Mysterious icons/links on home screen

It's not a good practise to have computers ON while connected to the internet throughout the night.

Hi Jacob,

What you're seeing sounds like a dynamic overlay introduced in recent Windows 10 updates—especially version 22H2. These panels (like “Daily Wonder” or “Markets”) are part of Microsoft’s lock screen or desktop experience enhancements, often tied to Spotlight or promotional content.

Here’s how you can try disabling them:

1. Go to Settings > Personalization > Lock Screen
2. Set Background to Picture or Solid color (not Windows Spotlight)
3. Turn off “Get fun facts, tips, and more…”
4. Check Taskbar settings and disable Widgets if active
5. Restart your PC

 If the issue persists, it may be tied to a background app or service. Run a full malware scan using Microsoft Defender or Malwarebytes, and check Startup apps via Task Manager.

 Some users (like MarkUK in this thread) noted that rolling back the update temporarily removed the panels—but they returned after auto-updates. So this seems to be part of Microsoft’s evolving UI.

Let me know if you’d like help with a script or registry tweak to suppress these overlays more permanently.

Based on what you’ve described, it could be some form of adware, a browser hijacker, or some kind of overlay from a recently installed app. It’s good you’re being cautious — I’d recommend running a full anti-malware scan and checking your startup programs.

Since screenshots make the panels disappear, they are likely dynamic web content or overlay elements generated by running software.

This kind of overlay sounds like adware, malware, or a browser hijacker. It’s not normal Windows behavior. If you’re comfortable, I can guide you through more detailed steps to clean your system, or you might consider using specialized malware removal tools like Malwarebytes.