Soluții

How to make Windows 11 to not show any ads

In the Start menu, you’ll find a Recommended section featuring ads for different apps. The last time I checked, it was showing an ad for a password manager. Microsoft is probably aware that not every Windows user will appreciate this new addition to the Start menu, which is why there’s also an option to remove the Recommended section entirely.

To do this, press Win+i to open the Settings app. Choose “Personalization” from the left sidebar, then select “Start” on the right. Turn off the toggle next to “Show recommended files in Start, recent files in File Explorer, and items in Jump Lists.” After that, restart your system, and you’ll see that the Recommended section is gone from the Start menu.

Remove ads from File Explorer

There’s plenty of vacant space in Windows File Explorer, and perhaps that’s why Microsoft thought it would be the best place to display ads in Windows. The first time Microsoft tested this idea was in 2017, when a large OneDrive banner appeared at the top of File Explorer in Windows 10. However, for some reason, it was later removed from Windows.

Since 2022, when an X user named Florian Beaubois spotted ads in the Windows 11 File Explorer, Microsoft has been constantly pushing ads in its file manager.

If you want a completely ad-free File Explorer experience, you need to change one setting in the Folder Options. To do this, open File Explorer, click the ellipsis icon at the top, and choose “Options” from the menu that appears. Switch to the “View” tab, uncheck the “Show Sync Provider Notifications” box, and then click “Apply” and “OK” to save the changes.

Disable tips and suggestions from Windows

In addition to ads, Windows also shows a lot of suggestions and tips to improve your overall experience. While these tips can be helpful for someone who’s just getting started with Windows, if you’ve been using Windows for a while, you might find them as annoying as the ads. That’s why it’s best to turn them off completely for a clutter-free Windows experience.

To do this, open the Settings app, select “System” from the left sidebar, and click “Notifications” on the right. Under the Notifications From Apps and Other Senders section, click “Additional Settings.” Turn off the boxes next to “Get tips and suggestions when using Windows” and “Suggest ways to get the most out of Windows and finish setting up this device.”

After disabling these boxes, you will no longer see occasional pop-ups from Windows asking you to switch to Microsoft Edge, join Microsoft Rewards, or use any other Microsoft services.

Remove ads from the Lock Screen

I’ve long been an admirer of the Windows Spotlight feature. It dynamically changes lock screen images, ensuring that I’m not looking at the same picture every time. However, there’s one major drawback to using the Windows Spotlight feature.

You’ll see ads on your Windows lock screen if you have Windows Spotlight set as the display option. These ads often promote different games, and sometimes Microsoft also shows tips on various topics. The only way to remove ads from the lock screen is to configure Windows to show either a picture or a slideshow instead of Windows Spotlight.

To do this, open the Settings app, choose “Personalization” from the left sidebar, and click the “Lock Screen” option on the right. Click the drop-down icon next to “Personalize Your Lock Screen,” and then choose either “Picture” or “Slideshow.” If you select Picture, make sure to turn off the “Get fun facts, tips, tricks, and more on your lock screen” box.

Remove ads from the Settings app

The very place where you’ve been disabling ads till now ironically shows plenty of them itself. Yes, you guessed it right; I’m talking about the Settings app. You’ll often find ads for different Microsoft services appearing at the top of various pages in the Windows Settings app.

To remove ads from the Windows Settings app, open the Settings app, select “Privacy & Security” from the left sidebar, and click “Recommendations & Offers” on the right. Turn off the toggles next to these options: Personalized Offers, Improve Start and Search Results, Recommendations and Offers in Settings, and Advertising ID. Disabling the Advertising ID also ensures that third-party apps don’t show personalized ads based on your Windows activity.

Remove personalized ads from the Microsoft Store

When you search for an app on Microsoft Edge, you’ll often see recommendations and similar apps in the Microsoft Store. This happens because of the Microsoft Store’s personalized experiences setting, which allows the store to monitor your online activity to show relevant ads and app suggestions. Fortunately, you can disable this setting to stop the Microsoft Store from displaying personalized ads and recommendations.

To do this, open the Microsoft Store, tap the profile icon at the top, and choose “Store Settings” from the menu that appears. Turn off the toggle next to “Personalized Experiences.” Select “Confirm and Restart Store” from the pop-up window that appears.

I always prefer to hide the Windows search from the taskbar. But if you’re someone who uses it regularly, you must have noticed that it shows a lot of ads.

Open Windows Search, and on the right panel, you’ll see ads for different games, a trending searches section, and a dedicated block highlighting what’s special about the current date. If you find these elements taking up too much space in Windows Search, you can completely remove them.

To do this, open Windows Search, click the ellipsis icon at the top, and choose “Search Settings” from the menu that appears. Turn off the toggle next to “Show Search Highlights.” Restart your computer, and you will no longer see ads in Windows Search.

Clear the Widgets panel

Although the widget panel doesn’t show any ads, it contains a long list of news stories. There are also plenty of other blocks with data related to the stock market and other content that may not be relevant to you. If you find all this distracting, you can either clear the widget feed or disable the widget panel altogether. However, I suggest doing the former, as the widget panel can be quite helpful in various situations.

To get rid of an irrelevant widget feed, click the cog icon at the top-right corner of the widget window and select “Show or Hide Feeds.” Then, disable the “Feeds” toggle.

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How to use the PivotTable Fields pane in Microsoft Excel

Big datasets can be difficult to read, interpret, and analyze. Indeed, it can be difficult to track specific information and understand relationships between data points if you have to scroll through thousands of rows and columns, even if you use the Freeze Panes or Focus Cell tools.

However, converting a dataset into a PivotTable allows for simplified data exploration and analysis, instant insights, and quick comparisons. What’s more, PivotTables let you perform calculations without the need for complex formulas, and you can use slicers and timelines to only show the data you need at any given point.

To follow along as you read this guide, download a free copy of the workbook used in the examples. After you click the link, you’ll find the download button in the top-right corner of your screen.

You can create a PivotTable in Excel from an external data source, a table in your worksheet, or a pre-built data model. To access these options, in the Insert tab on the ribbon, click the “PivotTable” down arrow.

In my case, I want to analyze an Excel table (named T_Sales) I created in an Excel worksheet, and I want to do so in a new worksheet to keep my workbook tidy and organized. So, after selecting a cell in the table, I’ll click “From Table Or Range” in the PivotTable drop-down menu. Then, after making sure the correct range is selected, I’ll check “New Worksheet,” and click “OK”.

I strongly recommend that you format your data as an Excel table before converting it into a PivotTable. Taking this step ensures that the source data is formatted in a way that the PivotTable tool can understand, and the PivotTable can pick up new rows and columns subsequently added to the table.

Opening the PivotTable Fields pane

The PivotTable Fields pane is where you decide what goes in the PivotTable. This pane usually opens by default on the right of your screen as soon as you initiate the PivotTable-building process.

The PivotTable Fields pane closes as soon as you click away from the PivotTable area.

If the PivotTable Fields pane doesn’t appear by default when you select a cell in the PivotTable area, or if it disappears at any point when you’re working on your PivotTable, click “Field List” in the PivotTable Analyze tab on the ribbon. You can also click the same button if you don’t want the PivotTable Fields pane to be displayed by default.

To move the PivotTable fields pane, hover your cursor over the top of the pane until it turns into a four-arrow move pointer, and click and drag the pane to a more convenient position on your screen as a floating window.

To turn it back into the default pane, click and drag it to the right of your screen until it clicks back into position.

Understanding the PivotTable Fields areas

When I first started using PivotTables in Microsoft Excel many years ago, I found the PivotTable Fields pane confusing, not only because the default layout is overly condensed, but also because what goes in the different fields isn’t immediately obvious.

By default, the fields (labeled A in the screenshot below) are stacked on top of the areas (labeled B in the screenshot below). If your source dataset is substantial, this layout makes everything appear overcrowded, especially if you’re working on a small screen.

  • To fix this, click the “Tools” cog, and select “Fields Section And Areas Section Side-By-Side”
  • This vertical layout makes the pane appear less cluttered and, thus, easier to use.

Before you go ahead and start building your PivotTable, take a few moments to understand what each area means:

  • Rows: Fields inserted into the Rows area appear as row labels down the left-hand side of the PivotTable. In the screenshot below, the Product field being in the Rows area means the products in the source data are listed in column A.
  • Columns: Fields added to the Columns area appear as column labels across the top of the PivotTable. In the example below, you can see countries in the column headers.
  • Values: Fields placed into the Values area are usually variables with numeric values that form the main part of the PivotTable, with each value acting as an intersection between a column and a row. In the PivotTable below, each cell where a product and country intersect contains a profit value.
  • Filters: Insert a field into the Filter area if you want to filter the entire PivotTable based on a given variable. In this case, I can filter the PivotTable by department.

Adding and removing fields to and from a PivotTable

There are two ways to add fields to an area in the PivotTable Field pane.

When you check a checkbox next to a field, Excel automatically moves it to one of the areas according to the type of data the field contains. Usually, non-numeric fields are added to the Rows area, date and time fields are added to the Columns area, and numeric fields are added to the Values area. Useful as this automation may be, fields sometimes go in the wrong areas. What’s more, when you use this method, there’s no way for Excel to know which field to add to the Filters area.

Alternatively, dragging and dropping a field into an area gives you more control over what goes where. If you want to change which area a field is added to, simply drag and drop it to the appropriate place. For example, to remove the Department filter, click and drag “Department” from the Filters area to the left of the PivotTable Fields pane.

As you add a field to an area in the PivotTable Fields pane, you’ll see the PivotTable being constructed in real time. If you find this confuses you more than it helps you, check “Defer Layout Update” at the bottom of the pane, and click “Update” once you’ve moved all the fields to the desired areas.

To remove a field from a PivotTable area, either uncheck the corresponding checkbox in the fields section or drag and drop a field from the areas section to anywhere outside the PivotTable Fields pane.

Now that you have used the PivotTable Fields pane to build your PivotTable, use the PivotTable Analyze tab on the ribbon to manipulate and customize the data. For example, you can rename the PivotTable, group different fields, or insert slicers and timelines for dynamic filtering. On the other hand, you can change the PivotTable’s visual properties via the Design tab, such as adding subtotals, formatting the data into banded rows, or changing the colors of the headers.

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Clasificarea cookie-urilor de trafic

Cookie-urile de trafic (sau de monitorizare a traficului) sunt o categorie de cookie-uri folosite pentru a colecta informații despre modul în care utilizatorii interacționează cu un site web, cu scopul de a îmbunătăți experiența utilizatorului și performanța site-ului.

Clasificarea cookie-urilor de trafic

  • Sunt cookie-uri originale de sesiune sau persistente care urmăresc și măsoară activitatea utilizatorului pe site, cum ar fi numărul de vizitatori, paginile accesate, durata vizitei, sau sursa traficului.​

  • Utilizate deseori pentru analiza performanței serverului și monitorizarea latenței, pentru măsurarea traficului și identificarea eventualelor probleme tehnice în furnizarea serviciului.​

  • Pot include cookie-uri tehnice care măsoară timpul petrecut pe site sau verifică dacă un anumit domeniu este accesat corect, dar nu identifică utilizatori în mod individual ci colectează date agregate.​

  • Exemple sunt cookie-urile de infrastructură IT care măsoară latența serverului, cookie-uri folosite pentru menținerea securității sesiunii și cele care ajută la analiza traficului web pentru optimizarea performanței.​

Diferențe față de alte tipuri

  • Cookie-urile de trafic nu sunt folosite pentru personalizare sau publicitate, ci strict pentru analiză tehnică și statistică a traficului web.

  • Spre deosebire de cookie-urile funcționale care ajută la utilizarea directă a site-ului de către utilizator, cele de trafic se concentrează pe măsurarea modului în care site-ul este folosit.​

Cookie-urile de trafic sunt esențiale pentru îmbunătățirea continuă a experienței pe site și pentru identificarea problemelor tehnice, fără a afecta confidențialitatea utilizatorului prin colectarea datelor personale.​

Astfel, cookie-urile de trafic sunt o subcategorie a cookie-urilor tehnice, axate pe monitorizarea și analiza fluxului de vizitatori și performanța site-ului.

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Clasificarea cookie-urilor functionale

Cookie-urile funcționale sunt o categorie importantă din clasificarea generală a cookie-urilor utilizate pe site-uri web, având rolul de a asigura funcționarea corectă a platformei și de a îmbunătăți experiența utilizatorului.​

Cookie-urile funcționale sunt definite drept module care:

  • Înregistrează alegerile și preferințele utilizatorilor (ex: limba site-ului, produse în coșul de cumpărături).​

  • Permit personalizarea și adaptarea platformei sau a conținutului conform cerințelor sau preferințelor utilizatorului.​

  • Asigură funcționarea unor operațiuni specifice, precum conectarea/înregistrarea, vizualizarea produselor selectate sau reținerea setărilor.​

  • Pot fi setate direct de site (first-party) sau de terți furnizori care asigură anumite servicii integrate (de exemplu, distribuirea pe rețele de socializare).​

Cookie-uri funcționale nu sunt utilizate pentru marketing sau analiză detaliată, ci strict pentru optimizarea utilității site-ului și creșterea gradului de confort pentru utilizator.​

Exemple și distincții

  • Exemple: reținerea preferinței de limbă, autentificarea automată, păstrarea conținutului coșului de cumpărături sau configurarea elementelor vizuale personalizate ale unui site.​

  • Dacă nu sunt permise, anumite funcționalități vor fi indisponibile sau site-ul nu va funcționa optim pentru utilizator.​

Cookie-urile funcționale se deosebesc de cele de analiză sau marketing, deoarece nu urmăresc activitatea detaliată a utilizatorului și nu creează profiluri personalizate în scopuri de publicitate sau analiză statistică.​

Rezumat tabelar

Tip cookie Rol principal Exemplu utilizare
Funcționale Personalizare & funcționare corectă site Preferințe limbă, coș cumpărături, autentificare
Analiză/statistici Statistici trafic, utilizare site Google Analytics, vizualizare pagini
Marketing/targetare Profilare și publicitate personalizată Facebook Pixel, campanii targetate

Pentru orice site serios, cookie-urile funcționale sunt esențiale pentru o experiență optimă, fără a afecta confidențialitatea utilizatorului în scopuri comerciale.​

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Docker Compose local dev environment with Traefik reverse proxy and automatic HTTPS

Summary

We’ll create a docker-compose.yml with Traefik v2 as the edge proxy that routes service1.localhost and service2.localhost to containers and obtains TLS certs using the local Traefik ACME (for public domains you’d use real DNS; for local dev we’ll use --docker provider + self-signed or mkcert).

Note: Browsers block Let’s Encrypt on *.localhost. For true HTTPS locally use mkcert + mount certs, or use traefik with TLS using mkcert certificates.

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