BERLIN: The Copilot key is increasingly found on Windows laptops in place of the traditional Ctrl key – and is not always welcome. Anyone who isn't a fan of AI or just doesn't use Copilot can now turn it back into a standard Ctrl key using a small free program.
Developer Dan Weiss has created NoCopilotKey, a minimal piece of software for users who don't want Microsoft's AI assistant launched at the touch of a button. The program simply remaps the Copilot key to function as a regular Ctrl key again.
The Copilot logo will of course remain printed on the key itself, but its function reverts to what it was before. Anyone bothered by the Copilot icon can always cover it with a small sticker.
The software can be downloaded free of charge from GitHub.com by searching for NoCopilotKey on GitHub and clicking on "NoCopilotKey.zip" at the bottom of the page under "Assets".
Installation takes three steps.
- Right-click on the downloaded file.
- Then select "Extract All" and click "Extract" in the bottom right of the window that opens.
- Next, open the extracted NoCopilotKey folder and double-click "NoCopilotKey Installer.exe" to install the program.
Once installed, the program is immediately active and will run automatically every time the computer starts or a user logs in.
To stop "NoCopilotKey" temporarily, open the Task Manager as follows:
- Press the key combination Ctrl+Alt+Delete.
- Select "Task Manager."
- In the list of active processes, right-click on the "NoCopilotKey" process and select "End Task."
The software can also be uninstalled at any time. To do so, type "Programs" into the search bar at the bottom left, then click "Add or remove programs" at the top of the results. Finally, click the three dots to the right of the "NoCopilotKey" entry and select "Uninstall." – dpa
