Microsoft created quite the reputation around their latest Operating System, Windows 10. First, they launched a pretty aggressive campaign to encourage Windows 7 and 8 owners to upgrade (basically forcing the update on them in some cases), then they started to put in notifications in the system in order to encourage the users to adopt Microsoft software, like Edge, instead of whatever they're using. Apparently, this behavior continues as some users report that "ads" publicizing Microsoft's OneDrive and Office 365 services started to appear in the File Explorer of Windows 10.
The ad appears in the form of a banner on the top of a folders window, presenting the option of a subscription to Office 365, Microsoft's subscription service that includes 1TB on OneDrive and the whole office package. The message can, of course, be dismissed, but it will reappear again eventually. Now, if the deal it offers is good or not depends on the individual needs of the user. The fact is that, yet again, Microsoft is putting publicity inside a paid software (yes, even if you got a free upgrade it's still paid software since you have bought the original OS anyway). This comes after the infamous "Chrome is draining your battery, switch to Edge instead" pop up on Windows 10 laptops, as well as when they included notifications suggesting to install Microsoft's Shopping Assistant, or the time they sneaked ads in lock screen backgrounds.
Luckily, there's a way to disable these ads. Just follow these steps:
- Open the View menu on File Explorer and click "Options"
- Scroll until you find the "Show sync provider notifications" option
- Disable the aforementioned option
Did you encounter any ads in your experience with Windows 10? What do you think of Microsoft's strategy of publicizing their products from within the OS? Let us know in the comments.
