How to Prevent Ads Showing on Windows 10 Lock Screen

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Some people have been logging into Windows 10 only to find that Microsoft is now pushing advertisements through the lock screen. Is this happening to you? You aren’t the only one, and there is a way to disable this nonsense.

All you have to do is disable the Windows Spotlight feature.

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Open the Start Menu, type in lock, and select the Lock Screen Settings option. This is the quick way to navigate where you need to be instead of trudging through System Settings and dozens of mouse clicks.

In the Lock Screen Settings window, look for the setting labelled Background. Change it from Windows Spotlight to either Picture (static wallpaper image of your choice) or Slideshow (many wallpaper images that rotate). That’s it.

You may also want to disable the setting labelled “Get fun facts, tips, tricks, and more on your lock screen” in case that ends up being another avenue for advertisements.

How to Reset Firefox to Default Settings in One Click

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Just as  rebooting a computer fixes many issues, resetting your browser to its default settings can help fix several problems. Here’s how it works on Firefox.

Unlike Chrome, Firefox hides the reset option in an unexpected location. You won’t find it under Firefox Preferences, which is probably where you’d expect it. Instead, you’ll find it under Help > Troubleshooting Information, packaged as the Refresh Firefox… button.

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Clicking on the Refresh Firefox… button restores Firefox to the state it was in when you first installed it. You know what this means, right? You’ll have to say goodbye to the browser setup you have painstakingly built and set up Firefox from scratch.

That means installing themes and extensions, configuring Firefox’s behavior, and tweaking site-specific preferences again. Firefox does try to keep your history, bookmarks, cookies, and form data intact through the reset though.

We recommend saving the reset option as your last resort. If you need to troubleshoot, try starting with Firefox’s Safe Mode first.

The Safe Mode option restarts Firefox with the add-ons disabled and certain settings turned off, making it easier to pinpoint rogue extensions and settings by turning them on one by one and observing what’s different about Firefox’s behavior in the normal and safe modes.

Refreshing Firefox can be quite convenient if you want to fix browser performance, go back from your experimental Firefox changes, reverse the changes made by sneaky toolbars, etc. But do not take it lightly!

Google Drive Can Help You Speed Up Your Daily Workflow

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If you use Google Drive regularly, adopting a few good time-saving habits could result in a much faster workflow than you have now. 

Create new files using bookmarks.  If you want to create a new Google Document, you can do it in a single shot by going to https://docs.google.com/create. Doing this opens up a new document right there.

Replace “docs” with “sheets” in the above URL if you want a Google Spreadsheet, with “slides” if you want a Google Presentation, with “drawings” if you want a Google Drawing, and so on.

Save these URLs as bookmarks and you won’t need more than a couple of clicks to create any type of new file in Google Drive.

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 Start with a template.  Templates are a sensible (and awesome!) way to tackle repetitive tasks with minimal fuss — tasks like creating outlines, newsletters, checklists, etc.

You can begin with one of the default templates via the home screen of the type of template that you want to create. For example, if you want to use a Google Docs template, visit docs.google.com.

Add shared files to your Drive.  When people share files with you on Google Drive, you’ll see them listed in the Shared with me section. But they’re not actuallyin your Drive. Only the links to them are.

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You can save those shared files to your Drive. That’s what the Add to Drive button in the toolbar at the top is for.