Microsoft is always on the lookout for new and exciting ways to annoy Windows users. Its latest wheeze is a full-screen pop-up in Windows 11 to urge the non-initiated to back up their files.
First spotted by WindowsLatest, the pop-up looks like something a user might see during the setup of Windows 11. However, in this instance, it appears when Windows 11 starts up and describes the benefits of backing up a PC with OneDrive.
According to the pop-up, there's a lifetime of memories to be stashed away (assuming they'll fit into the woefully inadequate 5 GB of storage the OneDrive service has by default), options for collaboration, and, most usefully, the option to synchronize storage to the cloud with changes being automatically updated.
A user having their information in the cloud is undoubtedly helpful when hopping from device to device, although it also carries risks. OneDrive is, after all, just one of Microsoft's cloud tentacles and not immune to outages when another service suffers disruption. And then there is the inherent risk of unwanted data changes rippling through devices.
Finally, even if a user does buy into Microsoft's vision for cloudy storage, there might not be an official client for all of your devices. Mac users are catered for, but Linux users are not, not by Microsoft, at any rate.
- How a cheap barcode scanner helped fix CrowdStrike'd Windows PCs in a flash
- Windows Patch Tuesday update might send a user to the BitLocker recovery screen
- How did a CrowdStrike file crash millions of Windows computers? We take a closer look at the code
- EU gave CrowdStrike the keys to the Windows kernel, claims Microsoft
The suggestion can be skipped but will more than likely make its presence felt again in the future.
Should a user accept Microsoft's offer, OneDrive will start synchronizing their PC, right up until that 5 GB default storage is exhausted. After that, the company will happily offer users more capacity in its cloud for a fee.
Backing up files has always been a good idea, although shoveling data into the cloud is not always the best way to recover from a disaster. There is also an inherent risk in file synchronization services – ask those unfortunate users who found months' worth of data suddenly go missing from Google Drive.
However, imposing a full-screen pop-up on Windows 11 users that urges them to back up their files using another Microsoft product is perhaps an upsell too far, particularly considering how much of the Windows experience is devoted to ads nowadays. ®