Microsoft has enabled Start menu ads in the optional KB5036980 preview cumulative update for Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2. The company first announced that it was working on adding ads to the Windows 11 ...

Microsoft has rolled out a new way to further mismanage the Windows 11 Start menu: displaying ads in the form of recommended apps. The ads are part of the KB5036980 update that rolled out to Windows ...

Ads in Microsoft Windows' Start menu are nothing new, and it's no surprise that they're coming to Windows 11. Microsoft has been testing ads in beta releases, and this week the update that places ...

In 2016, Microsoft made a decision everyone had been dreading – serving ads directly to your Windows 10 operating system. At first, it was only a lockscreen advertisement for "Rise of the Tomb Raider" ...

While researching a recent Consumer Reports article, I had to create a brand-new Windows 11 user account on my gaming PC. Hoo boy. Within seconds, I had ads on the lock screen, random app ...

Microsoft has started rolling out the new Start menu for Windows 11, which we previously did a deep dive preview on. Both versions 24H2 and the newer 25H2 of Windows 11 can use the new Start menu.

This guide covers four top Windows 11 Start menu replacement apps: Start11, StartAllBack, Open Shell Menu, and Flow Launcher. These apps offer a range of customization options, from classic layouts to ...

Something to look forward to: Many long-time Windows 10 users did not receive the Start menu overhaul in Windows 11 too well, in part because it lost many of its staple functions, including taskbar ...

With Windows 11’s November 2025 Update (update KB5068861), Microsoft fixed some bugs but also introduced some new issues. The biggest news item, however, was the introduction of a completely new and ...