A small watermark in the bottom right corner of your desktop says Test Mode, your Windows edition and a build number. It is not a virus and it is not just decoration. This guide removes it with the one correct command and explains what test mode was quietly doing to your PC while it was on.
The Test Mode watermark in the bottom right corner of the desktop means one specific thing: Windows is currently allowing drivers that are signed only with a test certificate to load. Normal Windows refuses those drivers. Test mode relaxes that rule, and the watermark is Windows warning you about it on every boot. The good news is that turning it off takes one command and one restart. The honest news is that the watermark is the smallest part of the story, so this guide also covers what changes under the hood, how to check the current state before you touch anything, and the one situation where a device may stop working afterwards.
Do not guess. Ask Windows directly whether test signing is on. Open Command Prompt as administrator (right-click Start, choose Terminal (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin)), and run this command.
bcdedit /enum {current} and look through the Windows Boot Loader sectiontestsigningtestsigning Yes, test mode is on. If the line is missing or says No, test signing is already off and a watermark should not appear after a clean restartThirty seconds of checking saves you from fixing the wrong thing, especially on PCs where the watermark came from something else entirely.
Stay in the same administrator Command Prompt window and run the fix. This is the exact command from the video, and it must be typed in an elevated window or Windows will refuse it.
bcdedit /set testsigning off and press EnterThe operation completed successfully.If the command answered with an error instead of success, do not keep retyping it. The error message itself tells you which problem you have, and the most common ones each have their own guide linked from this page family.
Windows normally loads a kernel driver only if it carries a proper digital signature from a trusted publisher. That signature check is one of the main walls keeping malicious drivers, including the rootkit style malware that hides inside them, out of the deepest level of the system.
Test mode lowers that wall. With test signing on, Windows accepts drivers signed with a test certificate, which anyone can create on their own PC in minutes. Driver developers use this while building and testing new drivers. On a finished, everyday PC there is normally no reason for it to stay on. The watermark is not Microsoft being fussy. It is a standing warning that a real security check is relaxed.
Test mode rarely turns itself on. Something enabled it, usually a driver install for older or special hardware, a piece of software that needed an unsigned driver, or a step in an online guide that was copied without the follow-up step of turning it back off.
That matters because if a device on your PC depends on a test-signed driver, turning test mode off can make that one device stop working until a properly signed driver is found. Nothing else breaks. Windows, your files and your other hardware are unaffected. So turn it off, restart, and quickly check your devices. If one stopped, that is a known, fixable situation, not a disaster, and it is covered in its own guide.
If you are developing a driver, or you have one specific device that only works with a test-signed driver and you accept the risk with open eyes, the reverse command is bcdedit /set testsigning on, followed by a restart. Two honest conditions come with it. First, Secure Boot must be off, because Windows will not load test-signed drivers while Secure Boot is on. Second, understand that you are choosing to run with a lowered security wall for as long as it stays on. Set a reminder to turn it off when the need ends.
See every step done live on a real Windows PC in the Technical Anshu video, including the exact command and the restart.
▶️ Watch Full VideoNo. The watermark is built into Windows itself. It appears because test signing is enabled in the boot configuration, which means Windows is accepting test-signed drivers. Malware does not create this watermark, although leaving test mode on does make your PC easier to attack, which is why turning it off is worth doing.
The setting changes only after a restart, because it is part of the boot configuration. Restart the PC fully rather than just signing out. If the watermark is still there after a proper restart, run bcdedit /enum {current} and check the testsigning line again. If it still says Yes, something on the PC may be turning it back on at every boot.
No. It changes one boot setting and nothing else. Your files, apps and Windows itself are untouched. The only possible side effect is that a device relying on a test-signed driver stops working until a signed driver is installed, because Windows will no longer load that driver.