Skip to content

SpotlightNow v1.1

Choose a tag to compare

View all tags
@chazix chazix released this 27 Oct 10:43
· 1 commit to main since this release
v1.1
06cc5fe

Full Changelog: v1.0...v1.1

This release closes the loop with a full install → runtime → uninstall cycle that’s clean, reversible, and documented.

Added

  • run-tasks.ps1: orchestration script invoked during installation to execute SpotlightNow-Download and SpotlightNow-UpdateLockscreen in order on first run.
  • update-task.ps1: configured to run at user level to set HKCU keys.
  • uninstall.bat: batch script to run uninstall function with admin elevation and remove scheduled task.
  • Policy setting: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CloudContent\DisableWindowsSpotlightOnLockScreen to disable Spotlight on lock screen.

Changed

  • Uninstall function now:
    • Removes registry policies set by the script:
      • HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CloudContent\DisableWindowsSpotlightOnLockScreen
      • HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Personalization\LockScreenImage
      • HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PersonalizationCSP\LockScreenImagePath
      • HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PersonalizationCSP\LockScreenImageUrl
      • HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PersonalizationCSP\LockScreenImageStatus
    • Resets HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ContentDeliveryManager values back to 1:
      • RotatingLockScreenEnabled, RotatingLockScreenOverlayEnabled, SubscribedContent-338387Enabled
    • Clears application data directory: C:\ProgramData\SpotlightNow
    • Refreshes group policy after removal.
  • Build process: rebuilt with PyInstaller --noconsole so scheduled tasks run silently in the user session.
    • Required because the update task now runs under the current user (to correctly target HKCU), and a console build would otherwise show a visible window.
  • update-task.ps1: switch to -AtLogon trigger to align with per-user context (startup trigger requires SYSTEM).
  • update-task.ps1: added $Trigger2 to run every 8 hours indefinitely, ensuring lock screen updates on always-on systems.
  • download-task.ps1: attempt to grab spotlight images every 1 hour indefinitely.

Documentation

  • Quick Start: now includes uninstall instructions (uninstall.bat).
  • Python developer mode: clarified admin requirements for update-lockscreen and uninstall.
  • Registry section: expanded to show full key paths for install (5 machine‑level values) and uninstall (deletes those 5 + resets 3 HKCU values).
  • Filesystem cleanup: documented removal of C:\ProgramData\SpotlightNow on uninstall.

Checksums

To verify the integrity of the release binary, compare its SHA256 hash:

  • SHA256 (spotlight-now.exe) = 91ac43658729bbe0c8960df47e28cbb0e2abca42c2d95ad24fb78dc9c848e609
  • SHA256 (spotlight-now-v1.1.zip) = dfb235ea38159003cb85c3bd083e3adb0c602385ed543f5624bb75cd4f16b63b
certutil -hashfile spotlight-now.exe SHA256
certutil -hashfile spotlight-now-v1.1.zip SHA256

spotlight-now.exe Verification Update

Windows Defender briefly misclassified SpotlightNow, which caused some users to see warnings.
Microsoft has since reviewed the app and confirmed it is safe. The detection has been removed in the latest Defender updates.

If you saw warnings earlier, simply update your Defender definitions and everything will run normally.

Submission ID: e86e1b82-7055-40cd-8e84-5e99f159fa2c (Microsoft Security Intelligence review)

This release makes SpotlightNow a self‑contained, reversible utility: install sets everything up, runtime stays silent, and uninstall leaves no trace.

Assets 3
Loading