Last week, I turned on my PC, installed a Windows update, and rebooted to find Microsoft Edge automatically open with the Chrome tabs I was working on before the update. I don’t use Microsoft Edge regularly, and I have Google Chrome set as my default browser. Bleary-eyed at 9AM, it took me a moment to realize that Microsoft Edge had simply taken over where I’d left off in Chrome. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
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And do this every time the system gets a major update because it puts all the crapware right back 🫣
Alternatively, buy or 🏴☠️KMSpico🏴☠️ yourself a pro license, and use group policy so it’s one and done. Microsoft has built in tools for almost all of this that don’t get rolled over by updates.
Getting tired of people claiming that it’s impossible to decrap Windows.
Obtuse? Sure! Features that shouldn’t be hidden behind an upgraded license? Hell fucking yes!
Impossible? Fuck no, hell no.
Learning basic Windows admin stuff, especially just the debloating/configuration things, is comparable in difficulty to switching to Linux.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Linux and less reliance on Microsoft is awesome, but 90% of complaints about Windows come from people who don’t know how to configure it, how to use the tools Microsoft offers to decrap it, and how to make it work for them. They’ll hit similar problems with most Linux distros as soon as you go deeper than basic “office suite and web browser” usage.
you should use MAS instead of Pico
https://massgrave.dev
also, gpos are just templates for the registry, you can just look them up and apply manually (ehich is actually faster than finding anything in the official gpo editor), unless you’re a sysadmin and managing a whole fleet of machines (this is what gpo editor was actually made for) there’s no real need for it.
Most GPOs just set registry settings. So theoretically you don’t even need pro, just to set the right registry values and write-protect them
Well yes but GPOs overrule registry settings (if a user or the OS flips a registry setting, the GPO will switch it back on the next reboot).
you don’t need to write protect them, except options related to ms defender. (which can be removed as “malware” by the defender)
they won’t get reset.
I dunno hey, for some reason an update caused edge to re-enable it’s BS homescreen spam content
No need for KMS Pico anymore. There are better tools out there.
Go on…
Install Gentoo
I’d prefer to stick with windows for gaming capabilities. Thanks though.
Oh no it’d just a silly joke. I was not being serious. You can game on Linux though
Yeah. I just don’t wanna finagle around in cli. I do that a lot at work lol
fuck gentoo, spending an entire week compiling shit is not something i want to do
I’d rather stick with arch or fedora
As a gentoo user, I’m always confused when people think gentoo is about multi-day compiles. Rebuilding the whole system takes a few hours (not that I ever need to do that), and binary packages are available for the big stuff if you want it. It’s basically just arch with more configuration options.
Not insisting you or anyone should run it, but it’s not as ridiculous as people seem to think.
Chill dude. It’s just a meme. I use Debian btw
MAS Activation Script - HWID Activation
if its comparable in difficulty, why not just switch to a system that does what you want on the first place?
I’m not saying it’s impossible. I’m just saying I shouldn’t have to decrap a piece of software I actually paid for. Over and over. Also, whenever they introduce some new crap it usually comes with new GPOs that also have to be enabled to remove it again. It’s like whack-a-mole.
This is what I was saying really. This crap should never have been there in the first place as it’s consumer-hostile.
I never said this :) I said it was annoying having to do it every time. Yeah I have pro. And I know what GPOs are. But really, you can’t expect an average consumer to do this. Also, it’s less work to just change things back manually every time than to figure all the GPOs needed. It’s really just super annoying that it happens in the first place. I expect software I buy to be made to help me, not work against me.
And I never mentioned Linux in my post even though I use it myself. I know this is not a suitable alternative for the majority.
If you’ve got a few windows machines on your network and some sysadmin skills, you can run a Zentyal server to set up the GPOs. Syncs across your machines, and you can add a new one at any time that will also get de-shittified instantly.
I think, my reason for switching stemmed from me getting bored if decrapifying windows and wanting to hsebsomething awesome to begin with
I’ve been a lifelong windows user (well and DOS and whatever cartridge I used with the C64/C128) but I think it’s just time to uninstall the OS instead.
I’ve started using Ansible to apply windows settings and manage packages because of this. It’s a bit of work to setup the playbooks but I just run it occasionally on my windows hosts to keep Microsoft from reverting settings or reinstalling junk.
this is borked in win11, and got borked in win10 a month ago.
my secondary win10 machine that had been edge-free for at least 4 years, just got edge back and since it was also disabled by policy, throws an error on every boot, since apparently that piece of crap tries to autostart for whatever reason (even if autostart option is disabled, it just starts in background, does something and closes a few minutes later)
Just want to mention Floorp, based on FF but with loads of additional options & appearance settings, also lightning-fast.
it’s nice to see more gecko/firefox-based browsers
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There’s a ton of them.
These are all great. I use Librewolf and Mull on the regular. That said, I doubt any of these would be able to take up the mantle that Mozilla holds. The amount of resources and manpower needed to maintain and produce a modern browser that isn’t a fork is immense.
Not to knock the devs who maintain these forks, but my guess is the majority of the work comes down to the devs at Mozilla. And if they fall, it’s likely these forks will as well, or at least will become an out of date mess.
Just want to mention Librewolf which is also FF based and has no telemetry out of the box, as well or ublock origin installed by default.
Librewolf is also a great choice, it was my go-to before Floorp.
No. Install Linux and be done with the Microsoft bullshit forever
Doesnt seem to work for me this doesnt so anything on my pc