How to remove Windows 10 blue selection on mouse over

I've started to notice a blue selection bar when I mouse over a file in Windows Explorer (aka File Explorer). It's a blue bar that is around the filename, and all of the white space to the right of the file up to the next column. I have configures Explorer to show me list view. I have Classic Explorer installed, but to my knowledge it doesn't have this as a feature.

This is a new-to-me feature, and I'd like to turn it off. Searching The Internets, I find plenty of lists of things Windows 10 breaks and how to "fix" Windows 10, but I don't find anyone else complaining about this, nor discussing it. Therefore, I don't know the name of the feature either.

How can I turn this off?

I mocked this up on a Windows 7 machine, and as you can see below, I don't get a mouseover at all. This is an example of the desired behavior. You can't see the cursor, but you can see the tooltip (I usually turn that off though). Tooltips pop up where the mouse cursor is.

Solution 1:

Solution 1: Windows Classic Theme

On Windows 7, you are using the Windows Classic theme.

Microsoft no longer supports Windows Classic themes in Windows 8 and 10. Instead, you will have to use modifications of the High-Contrast themes.

How to Get Classic-Style Themes Back on Windows 8 or 10

Windows 8 and Windows 10 no longer include the Windows Classic theme, which hasn’t been the default theme since Windows 2000. If you don’t like all the new colors and the shiny new Windows 10 look and feel, you can always revert to the super-old-school look.

These themes aren’t the Windows Classic theme that you know and love. They’re the Windows High-Contrast theme with a different color scheme. Microsoft has removed the old theme engine that allowed for the Classic theme, so this is the best we can do.

Alternatively, you could use a third-party theme creator (such as Stardock SkinStudio for WindowBlinds) to create a theme that does not have a desktop selection color.

Solution 2: Monitor Contrast

If the monitor contrast is set too high, the colors will become so washed out that the light blue is no longer visible. I confirmed this on several Dell monitors.

Check your contrast using the image at this link: Contrast - Lagom LCD test. All 32 shades of each color should be visible.

Note: The recommended contrast on most Dell Monitors is 75/100.

Also, a very low quality monitor may have similar contrast issues.