As more and more people are being forced to switch to Windows 11, Microsoft's most AI-malware-ridden OS yet, I've been putting together articles and links for how to undo the damage and save your battery, your RAM, your disk space, your privacy, and your sanity from this bullshit.
FIRST:
The easiest way to get rid of the majority of the bullshit that Windows is forcing on us, as of October 2025, is this one-stop-one-click debloat solution from a modern day hero:
A simple, lightweight PowerShell script to remove pre-installed apps, disable telemetry, as well as perform various other changes to customi
It's very easy, even if you're not tech savvy or get scared of pop up windows saying "ARE YOU SURE?" Yes, you are sure, I promise. This program takes maybe two minutes and will save you SO MUCH pain, time, and money (and exploitation).
Now that you've done that, here's the cleanup, to catch the little shit that the debloat might have missed (most of this will already be done by debloat, but hey, it's good to double check).
Microsoft wants to put AI everywhere on your PC, but you can take back control.
Even just reading about some of these features makes me angry. Fucking Copilot and "Discover" AI scrapers are in Notepad. NOTEPAD. And then there's this uncanny valley garbage:
No uncanny valley video calls for me, thanks! (Also, what else is it doing while it scans your face and listens to your calls? What else, microsoft? Because there was a lot of memory being assigned to this program for a simple "smooths your skin" add on).
Tired of Microsoft pushing ads throughout Windows 11? Here are the settings you can tweak to turn them off and reclaim some privacy.
The truly insane number of places they have stuck ads on your own home computer is sickening. Become Unmarketable.
Bonus:
Some background programs you probably don't need that are taking up space and how to remove them (Microsoft forums, 2024)
Your Samsung Galaxy Phone comes with 22 apps you don't need (Android Police, 2025)
How to disable the AI in firefox (still the only browser that lets you do this permanently) (Windows Report, 2025)
Crawling out of my hole to remind people that with this current update to Firefox (version 144) they've gone and dumped in their lot with a buncha lil AI tools, namely Perplexity as a new search engine.
So if the sound of that leaves your mouth tasting of tar, here's what you want to do:
In the url bar, type in about:config
It'll give you a big scary warning page that you might poke holes in your browser. Good. You want to do that. Click continue.
One by one, you're going to need to put each of these into the search bar in the page, not up top:
Each of these are gonna have a lil toggle icon on the right hand side that looks like a funky double-ended arrow. Click that and the value next to it should change to false. It all auto saves as you go. Some of these might already be set to false by default and that's peachy.
The next best thing you can do for yourself is to set your default search engine to udm14 or Qwant, but for now, we're just tidying the garden a lil bit.
Edit: This wildly broke containment for a post that was supposed to be me basically ranting and grumbling like an old man on my porch to my homies. If I’ve inspired you to follow through with this, peachy. That was mildly intended. Better yet, I hope I’ve spurred a buncha you on to do your own bit of digging and research.
If you were one of today’s lucky ten thousand to learn something new, I hope you keep doing it. I won’t be here to hold your hand through it, as I simply don’t have the time nor spoons for it, so I implore you to go down your own rabbit hole and chase knowledge wild wild abandon.
I just wanted to say how incredible your art is—it has such a pure touch, and at the same time, even though it’s simple, it feels so deep and refined.
Of all your works, the one that struck me the most—probably because I’m a huge Soul Eater fan—was the fancomic Blood Moon. Even though you paused the project, I still go back to reread it sometimes, because your comic is simply a masterpiece.
I admire how you handle the details and character portrayals so faithfully and vividly. I remember back when you lost access to your account, I was worried about you, thinking you had disappeared. I was happy to find out that you’re still active here.
I just want you to know that your work is truly inspiring. If you ever decide to return to Blood Moon, I would definitely be thrilled (in the best possible way!).
But above all, I hope you continue creating at your own pace and in your own way. Routines, goals, and desires may change, but the essence that shapes creativity remains. And it’s this essence that makes your art so special to us, who love the power of creating and experiencing art. (Well... hugs from Brazil ❤️)
Aww tysm for this kind message... it's not a webcomic but hopefully I'll put out some seasonally appropriate fanart by halloween. Man I forgot how fun backgrounds/architecture are to draw in this style. (here's a WIP)
I’ve built up a high tolerance to funny over the years. This is genuinely one of the few times I’ve ever laughed so hard I’ve started crying. I trust you, Sesamarot. Don't even believe in divination this is just the beauty of RNG.
A little snippet of a maiko fanfic I'm currently trying to write. It's the longest one I've ever done and I think it'll be multi chap but it is slow going so I thought maybe sharing a little piece might help motivate me.
I'm so obsessed with your ex
"Wait! I have just the person!” he reached into his desk drawers and started rifling through some papers. His desk was a mess of papers and Mai didn’t understand how he ever found anything. “Just a second, I think I have the address right… here! Perfect. I’ll write a letter to her right now and you can tell me what specifically to ask her.” He pulled out a clean sheet of parchment and smoothed it out and got a quill ready.
“Who is it?” Mai asked curiously.
“My friend Jin, she lives in Ba Sing Se. She’s always talked about wanting to come visit the Fire Nation, and this is the kind of thing she’d love to do!” Zuko said excitedly and started addressing the message, quill flying across the page as he wrote.
“Oh, that sounds great. How do you know her? I don’t feel like I’ve ever heard you mention her before.” The name wasn’t ringing any bells with her, and she knew most of his friends. Maybe she was a diplomat or someone who worked for Earth Kingdom relations. That was something they had now right?
Zuko’s quill halted on the paper, and a guilty look crossed over his face as he looked up at her. He was pale and looked like he’d told her something he hadn’t meant to, which didn’t make any sense because he hadn’t told her anything. “Oh uh, well…” he stuttered.
Her curiosity piqued, she raised her eyebrows at him in question. She couldn’t imagine who he could possibly be so hesitant to tell her about.
“She’s uh, we kinda… we went on a date once, and now we’re friends.” He spat out.
Mai’s heart fell right to her stomach. For some reason she had never considered that to be an option.
jbbartram-illu
stormborns
andulkaphoto
tangentwithtanner
