# What is this popup that I am getting on my laptop and how do I get it to stop? (Picture inside) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 5, 2026, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-popup-that-i-am-getting-on-my-laptop-and-how-do-i-get-it-to-stop-picture-inside/1032835 "2026-09-05T04:45:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2026, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-popup-that-i-am-getting-on-my-laptop-and-how-do-i-get-it-to-stop-picture-inside/1032835/1 "2026-09-05T04:45:45Z")
It appears on the lower right corner of my laptop running Windows 11. I shut it down and it reappears once a week or so. It’s been happening for a few weeks. [[Album] what? ![](https://i.imgur.com/Jm6Wjlr.jpeg?fb "what?") ](https://imgur.com/a/QAwyROd) ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2026, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-popup-that-i-am-getting-on-my-laptop-and-how-do-i-get-it-to-stop-picture-inside/1032835/2 "2026-09-05T04:55:22Z")
Google lens tells me it’s a “system notification stating that a connected printer has been detected and asking if you want to open the management tools.” First thing I’d check is in your Printers setup if there’s anything you don’t recognize, and delete it if so. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2026, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-popup-that-i-am-getting-on-my-laptop-and-how-do-i-get-it-to-stop-picture-inside/1032835/3 "2026-09-05T04:58:21Z")
Google Translate (from my phone, using the camera) translates the content of that as: [![](https://i.ibb.co/679YNp9y/share-6064813607072058210.png) ](https://i.ibb.co/679YNp9y/share-6064813607072058210.png) Did you install some kind of stamp- or printing-related software? The automatic translation is word salad, but it gives the impression of perhaps asking you to register the software. But I can’t tell if that’s a system notification or just a box in the browser. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2026, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-popup-that-i-am-getting-on-my-laptop-and-how-do-i-get-it-to-stop-picture-inside/1032835/4 "2026-09-05T05:04:26Z")
More instructions from Gemini on what to do: > **Pasted from Gemini** > > > [@](#): > > > > The easiest way to get rid of this pop-up is to click the “不再提示” (Do not remind me again) button on the left side of the window the next time it appears. > > > > If it keeps coming back even after clicking that button, it is likely caused by a printer utility software that runs automatically when your computer starts. Here is how you can permanently disable it: > > > > ## Method 1: Turn off the Start-up Program > > > > You can stop the printer software from opening by itself when you turn on your laptop. > > > > 1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc on your keyboard to open the Task Manager. > > 2. Click on Startup apps (it looks like a small speedometer icon on the left menu, or a tab at the top). > > 3. Look through the list for any printer-related software (it might have an icon similar to the blue printer square in your image, or be named after brands like HP, Canon, Epson, or a generic print driver utility). > > 4. Right-click on that program and select Disable. > > > > ## Method 2: Close the App from the System Tray > > > > If the pop-up is currently on your screen, the app is running in the background. > > > > 1. Look at the bottom right corner of your screen (near the clock) and click the small up-arrow to show hidden icons. > > 2. Look for the blue printer icon. > > 3. Right-click the icon and look for settings like 开机自启 (Start with Windows) and uncheck it, or choose 退出 (Exit) to close it for now. > > > > ## Method 3: Uninstall Unused Printer Software > > > > If you do not own a printer or do not use this specific software anymore, you can safely remove it. > > > > 1. Open your Windows Settings (press the Windows Key + I). > > 2. Go to Apps and then Installed apps. > > 3. Scroll down to find the printer driver tool and click Uninstall. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2026, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-popup-that-i-am-getting-on-my-laptop-and-how-do-i-get-it-to-stop-picture-inside/1032835/5 "2026-09-05T06:04:22Z")
What gives me pause is the language. I would generally expect legitimate software to be localized. I would definitely go through a malware scan (e.g. with MalwareBytes) just to be sure you’ve not picked up anything nasty. Especially if you can’t think of any new software or peripherals you’ve installed recently. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2026, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-popup-that-i-am-getting-on-my-laptop-and-how-do-i-get-it-to-stop-picture-inside/1032835/6 "2026-09-05T15:11:27Z")
It does look like some sort of printer addon malware/shovelware/bundleware. If you can’t get rid of it the normal ways (startup apps, uninstall, malwarebytes), try to sic Claude Code or OpenAI Codex on it – the agentic harnesses in particular, not the bare chat bots. They’re very good at crawling your local computer and fixing obscure things by looking at system monitors and logs that are indecipherable to humans. Just start a session, show it the screenshot, and have it search and destroy. If that doesn’t work, wait till the pop-up appears again and then try it (so it can see the executable in memory and back trace it from there). ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2026, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-popup-that-i-am-getting-on-my-laptop-and-how-do-i-get-it-to-stop-picture-inside/1032835/7 "2026-09-05T16:53:20Z")
Thanks all for the help. I got a free trial of Malwarebytes as @BigT suggested and it found 20 things in the scan all categorized as PUP.optional.browserhijack which feels like it may have been what was going on. It’s very similar to a different popup that I used to get from my HP Printer that was “legit” in that I do have an HP Printer and it was asking something reasonable in English. I have had the printer for many years. I just cycled the printer and it didn’t show up. I got a similar result that @TroutMan did and tried to do that stuff but it didn’t work which could be user error on my part. I recently upgraded my fiber internet and switched routers from EERO 6Es to EERO Pro 7s. I’d be surprised if that was the cause. Let’s hope it’s fixed. If not I’ll go to @Reply 's method. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to help me. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2026, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-popup-that-i-am-getting-on-my-laptop-and-how-do-i-get-it-to-stop-picture-inside/1032835/8 "2026-09-07T15:08:39Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > The easiest way to get rid of this pop-up is to click the “不再提示” (Do not remind me again) button on the left side of the window the next time it appears. Well hell. It came back so I tried this. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2026, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-popup-that-i-am-getting-on-my-laptop-and-how-do-i-get-it-to-stop-picture-inside/1032835/9 "2026-09-07T17:37:15Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I would generally expect legitimate software to be localized. Hajaro, do you use a VPN? I get spam, ads, and messages in other languages if my VPN has been connected to those countries. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2026, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-popup-that-i-am-getting-on-my-laptop-and-how-do-i-get-it-to-stop-picture-inside/1032835/10 "2026-09-07T17:38:32Z")
I don’t use a VPN. Thanks though