobody's nearly so excited about giving me a nag-free experience on a computer I built myself running an OS I paid real dollars for.

Naturally, the solution is actually simple: in settings, under "Lock screen," you can switch to "Picture" instead of the default "Windows spotlight." Then you get a little toggle that says, "Get fun facts, tips, and more from Windows and Cortona on your lock screen," which I turned off with great prejudice.

This, of course, isn't the only ad plaguing Windows 10. The recent Office 365 ad inside File Explorer might've been a bridge too far for some. All of the ads, as far as I know, can be turned off: there's a helpful guide on How-To Geek that should cover most of them.

But for some reason it's only the lock screen ad so far that's bugged me enough to get rid of it. I guess I expect a sort of private experience there between me, my outdated profile picture, and my password. But no points, please.