It delighted many users. Windows 10 fixed many of the shortcomings of Windows 8, in particular, everyone's favorite Start menu was returned.
But some users greeted the new system with caution. Mainly due to reports that Windows 10 is spying on users. In this article we will talk about how to disable tracking in Windows 10 using standard methods, and also look at a number of programs that allow you to completely get rid of tracking.
Disable surveillance in Windows 10 using standard methods
If you want to disable tracking in Windows 10, then the first thing you need to do is open the search settings. To do this, click on the search button, and then on the button with the image of a gear.
After this, you will see Cortana settings and Internet search settings. Cortana is currently disabled in Russia, but you should still make sure the switch is in the Off position. Also here you need to turn off “Internet Search”. After making these settings, click on the "Other privacy options" link to go to the rest of the settings that allow you to turn off tracking in Windows 10.
After this, the “Privacy” window will open in front of you on the “General” tab. In order to disable tracking, move all switches to the “disable” position.
Also on the General tab, you can click the Manage your Microsoft advertising and other personalization information link. Clicking this link will take you to a web page with your personalized advertising preferences from Microsoft. On this page you need to click on the “Select” button.
And then turn the switch to the “Off” position. This feature will not disable advertising, but now the ads displayed will not depend on your preferences.
After that, return to the “Privacy” window and go to the “Location” tab. Here you can disable tracking of your location. To do this, move the switch to the “Disable” position. But, you need to remember that disabling this function may disrupt the operation of some navigation-related applications.
There is also a button on the Location tab to clear your location history. Don't forget to click on it too.
In the Camera and Microphone tabs, you can turn off app access to these devices. If you do not plan to use the camera or microphone, then feel free to turn it off.
The next tab is Speech, Handwriting and Text Input. On this tab, you can disable Windows 10 tracking the text you type. To disable this function, click on the “Stop tracking” button, and then confirm the deactivation by clicking on the “Disable” button.
The next very important tab is “Reviews and Diagnostics”. Here you need to change the amount of diagnostic data that is sent to Microsoft. Open the drop-down menu and select Basic Information. This will minimize tracking in Windows 10.
You can disable the functions on other tabs or leave them enabled. This is not important, since these functions do little to disable tracking in Windows 10.
Programs to disable surveillance in Windows 10
As you can understand from the last screenshot, even after disabling all the described functions, some information will be sent. This is the same “Basic Information”. If you want to completely disable tracking in Windows 10, then you will have to resort to using special programs that block the operation of tracking modules.
Important Note: The programs described below were not tested before writing this article. Their effectiveness and safety remain in question, and this part of the article is more informational than practical. Therefore, special care must be taken when using these programs.
DoNotSpy 10
DoNotSpy 10 is a free program from a German developer. The program supports English and German languages. With it, you can disable sending telemetry, the Cortana assistant, access to the camera and microphone, as well as other methods of surveillance.
Destroy Windows 10 Spying
Destroy Windows 10 Spying is a free program that does not require installation. Interface language is English. Using this program, you can disable tracking in Windows 10, and also make changes to the hosts file to block servers that receive information from Windows 10.
Disable Win Tracking
Disable Win Tracking is a small open source program written in Python. Using this program, you can use some known methods to disable tracking in Windows 10.
O&O ShutUp10
O&O ShutUp10 is a free program to disable Windows 10 surveillance from the famous software developer O&O. This software developer is known mainly for its disk management products. This company produces such well-known programs as O&O Defrag, O&O DiskRecovery and O&O RegEditor. O&O ShutUp10 interface language is English.
W10 Privacy
W10 Privacy is another program from a German developer, this time from a different one. The program allows you to disable tracking functions in Windows 10 and the new Edge browser. The interface language is German only.
Operating system Windows 10 collects information about how users work on a computer. Handwriting samples and voice samples, location information, error reports, calendar contents - all this can be sent to Microsoft servers. This was done for one single purpose - improve system performance, make it more friendly and useful for a specific person.
However, many users are seriously worried about the fact that their personal information may be stored on some servers. Microsoft protection in theory can hack by hackers, access to confidential data may request intelligence services. If you don't want your OS to automatically send data to the server, you need to know how to disable snooping in Windows 10.
System installation
Most of the "spying" can be disabled directly during installation operating system (or upgrades from previous versions). During installation you will be prompted to increase your speed. On this page you need to open the “Settings” section and disable absolutely all options there.
Among these parameters will be determining location, sending voice and handwriting samples, data in calendar and contacts.
Perhaps in the future you will decide that one of them might be useful. You can always turn it back on in OS settings. If you have already installed Windows 10 without disabling anything, it’s okay. Everything is possible deactivate now, and at the same time delete all data stored on the server.
Voice assistant Cortana
Cortana is one of the most striking differences between Windows 10 and previous versions. This is an extremely useful program that can greatly facilitate and speed up your computer work.
And in order for Cortana to work as efficiently as possible, it must collect information about the user. If all this does not interest you, and you would like to disable statistics collection and spying, this can be easily done at any time:
- Click on the system button search on the Quick Access Toolbar.
- Click the Settings icon (which looks like gear wheel).
- Under Cortana, move the slider to " Switch off».
- Bring up the Start menu. This can be done using the Windows logo icon or the Win key.
- Open " System Parameters».
- Go to the category " Confidentiality».
- Open the tab " Speech and handwriting».
- Click Stop studying.
After these steps the program Cortana will be disabled, and the typing log and all samples of your voice and handwriting will be cleared.
At the beginning of 2016, Cortana has not yet been implemented in the Russian version of Windows 10. Therefore, even with the settings enabled, data will not be sent anywhere.
Privacy Settings
After turning off Cortana, you can turn off other tracking options. To do this you need to do the following:
In the drop-down menu " Sending device data..."you need to select the item " Basic».
In this simple way, you can completely disable tracking and sending data to the Microsoft server.
Microsoft account and pre-installed apps
A single Microsoft account allows you to quickly log in to Windows 10 and various software from the developer. You don't have to enter your username and password V OneDrive, Skype, Word(if you use cloud technologies) and so on. In addition, this service provides access to the official Windows App Store.
Cons of the service - again, sending some data to the developer's servers. If this is not desirable for you, it is recommended to use local account.
The same applies to various programs that are installed along with the operating system. Web browser Edge, standard email client Mail, search system Bing- all these programs send statistics about their work. It's better to use third party alternatives.
If Edge you found it convenient and would like to continue working with it, it is recommended to configure it optimally:
Disabling telemetry
Telemetry- this is monitoring installed programs, measuring the load on computer components and then sending statistics. To completely disable this type of tracking, do the following:
After this, telemetry will be completely disabled. No information about the operation of your personal computer will be sent to Microsoft.
Programs
There are also special utilities that allow you to make all the above-described settings in just a couple of clicks.
Privacy Protector
From paid software, this is the program. The downside to manual settings is that when you update Windows 10, disabled options may reconnect without you noticing. Privacy Protector will block such actions, saving all settings. Therefore, if you want to solve a problem once and then forget about it, then the program, in this case, is the best solution.
DisableWinTracking
As another option, you can download the free app DisableWinTracking from a popular IT site GitHub. To do this, go to the link https://github.com/10se1ucgo/DisableWinTracking/releases/ and click on the DisableWinTracking.exe file.
Working with it is very simple - you mark everything you want to disable and click Go! . Also, using the utility, you can remove various pre-installed applications that cannot be removed using conventional methods, for example, GrooveMusic or Xbox.
Video on the topic
The new Microsoft Windows 10 operating system has received a fairly warm reception from bloggers and computer technology specialists. More importantly, the new OS was welcomed with open arms by users who dreamed of leaving Windows 8 on their laptop and starting with a clean slate.
Without a doubt, Windows 10 has breathed new life into the Windows lineup. However, there is also bad news. As many users know, Windows 10 spying behind almost everything you do. Behind everything. Microsoft is not shy about tracking any of your activity on a device running Windows 10, and not just network activity. And even if you are not an intelligence agent, you are unlikely to like it.
By default, Windows 10 is configured to learn as much as possible about the user's actions on the computer. Moreover, if you read the license agreement with Microsoft (which, by the way, you agreed to when installing Windows 10 and which no one reads), your hair will stand on end! You yourself allow Microsoft to spy on you, and only the *** knows how the company will dispose of this information.
So if you want to stop surveillance in Windows 10, you are incredibly lucky. Today I will introduce you to 11 different utilities that will solve the problem once and for all. tracking in Windows 10.
Destroy Windows 10 Spying
Destroy Windows 10 Spying is one of the most popular, simple and effective programs that allow you to disable tracking in Windows 10. With one click, the program allows you to disable tracking of user activity, remove unnecessary built-in WIndows 10 applications, and also clear or change the hosts file. You can also use this utility to configure the privacy settings of Windows 10.
Destroy Windows 10 Spying includes a professional mode for more flexible settings, but if you don't know why you need it, don't enable it.
The program works very simply - launch it, click on the “Destroy Windows 10 Spying” button and wait for the utility to finish.
Disable Win Tracking
Disable Win Tracking allows you to selectively disable or remove any service that may be used to track you, as well as selectively remove any of the pre-installed Windows 10 applications. An interesting feature of the program is that it allows you to re-enable any of the services (if you have not removed it permanently), as well as reinstall any of the removed pre-installed applications.
Working with the program is extremely simple.
- Run the downloaded file
- Check the boxes for the services you want to remove (top part of the program). Also note the required operating mode of the program (Service Method). If you want to disable services – “Disabled”, if permanently deleted – “Delete”. Press the “Go” button
- At the bottom of the program, mark the pre-installed Windows 10 programs that you want to remove. if you want to delete everything, select “Select all apps”
- Click “Unistall selected apps” to remove selected programs.
- It is also possible to restore disabled services/deleted applications. To do this, you need to select the desired services/applications in the program window and select the “Revert” mode for services and click “Reintall original apps” for applications.
Overall, it's a very convenient program. Particularly interesting is the opportunity to “return everything the way it was.”
DoNotSpy 10
The DoNotSpy program has many settings that will allow an experienced user to flexibly adjust the level of their privacy. However, this program also has a disadvantage - software is installed along with the free version of the program. which will sometimes show ads in the browser. For the paid version you need to pay 5 bucks. So I don’t recommend installing the free version, but it’s up to you to decide whether to spend your money on this program.
Windows 10 Privacy and Shit
Windows 10 Privacy and S**t is just a bunch of code. You need to download the code text from the official page, create a .bat file and execute it. You run the file as an administrator and then it does everything itself - disables services monitoring you, telemetry, changes the hosts file.
Windows 10 Privacy Fixer
Windows 10 Privacy Fixer has a compact interface through which you can change important privacy settings in Windows 10. Click on the “Check” button and the program checks your system for enabled services and services that are monitoring you.
Windows 10 Fixer Privacy will allow you to disable the 4 main services associated with the telemetry and feedback service, block telemetry via the hosts file, prevent applications from accessing system functions such as location and calendar, and also make changes to general privacy (for example, disabling unique advertising identifier)
You can also use this program to remove all built-in Windows 10 applications. Please note that a backup is not created and using this program you will not be able to restore these applications after removal.
Unfortunately, Windows 10 Fixer Privacy lacks explanations for some of the program's functions, which sometimes causes slight confusion.
W10 Privacy
W10 Privacy has a huge number of settings and can hardly be recommended to a novice user. However, for an experienced user it will be a godsend - because with its help you can not only completely disable surveillance in Windows 10 and remove any built-in applications, but also incredibly accurately and flexibly configure your privacy level. Definitely recommended for all experienced users.
Shut Up 10
The utility with a simple and understandable name Shut Up 10 was a pleasant surprise. It has a Russian-language interface, flexible settings, instructions for use, and an explanation for each option. If you're wondering what this program does to improve your privacy, you can spend hours reading the descriptions of the program's features. Recommended for users of any experience level.
Spybot Anti-Beacon for Windows 10
Spybot Anti-Beacon for Windows 10 was created by the authors of Spybot Search & Destroy, a popular anti-spyware software for Windows. The utility allows you to block telemetry and hosts, prohibit the use of advertising identifiers, disable Windows updates and some Windows 10 features that may adversely affect your privacy.
When the program starts, it scans the system and displays a report. Click the “Immunize” button to make changes or “Undo” to cancel them.
Ashampoo AntiSpy for Windows 10
Ashampoo AntiSpy for Windows 10 offers to create a restore point at startup, which is good =). When launched, the program displays a list of all system settings related to your privacy and personal life. All settings are divided into categories (general, location, camera, etc.), which is very convenient.
In order to apply the recommended actions, just click on the “Action” menu in the upper right corner of the program and select “Set all recommended settings”. Unfortunately, the program does not have a description of the settings, which can be a problem for inexperienced users.
Windows Privacy Tweaker
Another program that scans your computer at startup and tells you what privacy settings you want to change.
Windows Privacy Tweaker displays all settings in 4 tabs (Services, Task Scheduler, Registry and USB Protection). All settings that threaten your privacy are highlighted in red. The program also supports working with the command line and offers to create a restore point at startup. Also makes changes to the system registry (you control which ones). In general, I do not recommend it to a novice user, since the program is in English and does not contain explanations of the functions.
Win10 Spy Disabler
Win10 Spy Disabler requires installation, unlike the above programs. At startup, it displays the current state of services and system settings responsible for privacy. The program interface consists of 4 tabs (Privacy settings, system settings, Windows applications, VPN service). Check the required boxes and click “Apply Now”. The program is not very friendly to beginners, since there are no descriptions of functions, and the VPN section was created only to advertise the HideMyAss service. Overall, it’s a good program, again for those who know what the program’s functions are responsible for.
So, today we looked at 11 free utilities that can disable tracking in Windows 10. I hope my review helped you find a program that's right for you. I would recommend using Destroy Windows 10 Spying and Shut Up 10 for o disable tracking in Windows 10.
01/12/2016 07/13/2018 by Mnogoto4ka
Information security researchers took a very careful look at the latest Microsoft Windows 10 operating system and were simply stunned by how much data the operating system collects about its users. Windows 10 reports much more personal user data to Microsoft than any version of Windows before it. Along with the release of Windows 10, Microsoft released a new privacy policy containing 45 pages of strong legal jargon that is difficult for the average user to understand.
You can be outraged and indignant about this, but the License Agreement says in black and white that Windows 10 will have access to almost everything that users do on their devices, all collected data will be stored in the Microsoft cloud, where each user is assigned a separate identifier.
But we ourselves are to blame for allowing corporations to shamelessly rummage through our data: we gave all the permissions ourselves by clicking on the “Accept” button in the user agreement, which we did not read (according to statistics, the average time that users spend reading a license agreement is about 6 seconds, less than 8% of users read the entire agreement). At the same time, the corporation behaves honestly: all types of data collected by Microsoft are publicly listed on the Microsoft Privacy Statement page.
So, what information does Windows 10 collect from users’ computers and how to disable surveillance in Windows 10? Let's look at this in detail.
What Windows 10 steals from your computer
All printed text
It doesn't matter what application you use. Keystrokes are intercepted at the operating system level, the data is collected in packets and sent once every 30 minutes to the following servers:
pre.footprintpredict.com
reports.wes.df.telemetry.microsoft.com
For example, a user writes a letter using the Gmail service running in Chrome or Firefox. But the text of the letter will still be intercepted at a low OS level and sent to Microsoft servers. For what?
Formal explanation from Microsoft: needed to improve the performance of the predictive input system (faster text typing).
Geolocation data
And names of Wi-Fi networks nearby. They accumulate and are transmitted every 30 minutes. Allows you to track the user’s physical movements with an accuracy of several meters.
Microsoft's explanation: The data is needed for the Bing search engine to provide more relevant answers.
What does this mean for the user: Microsoft knows your home address (why it is needed, see point 5). If you have a Windows 10 mobile device, Microsoft knows every place you go.
Recording from a microphone
The microphone in Windows 10 is always on. At first it was suggested that this was necessary for the operation of the Cortana service (voice assistant), but a little later it became known that disabling Cortana does not solve the problem. User voice recordings can accumulate, some of them are sent to Microsoft servers.
Computer security experts warn that if you use encrypted communications (such as SIP telephony with encrypted traffic), unauthorized recording of audio from your microphone could compromise your security. Using a reliable VoIP channel simultaneously with Windows 10 is a completely pointless exercise. It’s better to immediately go outside and shout.
Telemetry
A fantastic feature in its potential unsafety, which is not even hidden by the developer company.
Telemetry is the transmission of data to Microsoft about the state of your computer and your activity. Literally everything is collected: which programs are installed, which are running, the amount of occupied memory, application logs, fragments of RAM, and so on. Considering that anything can be in RAM - from data for official use to credit card numbers - such transfer to other people's servers is a potential vulnerability. Although Microsoft claims that the data is securely encrypted, who can guarantee that the encryption will not be secretly cracked by attackers? After all, everyone knows that Microsoft has always had big security problems. More precisely, with a persistent inability to provide this security.
Telemetry data is transmitted to the following servers:
telecommand.telemetry.microsoft.com
telecommand.telemetry.microsoft.com.nsatc.net
oca.telemetry.microsoft.com
oca.telemetry.microsoft.com.nsatc.net
sqm.telemetry.microsoft.com
sqm.telemetry.microsoft.com.nsatc.net
Fight against piracy
Windows 10 looks at the names of user files and checks them against a constantly updated list of pirated new products. If matches are found, user directory listings are sent to Microsoft. In fact, the computer denounces its own owner.
Let us remind you that data on the anti-piracy activity of Windows 10 has been known for a long time. But it was assumed that the emphasis would be on combating counterfeit games. It is now becoming clear that the main goal is to deprive users of the ability to download pirated copies of American films and TV series from torrents.
It should be especially noted that comparing data on the presence of unlicensed video on a user’s computer with collected geolocation data opens up an excellent opportunity for the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) and RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) to sue some American housewife for another couple of million dollars. Russian users, it seems, have nothing to fear yet: the system only worked when American films were detected.
Portrait for memory
Some users have noticed that after the first activation of Windows 10, the webcam turns on for a short period. Research confirms this - 35 MB of data is transferred to Microsoft immediately after activating and turning on the built-in camera. Presumably, the data is tied to the user's Microsoft account.
In response to allegations of information collection, Microsoft provided the following comment:
Windows 10 lets users choose how their information is used so they get the most personalized experience possible. The new OS offers them several options for user data management settings, and the user can adjust them at any time.
What should the user do in such a situation? A significant portion of users will not do anything at all. The other part will try to minimize sending unwanted information from their computer. The third part will try to completely disable or remove from the system everything that seems theoretically dangerous. In this case, I suspect that after their actions, they will have Windows 7 on their computer, which will run in the Windows 10 interface.
How to disable tracking in Windows 10
Disabling services that are responsible for collecting information must begin at the stage of installing the operating system.
Step 1. We configure Windows 10 settings ourselves during installation.
When the installer reaches this stage, select the “Settings” item.
The first screen will look like this:
Here, Microsoft is openly asking you to agree that it will collect as much personal information about you as it can. Of course, with good goals, like “personalization” and “improvement”.
The second screen looks like this:
Here are more “technical” settings that relate to the browser, as well as sending error messages. Of particular note are the Wi-Fi settings, which will allow your car to automatically connect to the wireless networks of people in your contacts. It may look attractive - you went to a client’s office and “automatically” connected to his Wi-Fi network - but this is such a gross violation of security rules when using Wi-Fi that it simply takes your breath away.
By and large, you have no reason to leave anything enabled on these two screens. Especially if you look at them and say to yourself: “I don’t understand anything about this.” If you don't understand, turn it off, it won't get any worse.
Step 2. Do not create or use a Microsoft account.
When the installer reaches this step, select the “Skip this step” option. In the future, we will use only a local account.
The operating system installed in this way transfers minimal user data to Microsoft servers.
If the Windows 10 operating system has already been installed, then in this case you can minimize the set of information that is transmitted to Microsoft.
All express settings offered during installation can be disabled in the settings of the already installed Windows 10. But not only them - there are much more settings as such. There are exactly 12 screens of them! And if you're really paranoid, you'll have to go through all of them.
Step 3. Change privacy settings.
In this section, you need to go through all the subsections and turn off everything that we consider necessary. Go to “Settings”, then open the “Privacy” section and go to the first item “General”.
In this section, the first step is to disable the advertising identifier. Here you can also block the operation of the SmartScreen URL filter, which checks the reputation of web addresses, as well as the sending of handwriting samples that are supposed to be used for handwriting recognition. Maybe someone will find this dangerous from the point of view of confidentiality.
The advertising part of the operating system also includes monitoring the user's location, which can be used for targeted advertising and searching for nearby stores or cafes, but for some it looks suspicious. It can also be disabled in the “Privacy” tab in the “Location” section
In the Location History, click on the Clear button to clear the history on this device.
In the same “Privacy” tab, but in the “Speech, handwriting and text” section, you can disable the sending of speech samples to Microsoft, which are supposed to be used in Cortana to recognize user speech. As on other platforms, speech recognition in Windows 10 is a regular service that requires sending data to recognition servers.
Step 4. Change security settings.
However, Windows Defender is automatically turned off when installing any other antivirus product - this method of disabling the defender will be even more preferable, although the data collected by the alternative product will also end up in the corresponding research laboratories.
In the "Windows Update" tab, click on "Advanced options" and then on "Choose when and how to receive updates." Here you can stop updating your computer from several places on the Internet. When this option is enabled, your computer will also participate in data exchange with other computers.
Microsoft uses a mechanism to update Windows that works like torrents using the P2P protocol. In this case, data is exchanged between computers on the network, thus ensuring faster updates of the system and its components.
Step 5. Disable Cortana and Internet search.
Probably one of the most interesting features of Windows 10 is Cortana - Microsoft's answer to Apple's Siri and Google Now projects. Cortana is the "world's first" digital assistant that can help users with many tasks. The more she learns about you, the better she will understand you, and the more effectively she will be able to help you.
Actually, the assistant is disabled in the Russian version, however, the operating system can collect the information it needs, so it’s worth checking the privacy settings associated with this component. However, its settings are located next to the smart search settings, which are found through the search field in the taskbar. You need to click on it, and in the window that opens, go to the tab with the gear (“Settings”). In the window that opens, you can turn off both Cortana and Smart Search, which sends a lot of information to the Microsoft search engine.
Step 6. Disable telemetry.
We will perform this disabling by entering directives into the command line launched with administrator rights. Let's use the keyboard shortcut Win + X or select the appropriate item in the Start menu. Enter the following commands one by one.
sc delete DiagTrack
sc delete dmwappushservice
echo “” > C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Diagnosis\ETLLogs\AutoLogger\AutoLogger-Diagtrack-Listener.etl
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\DataCollection" /v AllowTelemetry /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
Let us remind you that after entering each of them you must press the Enter key.
Step 7. Configure the Edge browser.
In an open browser, go to the menu “Additional actions” - “Settings” - “View additional options” and turn on the switch for sending HTTP headers “Do Not Track”, which allow you to bypass surveillance by sites of user actions, and also turn off the switches “ Show search suggestions as you type”, “Use page prediction”, “SmartScreen”.
Step 8. Convert your Microsoft account to a local one.
By default, Microsoft entices you to use an account created on its servers. Like, this way you can ensure synchronization. This can be useful if you have a second computer running Windows 8 or Windows 10, as well as a smartphone running Windows Phone. If there is nothing like that, then you have exactly zero, zero, zero reasons to use a Microsoft account. Simply because with its help Microsoft is actively “sucking” from the machine only it knows what your personal information is.
Therefore, go to the accounts section and create a local account that will not synchronize with Microsoft servers and will not collect your data for purposes unknown to us and you.
To do this, you need to go to “Settings”, the “Your Account” section and click on “Log in with a local account instead” and then log in according to the instructions.
If you still need to use some service, for example, to store documents, then you can at least refuse to automatically synchronize data with the Microsoft cloud. To do this, in the Settings > Accounts > Synchronization section, in the “How does synchronization work?” turn the switch to the “Off” position
After these changes, you will slightly reduce Microsoft's surveillance of your computer. Now a significantly smaller amount of data will be transferred from your computer to the corporation’s remote servers.
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