This article will serve as an informative guide and give you a clear understanding of how to Disable News and Interests from the Windows 10 Taskbar for All Users using the Powershell App Deployment Toolkit. The PowerShell App Deployment Toolkit can be used to replace your WiseScript, VBScript and Batch wrapper scripts with one versatile, re-usable and extensible tool. This tool is an absolute must for Microsoft Endpoint Manager Configuration Manager (MEMCM) / (SCCM) Administrators or anyone who is responsible for packaging and deploying software.
How to Disable News and Interests from the Windows 10 Taskbar for All Users Using the PowerShell App Deployment Toolkit
- Download the Powershell App Deployment Toolkit 3.8.4:
- Download the zip file to a folder created at (C:\Downloads)
- Open Windows PowerShell by Right-Clicking on Windows PowerShell and selecting Run as Administrator
- Enter the following command to remove the Zone.Identifier:
Unblock-File -Path C:\Downloads\PSAppDeployToolkit_v3.8.4.zip
- Enter the following command to extract the contents of the zip file:
Expand-Archive -Path C:\Downloads\PSAppDeployToolkit_v3.8.4.zip -DestinationPath C:\Downloads\PADT
- Enter the following command to copy the AppDeployToolkit folder to “C:\Downloads\Disable-NewsAndInterests“:
Copy-Item -Path "C:\Downloads\PADT\Toolkit\AppDeployToolkit" -Destination "C:\Downloads\Disable-NewsAndInterests\AppDeployToolkit" -Recurse
You should now see the AppDeploymentToolkit folder with files at “C:\Downloads\Disable-NewsAndInterests“
- Copy the PowerShell script below to “C:\Downloads\Disable-NewsAndInterests“ & name it Disable-NewsAndInterests.ps1
<#
.SYNOPSIS
This Script Disables News and Interests from the Windows 10 Taskbar for All Users.
# LICENSE #
PowerShell App Deployment Toolkit - Provides a set of functions to perform common application deployment tasks on Windows.
Copyright (C) 2017 - Sean Lillis, Dan Cunningham, Muhammad Mashwani, Aman Motazedian.
This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License along with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
.DESCRIPTION
The script is provided as a template to perform an install or uninstall of an application(s).
The script either performs an "Install" deployment type or an "Uninstall" deployment type.
The install deployment type is broken down into 3 main sections/phases: Pre-Install, Install, and Post-Install.
The script dot-sources the AppDeployToolkitMain.ps1 script which contains the logic and functions required to install or uninstall an application.
.PARAMETER DeploymentType
The type of deployment to perform. Default is: Install.
.PARAMETER DeployMode
Specifies whether the installation should be run in Interactive, Silent, or NonInteractive mode. Default is: Interactive. Options: Interactive = Shows dialogs, Silent = No dialogs, NonInteractive = Very silent, i.e. no blocking apps. NonInteractive mode is automatically set if it is detected that the process is not user interactive.
.PARAMETER AllowRebootPassThru
Allows the 3010 return code (requires restart) to be passed back to the parent process (e.g. SCCM) if detected from an installation. If 3010 is passed back to SCCM, a reboot prompt will be triggered.
.PARAMETER TerminalServerMode
Changes to "user install mode" and back to "user execute mode" for installing/uninstalling applications for Remote Destkop Session Hosts/Citrix servers.
.PARAMETER DisableLogging
Disables logging to file for the script. Default is: $false.
.EXAMPLE
PowerShell.exe .\Disable-NewsAndInterests.ps1 -DeploymentType "Install" -DeployMode "NonInteractive"
.EXAMPLE
PowerShell.exe .\Disable-NewsAndInterests.ps1 -DeploymentType "Install" -DeployMode "Silent"
.EXAMPLE
PowerShell.exe .\Disable-NewsAndInterests.ps1 -DeploymentType "Install" -DeployMode "Interactive"
.NOTES
Toolkit Exit Code Ranges:
60000 - 68999: Reserved for built-in exit codes in Deploy-Application.ps1, Deploy-Application.exe, and AppDeployToolkitMain.ps1
69000 - 69999: Recommended for user customized exit codes in Deploy-Application.ps1
70000 - 79999: Recommended for user customized exit codes in AppDeployToolkitExtensions.ps1
.LINK
http://psappdeploytoolkit.com
#>
[CmdletBinding()]
Param (
[Parameter(Mandatory=$false)]
[ValidateSet('Install','Uninstall','Repair')]
[string]$DeploymentType = 'Install',
[Parameter(Mandatory=$false)]
[ValidateSet('Interactive','Silent','NonInteractive')]
[string]$DeployMode = 'Interactive',
[Parameter(Mandatory=$false)]
[switch]$AllowRebootPassThru = $false,
[Parameter(Mandatory=$false)]
[switch]$TerminalServerMode = $false,
[Parameter(Mandatory=$false)]
[switch]$DisableLogging = $false
)
Try {
## Set the script execution policy for this process
Try { Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy 'ByPass' -Scope 'Process' -Force -ErrorAction 'Stop' } Catch {}
##*===============================================
##* VARIABLE DECLARATION
##*===============================================
## Variables: Application
[string]$appVendor = ''
[string]$appName = 'Disable News and Interests from Windows 10 Taskbar'
[string]$appVersion = ''
[string]$appArch = ''
[string]$appLang = ''
[string]$appRevision = ''
[string]$appScriptVersion = '1.0.0'
[string]$appScriptDate = 'XX/XX/20XX'
[string]$appScriptAuthor = 'Jason Bergner'
##*===============================================
## Variables: Install Titles (Only set here to override defaults set by the toolkit)
[string]$installName = ''
[string]$installTitle = 'Disable News and Interests from Windows 10 Taskbar'
##* Do not modify section below
#region DoNotModify
## Variables: Exit Code
[int32]$mainExitCode = 0
## Variables: Script
[string]$deployAppScriptFriendlyName = 'Deploy Application'
[version]$deployAppScriptVersion = [version]'3.8.4'
[string]$deployAppScriptDate = '26/01/2021'
[hashtable]$deployAppScriptParameters = $psBoundParameters
## Variables: Environment
If (Test-Path -LiteralPath 'variable:HostInvocation') { $InvocationInfo = $HostInvocation } Else { $InvocationInfo = $MyInvocation }
[string]$scriptDirectory = Split-Path -Path $InvocationInfo.MyCommand.Definition -Parent
## Dot source the required App Deploy Toolkit Functions
Try {
[string]$moduleAppDeployToolkitMain = "$scriptDirectory\AppDeployToolkit\AppDeployToolkitMain.ps1"
If (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $moduleAppDeployToolkitMain -PathType 'Leaf')) { Throw "Module does not exist at the specified location [$moduleAppDeployToolkitMain]." }
If ($DisableLogging) { . $moduleAppDeployToolkitMain -DisableLogging } Else { . $moduleAppDeployToolkitMain }
}
Catch {
If ($mainExitCode -eq 0){ [int32]$mainExitCode = 60008 }
Write-Error -Message "Module [$moduleAppDeployToolkitMain] failed to load: `n$($_.Exception.Message)`n `n$($_.InvocationInfo.PositionMessage)" -ErrorAction 'Continue'
## Exit the script, returning the exit code to SCCM
If (Test-Path -LiteralPath 'variable:HostInvocation') { $script:ExitCode = $mainExitCode; Exit } Else { Exit $mainExitCode }
}
#endregion
##* Do not modify section above
##*===============================================
##* END VARIABLE DECLARATION
##*===============================================
If ($deploymentType -ine 'Uninstall' -and $deploymentType -ine 'Repair') {
##*===============================================
##* PRE-INSTALLATION
##*===============================================
[string]$installPhase = 'Pre-Installation'
## Show Welcome Message
Show-InstallationWelcome
## Show Progress Message (with the default message)
Show-InstallationProgress
##*===============================================
##* INSTALLATION
##*===============================================
[string]$installPhase = 'Installation'
## Disable News and Interests from Windows 10 Taskbar for All Users
Write-Log -Message "Disabling News and Interests from Windows 10 Taskbar for All Users."
Set-RegistryKey -Key 'HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Feeds' -Name 'EnableFeeds' -Value 0 -Type DWord
## Restart Explorer.exe
Stop-Process -Name explorer -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
$ExplorerProcess = Get-Process Explorer -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
If($ExplorerProcess -eq $null)
{
Execute-ProcessAsUser -Path "$envSystemRoot\explorer.exe"
}
##*===============================================
##* POST-INSTALLATION
##*===============================================
[string]$installPhase = 'Post-Installation'
}
ElseIf ($deploymentType -ieq 'Uninstall')
{
##*===============================================
##* PRE-UNINSTALLATION
##*===============================================
[string]$installPhase = 'Pre-Uninstallation'
##*===============================================
##* UNINSTALLATION
##*===============================================
[string]$installPhase = 'Uninstallation'
##*===============================================
##* POST-UNINSTALLATION
##*===============================================
[string]$installPhase = 'Post-Uninstallation'
}
ElseIf ($deploymentType -ieq 'Repair')
{
##*===============================================
##* PRE-REPAIR
##*===============================================
[string]$installPhase = 'Pre-Repair'
##*===============================================
##* REPAIR
##*===============================================
[string]$installPhase = 'Repair'
##*===============================================
##* POST-REPAIR
##*===============================================
[string]$installPhase = 'Post-Repair'
}
##*===============================================
##* END SCRIPT BODY
##*===============================================
## Call the Exit-Script function to perform final cleanup operations
Exit-Script -ExitCode $mainExitCode
}
Catch {
[int32]$mainExitCode = 60001
[string]$mainErrorMessage = "$(Resolve-Error)"
Write-Log -Message $mainErrorMessage -Severity 3 -Source $deployAppScriptFriendlyName
Show-DialogBox -Text $mainErrorMessage -Icon 'Stop'
Exit-Script -ExitCode $mainExitCode
}
Ok, all the hard work is done and now you can Disable News and Interests from the Windows 10 Taskbar for All Users using the PowerShell script above. Logging functionality is built-in automatically and you can view the log files under “C:\Windows\Logs\Software”
Disable News and Interests from Windows 10 Taskbar NonInteractive Install (PowerShell)
NonInteractive means Very Silent, i.e. no blocking apps. This is automatically set if it is detected that the process is not running in the user session and it is not possible for anyone to provide input using a mouse or keyboard.
- Open Windows PowerShell by Right-Clicking on Windows PowerShell and selecting Run as Administrator
- Change the directory to “C:\Downloads\Disable-NewsAndInterests“
- PS C:\Downloads\Disable-NewsAndInterests>
- Enter the following command:
Powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass .\Disable-NewsAndInterests.ps1 -DeploymentType "Install" -DeployMode "NonInteractive"
Disable News and Interests from Windows 10 Taskbar Silent Install (PowerShell)
Silent means no dialogs (progress and balloon tip notifications are suppressed).
- Open Windows PowerShell by Right-Clicking on Windows PowerShell and selecting Run as Administrator
- Change the directory to “C:\Downloads\Disable-NewsAndInterests“
- PS C:\Downloads\Disable-NewsAndInterests>
- Enter the following command:
Powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass .\Disable-NewsAndInterests.ps1 -DeploymentType "Install" -DeployMode "Silent"
Disable News and Interests from Windows 10 Taskbar Interactive Install (PowerShell)
Interactive means the install will show dialogs including progress and balloon tip notifications.
- Open Windows PowerShell by Right-Clicking on Windows PowerShell and selecting Run as Administrator
- Change the directory to “C:\Downloads\Disable-NewsAndInterests“
- PS C:\Downloads\Disable-NewsAndInterests>
- Enter the following command:
Powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass .\Disable-NewsAndInterests.ps1 -DeploymentType "Install" -DeployMode "Interactive"
Always make sure to test everything in a development environment prior to implementing anything into production. The information in this article is provided “As Is” without warranty of any kind.