Solved Anyone notice Edge launching by itself

A

AshForeth

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109

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Windows 11 24H2

• Oct 21, 2025

• #1

I notice that when I unlock the screen, I notice that Edge has been launched and displaying what appears to be Ads? I don't think I am infected but is Window randomly displaying ads these day through Edge?

 

Windows Build/Version

24H2

My Computers

System One System Two

• OS

  Windows 11 24H2

  Computer type

  Laptop

  Manufacturer/Model

  ASUS ProArt P16

  CPU

  AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 Processor 2.0GHz

  Motherboard

  N/A

  Memory

  64 Gb

  Graphics Card(s)

  NVIDIA® GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU

  Sound Card

  N/A

  Monitor(s) Displays

  N/A

  Screen Resolution

  3840 x 2400

• Operating System

  Windows 11 23H2

  Computer type

  PC/Desktop

  Manufacturer/Model

  Home Built

  CPU

  AMD Ryzen 5 5600

  Motherboard

  MSI MS-7C56

  Memory

  32 Gb

  Graphics card(s)

  AMD RX6600

OAT

"No need to be anybody but oneself"

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San Diego, CA

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All Branches but Release

• Oct 21, 2025

• #2

AshForeth said:

I notice that Edge has been launched and displaying what appears to be Ads? I don't think I am infected but is Window randomly displaying ads these day through Edge?

Click to expand...

To answer your question: No.

Are you talking widgets, Edge the browser or an App using edge subframe?
A screenshot would be so helpful here.

 

My Computers

System One System Two

• OS

  All Branches but Release

  Computer type

  Laptop

  Manufacturer/Model

  Acer Nitro ANV15-51

  CPU

  AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS 3200-4500 Mhz 8 cores x 2

  Motherboard

  Sportage_RBH

  Memory

  32 GB DDR5

  Graphics Card(s)

  Radeon Graphic / NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8 GB GDDR6

  Sound Card

  AMD/Realtek(R) Audio

  Monitor(s) Displays

  Integrated Monitor (15.3"vis)

  Screen Resolution

  FHD 1920X1080 16:9 144Hz

  Hard Drives

  KINGSTON OM8SEP4512Q-AA 1TB
  Western Digital 256GB

  PSU

  19V DC 6.32 A 120 W

  Cooling

  Dual Fans

  Mouse

  MS Bluetooth

  Internet Speed

  Fiber 1GB Cox -us & 1GB Orange-fr

  Browser

  Edge Canary- Firefox Nightly-Chrome Dev-Chrome Dev

  Antivirus

  Windows Defender

• Operating System

  Windows 11 Beta

  Computer type

  Laptop

  Manufacturer/Model

  Asus X751BP

  CPU

  AMD A9-9420

  Memory

  8 GB of DDR4

  Graphics card(s)

  AMD Radeon R5

  Screen Resolution

  1600x900

  Hard Drives

  Seagate 1 TB

A

AshForeth

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109

OS

Windows 11 24H2

• Oct 21, 2025

• #3

I just notice it now. I leave computer and come back and unlock the computer. I notice that Edge has been launch and is displaying something from MSN. Not sure if there is a setting. I don't have any extension that would trigger this. The extension itself won't luanch edge.

 

My Computers

System One System Two

• OS

  Windows 11 24H2

  Computer type

  Laptop

  Manufacturer/Model

  ASUS ProArt P16

  CPU

  AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 Processor 2.0GHz

  Motherboard

  N/A

  Memory

  64 Gb

  Graphics Card(s)

  NVIDIA® GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU

  Sound Card

  N/A

  Monitor(s) Displays

  N/A

  Screen Resolution

  3840 x 2400

• Operating System

  Windows 11 23H2

  Computer type

  PC/Desktop

  Manufacturer/Model

  Home Built

  CPU

  AMD Ryzen 5 5600

  Motherboard

  MSI MS-7C56

  Memory

  32 Gb

  Graphics card(s)

  AMD RX6600

Bree

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Windows 11 Home

• Oct 21, 2025

• #4

AshForeth said:

I notice that when I unlock the screen, I notice that Edge has been launched and displaying what appears to be Ads?

Click to expand...

On the lock screen you will see several links, such as 'like what you see?' and others. You need to click on the lock screen to clear it. If you click on or near one of these links Edge opens to show further info, some are ads for MS services, others are just interesting facts. The trick is to try and click in completely open space.

 

My Computers

System One System Two

• OS

  Windows 11 Home

  Computer type

  Laptop

  Manufacturer/Model

  Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY

  CPU

  AMD Athlon Silver 3050U

  Memory

  8GB

  Graphics Card(s)

  Radeon Graphics

  Monitor(s) Displays

  laptop screen

  Screen Resolution

  1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution

  Hard Drives

  1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)

  Internet Speed

  150 Mbps

  Browser

  Edge, Firefox

  Antivirus

  Defender

  Other Info

  fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.
  
  UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to mechanical deterioration this PC has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven below to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.
  
  My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.
  
  My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.
  
  My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.
  
  My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.
  
  My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.

• Operating System

  Windows 11 Pro

  Computer type

  Laptop

  Manufacturer/Model

  Dell Latitude E4310

  CPU

  Intel® Core™ i5-520M

  Motherboard

  0T6M8G

  Memory

  8GB

  Graphics card(s)

  (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics

  Screen Resolution

  1366x768

  Hard Drives

  500GB Crucial MX500 SSD

  Browser

  Firefox, Edge

  Antivirus

  Defender

  Other Info

  unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package. In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media. Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package. Also running Insider Dev, and Canary builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.
  
  My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.
  
  My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.
  
  My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.
  
  My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.
  
  My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.

A

AshForeth

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109

OS

Windows 11 24H2

• Oct 21, 2025

• #5

Thanks, I usually use the keyboard to login. I don't click on anything typically, but will observe it more carefully next time and report back.

 

My Computers

System One System Two

• OS

  Windows 11 24H2

  Computer type

  Laptop

  Manufacturer/Model

  ASUS ProArt P16

  CPU

  AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 Processor 2.0GHz

  Motherboard

  N/A

  Memory

  64 Gb

  Graphics Card(s)

  NVIDIA® GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU

  Sound Card

  N/A

  Monitor(s) Displays

  N/A

  Screen Resolution

  3840 x 2400

• Operating System

  Windows 11 23H2

  Computer type

  PC/Desktop

  Manufacturer/Model

  Home Built

  CPU

  AMD Ryzen 5 5600

  Motherboard

  MSI MS-7C56

  Memory

  32 Gb

  Graphics card(s)

  AMD RX6600

Bree

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• Oct 21, 2025

• #6

AshForeth said:

Thanks, I usually use the keyboard to login. I don't click on anything typically, but will observe it more carefully next time and report back.

Click to expand...

On the keyboard almost any key will clear the lock screen. The Tab key is an exception, this key will select one of the links, repeated Tabs will cycle the selection through the available links. If a link is selected like this before you clear the lock screen Edge will open to the linked info.

 

My Computers

System One System Two

• OS

  Windows 11 Home

  Computer type

  Laptop

  Manufacturer/Model

  Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY

  CPU

  AMD Athlon Silver 3050U

  Memory

  8GB

  Graphics Card(s)

  Radeon Graphics

  Monitor(s) Displays

  laptop screen

  Screen Resolution

  1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution

  Hard Drives

  1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)

  Internet Speed

  150 Mbps

  Browser

  Edge, Firefox

  Antivirus

  Defender

  Other Info

  fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.
  
  UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to mechanical deterioration this PC has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven below to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.
  
  My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.
  
  My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.
  
  My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.
  
  My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.
  
  My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.

• Operating System

  Windows 11 Pro

  Computer type

  Laptop

  Manufacturer/Model

  Dell Latitude E4310

  CPU

  Intel® Core™ i5-520M

  Motherboard

  0T6M8G

  Memory

  8GB

  Graphics card(s)

  (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics

  Screen Resolution

  1366x768

  Hard Drives

  500GB Crucial MX500 SSD

  Browser

  Firefox, Edge

  Antivirus

  Defender

  Other Info

  unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package. In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media. Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package. Also running Insider Dev, and Canary builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.
  
  My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.
  
  My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.
  
  My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.
  
  My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.
  
  My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.

dacrone

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12:48 PM

Posts

4,617

OS

Windows 11 Pro

• Oct 21, 2025

• #7

regedit:

Code:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\EdgeUpdate\Clients\{56EB18F8-B008-4CBD-B6D2-8C97FE7E9062}\Commands\on-logon-autolaunch

Code:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\EdgeUpdate\Clients\{56EB18F8-B008-4CBD-B6D2-8C97FE7E9062}\Commands\on-logon-startup-boost

change "AutoRunOnLogon" to "0"

 

My Computer

System One

• OS

  Windows 11 Pro

A

AshForeth

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11:48 AM

Posts

109

OS

Windows 11 24H2

• Oct 21, 2025

• #8

Ok, I verified the cause of the issue. It is as Bree suggested. On the lock screen are a large number of links. If you click on a link, nothing will visually happen, but it is actually opening the link in the background so when you unlock the screen. You can simulate this by clicking on the links on the lock screen and then unlocking. You will see the ad display in the default browser.

I am thinking that when I type, I sometimes actually hit the trackpad and cause a mouse click. This is why the issue is intermittent.

 

My Computers

System One System Two

• OS

  Windows 11 24H2

  Computer type

  Laptop

  Manufacturer/Model

  ASUS ProArt P16

  CPU

  AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 Processor 2.0GHz

  Motherboard

  N/A

  Memory

  64 Gb

  Graphics Card(s)

  NVIDIA® GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU

  Sound Card

  N/A

  Monitor(s) Displays

  N/A

  Screen Resolution

  3840 x 2400

• Operating System

  Windows 11 23H2

  Computer type

  PC/Desktop

  Manufacturer/Model

  Home Built

  CPU

  AMD Ryzen 5 5600

  Motherboard

  MSI MS-7C56

  Memory

  32 Gb

  Graphics card(s)

  AMD RX6600