Remove tracking in windows 10

It's a terrible thing, but Windows 10 spies on its users around the clock. Everything happens without the knowledge of the person, since the data is transmitted in encrypted form. Few people like tracking, so the question has long been asked online: how to disable tracking in Windows 10. There is nothing complicated about this, since you need to adjust the standard settings of the operating system.

Removing the spy

The Internet is full of software that supposedly neutralizes spying from the new operating system. But the reliability of such products is questionable. There is an easier way to neutralize the spy service. So, the whole point is that when installing an operating system, no one reads the license agreement. This is the very first mistake users make – it’s like not reading the terms of a loan agreement. Therefore, during the initial installation of Windows 10 you should:

• Use only manual settings to set all the checkboxes yourself.
• Do not create Windows credentials, but use the left ones.

It happens that the user has already installed the operating system, and only found out about the bad side of the spy service later. In this case, disabling is done through the settings:

• You need to go to the Start menu, select the Settings tab there, go to the section
• Privacy and uncheck everything.
• In the place of reviews and diagnostics, check the Never box.
• Remove the useful assistant Cortrana once and for all.

What is the need

Espionage, if not disabled in a timely manner, penetrates into all areas of the user’s work. The operating system reads data from the keyboard, keeps track of sites visited through the browser, reads mail and notes, and records search queries on the Internet. Microsoft argues for such a service only by saying that it is trying to understand its system and what they really need. It is also necessary to control the software license. After all, federal services cannot always catch pirates selling counterfeit copies, and copyright holders lose millions of dollars. But, frankly, it’s creepy to realize that somewhere on a server are stored psychological portraits of people, formed by their actions on the computer.

Everyone knows these relevant advertisements that appear on search engine pages. Apple is also amazingly accurate at guessing what's in its devices to get the most out of them. But is paying for a good app service worth it by exposing your personal information? What if you visit dubious sites? What if you are interested in dubious requests? Is it really possible that charges will be brought against him in the future based solely on a person’s interests?

But all this is the work of a beautiful distant person, and today voice searches translate into symbolic form what previously users were simply too lazy to write. The assistant from Windows 10 called Cortarana was no exception. It also carefully records all the interests of its owner and sends them directly to central servers. Of course, this is great for feedback from Microsoft, but personal security interests suffer.

How it opened

It's no surprise that there are applications and software services that analyze traffic on the network. Likewise, those who like to tinker with network devices know how to analyze outgoing and incoming data. You need to control everything that goes in and out of the computer to ensure . As a result of traffic filtering, it turned out that Windows 10 sends binary files to the Internet at certain intervals. When decrypting these binary files, it turned out that these were nothing more than photographs of a desktop.

That is, the new Windows 10 rhythmically sends information about what the user is doing at any given time. Moreover, all this happens with the tacit consent of the consumers themselves. Data can also be intercepted by other people who are capable of using network equipment in a qualified manner. Moreover, Microsoft states that it is intentionally willing to send such information to its partners. Who these partners are and what they will do with this information is left to chance.

Who needs a lottery like this? Naturally, no one. But gullible consumers are ready to flip through the installation pages as before, clicking the Accept button everywhere. Now such carelessness can be very expensive. Of course, official companies may not initiate legal proceedings against users. But attackers can easily count people’s actions by connecting to the data stream from Windows 10.

Precautionary measures

This started not only with Windows 10. Major players such as Apple and Google have long been tracking their customers using software 24/7 operating system services. There is no point in collecting a focus group of several people when you can get adequate data from millions of users. These are modern technologies that bypass legislation due to their information complexity.

So you should create truthful pages on social networks and search engines as little as possible. Do not give a reason to those who can easily send your data to special services. This insistence in films and television that you should post every moment of your life online is discouraging. Our electronic devices tell the world where we have been, what we have done, and what we liked. But you need to understand that the fewer traces a person leaves behind himself on the Internet, the less likely there is to use his life for personal gain.

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After the launch of the “dozens”, information immediately appeared that the platform was “stuffed” with various components that covertly or explicitly collected information about user activity, including sending passwords and logins from browsers. All this activity is called system surveillance or telemetry. What specific data is collected and sent and why is it needed? How to get rid of surveillance and is it worth it?

What is system surveillance or telemetry?

Telemetry in Windows refers to the procedure for collecting and transmitting information about user actions on a PC. Data is sent to Microsoft servers, where they are already processed and, if necessary, used for various purposes. The components that carry out the collection are popularly called spy modules.

Microsoft monitors Windows 10 users through special modules for collecting and sending information

We list the main data that is transferred to Microsoft:

1. Last name, first name of the user, all his addresses (physical, IP, email addresses) and actual location.
2. Logins and passwords entered in browsers, as well as search queries, information from some sites and advertising preferences. This includes not only Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge, but also alternative browsers.
3. All entered information and actions in the Tor browser, VPN connection data and system reports of some anonymizers. It is not known exactly what information Windows is able to collect from here.
4. Payment data and more, specified in the Microsoft account - it is known that information is collected from installed applications of some payment services, but this is still in doubt.
5. Information about all installed applications and some data from the hard drive.
6. Typed text and microphone recordings. The camera footage has long been refuted.

Some of these points are present in the license agreement and settings, and some were calculated by various methods when measuring sent data packets. All this data is used only to customize advertising shown on your PC, auto-update drivers, system support and other purposes, unless, of course, you are doing something illegal.

Should I disable surveillance in Windows 10 or not?

The answer to this question depends on your personal perception of the situation and your willingness to do without those valuable options that distinguish the “top ten” from previous versions: auto-update of the system and drivers, weather display, browser and search engine presets, the “Cortana” option, the ability to roll back the system from clouds, etc.

Whether or not to disable surveillance in Windows 10 is up to you, but it is worth remembering that you will deprive the system of support from the corporation if you still disable spying

Thanks to spy modules, the “ten” is able to work for a long time without reinstallation: they detect operating system errors in a timely manner and, after “consulting” with the corporation’s server, eliminate them. By the way, the “ten” already has the ability to view telemetry data that is sent to the servers.

If you do not agree with Microsoft's policies, you are uncomfortable with someone spying on you, and you do not perceive surveillance as an action for the benefit of your computer, you have the right to deactivate it in various ways. At the same time, you can, to one degree or another, reduce the load on the computer’s hardware components, since modules take up some of the resources.

Standard methods for removing surveillance

Using the methods presented below, you can disable only those tracking components that you consider unnecessary, if, for example, you find some options useful. This way you will simply reduce the amount of information collected.

Changing your account

The first step you need to take if you want to stop being tracked is to stop using your Microsoft account and create a local account on your PC. Your corporation account is not a spy service, but information about it is still sent even if telemetry is turned off. If you are already using a local account, you do not need to complete the following steps:

1. Open the OS settings panel: hold down the Win and I keys or click on the gear icon in the Start menu.
   Windows Settings can be quickly opened from the Start menu
2. Click on the block with account settings.
   Open the “Accounts” section by clicking on the tile
3. In the “General” tab, follow the link to change your account to a local one.
   Click on the link “Sign in with a local account instead”
4. Write the password for your current Microsoft account. Click “Next”.
   Enter your Microsoft account password and click “Next”
5. On the next screen, create a local “account”: create a user name and, if necessary, a password. Click "Next".
   Enter your username and, if required, password
6. Click on "Log Out". Wait until you sign out of your Microsoft account - the PC will not turn off. All open utilities will, however, close and the login screen will appear. If you have set a password, write it down.
   Log out of your current account and log into your local account

Limitations for spy services

The collection of many privacy parameters can be disabled in the OS settings. However, this will not help to completely get rid of surveillance - you will only reduce the amount of data collected and the load on the PC's RAM. Some data will continue to be transmitted until you disable the telemetry option. You can set restrictions for spy services as follows:

1. In “Windows Settings” (the panel is called up with the Win and I buttons), expand the large block called “Privacy” - we will have to go through almost all of its sections indicated in the left column. You can disable absolutely all functions in blocks. Let's look at some of them in detail.
2. In the “General” tab, click on all active switches so that they turn to the “Off” position: advertising identifier (statistics about interests will be collected, but will not be used by utilities), access to the list of languages ​​(setting the interface language for your region and country), monitoring which applications are opened, and showing recommended content in the Settings panel.
   In the “General” tab, disable all options at once
3. In the second tab about speech and text input, click the key to deactivate speech services. This way, texts you type and microphone recordings will not be sent to Windows services.
   Click the button to turn off voice services
4. The “Diagnostics and Feedback” and “Application Diagnostics” sections contain useful and spyware options at the same time. Sending feedback and reports on the performance of your OS helps the corporation improve the platform. However, if you are determined to get rid of surveillance, turn off all the options in these tabs: set the basic mode.
   Set a Data Baseline
5. Deactivate handwriting recognition, individual capabilities.
   Turn off personalized features and handwriting recognition enhancements
6. Scroll down the diagnostics tab a little more and delete diagnostic data from your PC.
   Click “Delete” to get rid of data that was previously collected and sent
7. In the “Action Log”, uncheck two items, and also clear the log itself.
   Uncheck all the boxes in the “Action Log” section
8. In the "Location" tab, deactivate recognition of your location. However, remember that this disabling will practically not change anything, since there are many other ways to determine the place in which you are. In addition, most sites and utilities receive location information automatically and independently - here you already need to use VPN services (for example, in the form of extensions in browsers).
   Disable location detection
9. Disable the options in the Microphone and Camera tabs. This way the system will notify you to turn on the microphone when some site or program tries to listen to you.
   Turn off camera access for all apps
10. In Calendar and Messaging, it is advisable to disable services completely or at least for one program called People that sends information about you.
    In “Calendar” we also disable access
11. Be sure to move the slider to the Off position. in the section on running background applications. This will also help reduce the load on RAM.
    Stop running apps in the background to save RAM

Restriction for "Defender"

The standard OS Defender antivirus also collects information and sends system reports to the company. This is necessary primarily to improve the performance of future versions of the built-in security program. If you decide to disable tracking in it, you must have another active antivirus:

1. In the “Options” panel, open the block dedicated to security and updates. In the second “Windows Security” tab, click on the “Open Security Center” button.
   Open Defender through the Settings window
2. You can open the center window through the Windows tray - find the icon in the form of a white shield in the miniature menu and click on it.
   The Defender icon is in the Windows tray
3. Click on the first tile, “Virus and Threat Protection.”
   Click the Virus & Threat Protection tile
4. Go to the block with protection parameters.
   Open protection settings using the link
5. Disable cloud protection and automatic sample submission here. It makes no sense to disable the first option “Real-time protection”, since this will only temporarily deactivate the antivirus - it will turn on itself after a while. In this case, it is recommended to completely disable Defender in the Local Group Policy Editor, in the Services window, and other methods.
   Disable cloud protection and automatic sample submission
6. Now return to the Defender main screen and launch the block for setting up browser and application management, or go to it through the list of blocks on the left. Deactivate all options on this page. After this, be sure to restart the device.
   In the "Application Management" section, set everything to "Disable"

Disabling secondary services

Some other services were built into Windows that cannot be directly called spyware, but nevertheless they also interact with the corporation’s servers. If you care about your privacy, you should also deactivate them. So, let's turn off the following options:

1. To the right of the Start icon there will be a magnifying glass icon - click on it. You don't need to enter any search query - just click on the gear on the left of this panel.
   In the Search panel, click on the gear icon on the left
2. Disable all options and click on “Clear device history”.
   Disable all items in the “Permissions and Log” tab
3. Now you need to go to another section. Click on “Home” and go to the “Update and Security” tile. Click on the link with additional options in the first tab for Update Center.
   Click on the "Advanced options" link
4. Go to the “Delivery Optimization” section.
   Access the Delivery Optimization page using the link below
5. Disable the option to download updates from other computers.
   Disable downloading updates from other computers
6. Return to the main Settings screen. Go to the “Network and Internet” tile. In the section with Hotspot networks, deactivate the only option. This completes the configuration of secondary services.
   Disable Hotspot networks in the Wi-Fi tab

Changing Microsoft Edge settings

The classic Ten browser called Microsoft Edge also collects and sends data about you to Microsoft servers, even if you have never used it and do not intend to. The OS can still sometimes launch certain sites in the browser, for example, when you call up help. As a result, your connection data is automatically sent to the corporation’s server. We'll tell you in the instructions how to set up your browser correctly so that it doesn't track you:

1. Launch Microsoft Edge. If you have a shortcut on your Desktop, great, double-click on it. If it is not there, open the Start menu and scroll down the list of utilities to the English letter M - find and open the browser.
   The Microsoft Edge icon is in the Start menu
2. In the browser interface, click on the three dots in the right area, go to the “Options” section and open it.
   In the browser menu, open the “Options” section
3. Scroll down the menu again - click on the gray button to open additional settings.
   Click on the “View additional” button. options"
4. In the privacy section, activate the Do Not Track request option.
   Enable the Do Not Track option in your browser settings
5. Scroll down the list - we need the last two parameters dedicated to SmartScreen and page prediction. Feel free to turn off these two items. This completes the browser setup.
   Disable the last two items in the list

Video: How to stop data collection in Windows 10

Stopping tracking and telemetry

The method described below will help deactivate the transfer of data to Windows servers. However, OS spy services will continue to accumulate information about you on your PC, but will not be sent yet due to the transmission being turned off. In this regard, it is best to use this deactivation method together with the previous ones in order to immediately stop both the collection of information and its sending.

We will disable tracking in the “Command Line”:

1. Open the “Search” panel by left-clicking on the magnifying glass icon located on the “Taskbar”. Paste or type the cmd key yourself.
   Enter a search term for the command line
2. Right-click on the console in the results, and in the drop-down menu on the option to run the program as administrator.
   Select "Run as administrator" from the context menu
3. Allow your console to change settings on your PC.
   Click “Yes” to allow the console to make changes to the OS
4. Now you need to successfully execute the following commands in turn (after entering each one, press Enter):
   

Video: how to disable telemetry in the “ten”

How to turn off surveillance immediately during the installation of Windows 10

You can get rid of surveillance at the tens installation step, but the procedure will differ depending on the version of Windows 10 that you want to install on your PC:

1. If you're installing Windows 1703 Creators Update or later on your PC, you should be presented with a one-step screen with a list of privacy options. The system will prompt you to disable or leave activated the following options: sending diagnostic information, individual advertising, determining the location of your PC, speech recognition and others. For all items, set the value to “Disabled” and click on “Accept”.
   Disable all options and click “Accept”
2. If you have a version lower than 1703, after the first restart of the device and the prompt to enter the activation key, the “Increase download speed” window will appear on the display. If you immediately click on the “Use standard settings” button, spying services will be activated on your system. To prevent them from working, first click on the link on the left “Configure settings”.
   Follow the link "Settings"
3. All parameters will be divided into two windows. In the first, immediately deactivate personalization (information about entering data using printed text, voice, as well as data about contacts and calendar), the ID of the advertising recipient, and determining the place in which you are located. Click “Next” when “Disabled” appears everywhere.
   Deactivate personalization and layout on the first screen and click “Next”
4. In the second window we also turn off almost all options: browser and protection, connection and error reporting. The first point about SmartScreen should still be left enabled. In addition to disabling all these options, later when installing Windows, you can abandon the Microsoft account and use a local account immediately.
   Disable all items except SmartScreen and click “Next”

Third-party utilities to disable Windows 10 tracking

As you can see, disabling spy modules using built-in tools takes quite a lot of time, since you need to “wander” through different sections with OS settings and execute different commands in the console. You can block unwanted data transmission channels faster with the help of special applications from third-party developers.

DoNotSpy 10: English interface and a large number of privacy options

The DoNotSpy 10 utility is an effective tool for disabling surveillance. It provides the maximum list of spy components of the system, which can be disabled either together or individually: reading data from various biometric sensors, determining the location of the PC, monitoring the microphone, camera, transmitting entered text, information from the calendar, etc.

You can turn off many privacy options in DoNotSpy 10

The program has the following strengths: the ability to return the PC to the state before the program was running by creating a restore point, as well as a convenient and simple interface. The downside of the utility is that it is not translated into Russian - this will cause difficulties for users who do not speak English. Also, this program should be installed on a PC - it is not portable.

The developer of the PXC-coding application offers a choice of free and various paid versions. The differences are, of course, in the number of functions. However, even the free option is enough to disable surveillance. The cost ranges from $5 to $15.

The cost of the paid option is $5 - $15

Let's move on to the tool interface:

1. Open the official download page for the program. Click on the blue Download button to download the free version.
   Click Download to download the free version of DoNotSpy 10
2. Run the installer file and complete the installation by following the simple steps in the wizard window (accepting the terms of use and specifying the installation folder).
3. Open the program - in its window you will immediately see a list of components to disable. Blue lines are parameters that can be safely disabled, orange - with caution (you should first read the description of the component to be disabled and then decide whether you need to deactivate it or not), red - with extreme caution (which are not recommended to be disabled).
   On the left side of the window there is a list of spyware components that can be disabled
4. Before you start selecting any items, create a restore point on your PC - this can be done through the program interface itself. When you first start, you will be prompted to do this - click “Yes”.
   Click "Yes" to create a restore point
5. The items that begin with Advertising are dedicated to advertising in Windows: ads in Internet Explorer, collections of applications in the Start menu and on other panels, removing the advertising identifier.
   Advertising items will disable advertising in a standard browser
6. Active lines starting with the word Apps will disable access to the microphone, calendar, Email, diagnostic data, and also deactivate telemetry, etc.
   Apps items disable data collection in standard applications: calendar, microphone, camera, etc.
7. Using the Defender and Edge options, you can deactivate Defender completely (the only red line), only cloud protection, and also disable Adobe Flash Player in the Microsoft Edge browser, the option to guess search queries, and more.
   Edge and Defender options disable Defender and Microsoft Edge browser components
8. Activated Privacy items free the user from being tracked via OneDrive, sending information entered on the PC, biometrics, downloading maps and many other system functions.
   Privacy items include components such as OneDrive, telemetry, biometrics and much more
9. When you have selected all the necessary lines, click on the Apply button for the utility to start working.

Destroy Windows 10 Spying: Portable Tool with Extra Features

Destroy Windows 10 Spying is developed by user Nummer on the GitHub platform. Its obvious advantages are portability and freeness. The program does not need to be installed on the device - it works immediately after launching the downloaded file. It is suitable for beginners, since it has an interface option in Russian and one button that automatically starts disabling surveillance, that is, the program does not need to be configured. However, there are still settings - for more advanced users.

You can disable surveillance in Destroy Windows 10 Spying with one click of a button

The program is suitable for Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10. It disables telemetry and the main components that spy on the user, and also offers some additional functions. In addition, before starting work, the utility itself creates a restore point on your system in case a rollback is needed. Now we’ll tell you how to use the program:

1. Go to the official developer page and click on the DWS.exe link (find and download the latest version). The file weighs only 320 KB.
   Click on the link DWS.exe to download the executable file of the program
2. We launch the executable file of the utility and click on “Yes” to allow it to make changes on the PC.
   Click “Yes” to allow a third-party program to make changes to your PC
3. In the “Home” tab, immediately start automatically turning off surveillance using the large Destroy Spying key if you are a novice user. Click on the Destroy Spying button to start the program without any preliminary configuration
4. If you are an advanced user, try setting up the program - go to the second tab. Check the box next to “Enable Professional Mode”. All items in the list will immediately become clickable. In the “Settings” tab, first of all, activate the professional mode
5. Select the specific operations that the tool should perform. For example, you may not want to disable Defender, then uncheck the “Turn off Windows Defender” checkbox. By enabling and disabling items, customize the deactivation of surveillance for yourself
6. In the “Utilities” section, additional program options are available: disable telemetry components in Microsoft Office, update Windows, as well as remove OneDrive, old Firewall entries, all Metro applications, or restore the system if you need to cancel the program’s actions. In the “Utilities” section you can turn off OneDrive, Windows updates, and also restore the operating system.
7. The “About” tab contains basic information about the application. Here you can also select the interface language. In the “About” tab, change the language if necessary
8. The section with the stimulating title “Read Me” will tell beginners about the capabilities of the utility. The last section contains basic information about the utility's functions

Disable Win Tracking: a compact solution for experienced users

Disable Win Tracking is a compact anti-spyware tool from the developer of the GitHub platform, user 10se1ucgo. The tool has a rather unusual interface. Basically, all actions occur by executing commands in the editor, so the utility is not recommended for beginners. In addition, it does not have a Russian version.

Disable Win Tracking is more suitable for professionals than for beginners

The program is free and open source. Disabling all items is reversible. However, it is only suitable for versions of Windows 10 with a 32-bit system. Let's talk about the program interface and work in it:

1. We go to the GitHub platform on which the developer works. Click on the link to download the DWT archive on the panel with the latest version (Latest Release).
   Click on the link with the DWT file
2. Open the downloaded archive and launch the application with the exe extension.
   Run the executable file in the archive
3. All actions in the utility are performed through the console - an editor on a black background, similar to the “Command Line”. We enter a certain key - press Enter to execute it. However, this method, of course, is not suitable for novice users. For them, a graphical shell was also built into the application, in which you can disable one or more spyware modules without entering commands.
   The Disable Win Tracking interface includes a console and a graphical shell with some options
4. The list of components includes: telemetry, OneDrive, spy domains and more. In the Service Method panel, select Delete or simply Disable.
   In Disable Win Tracking you can either simply disable or completely remove a particular spyware component
5. On the Mode panel, set Privacy if you need to disable modules, and Reverse to resume their operation.
   Using the values ​​of the Mode parameter, you can start the program or turn it off
6. Click on the File menu and select Settings. This will take us to the window where you can block domains and IP addresses. On the right are domains and addresses that, according to the utility, can spy on your activity on your PC. Using the Add button, you can add certain items to the fields on the left to create your own black list. All these entries are added to your hosts file on the PC - this is how blocking occurs.
   In the Settings tab you can configure blocking of domains and IP addresses

W10Privacy: the number one tool in terms of functionality

W10Privacy is the most powerful and functional anti-spyware tool presented in this article from the developer Bernd Schuster. It may not be suitable for beginners due to the abundance of options, but experienced users will like it. The program contains the maximum number of points that will allow you to disable tracking of the user’s activity completely, and coming not only from Microsoft, but also from other services.

The W10Privacy window consists of many sections with different privacy options

Among the advantages of the program are the Russian interface with help for each item and the speed of operation. An obvious drawback is the lack of recommendations and presets that would help beginners disable spying without studying each option in detail.

Click Download to download W10Privacy

We open the archive, create a separate folder on the disk dedicated to this program, extract the file from the archive into it and run it as an administrator using the context menu. If you run it as a user, you will not be able to create a restore point. In the context menu of the executable file, click on “Run as administrator”

We wait a while for the program interface to load.
Wait for W10Privacy to launch on your PC

Immediately after the window loads, you will be prompted to create a restore point, click on “Yes” and save it in any convenient location.
Agree to create a restore point before using the program

The utility interface is divided into many tabs - all parameters are distributed among them in accordance with the topic. Each item is highlighted in its own color: green - parameters that can be disabled without side effects; yellow - their deactivation is considered on an individual basis; red - their deactivation may cause problems in the system.
Disabling each parameter has its own degree of security

The first block, “Security,” contains the most components: disabling password display, AutoLogger, account access, reading and sending messages by applications, and much more.
The “Security” tab has the most privacy options

You will see detailed information on each item in the pop-up white menu - it appears after you hold the cursor on the line.
Hold the arrow on an item to see information about it

In the “Telemetry” tab, access to information about the operation of applications installed on a PC is blocked by blocking the IP addresses of known telemetry servers.
In Telemetry you block various server IP addresses

In the third section, “Search,” the collection of data on search queries entered from a PC in Cortana and Bing is disabled.
Tracking via Cortana and Bing is disabled in Search

In the “Network” section, sending contacts to Facebook, Skype, Outlook is deactivated, and some network connections are also disabled.
In "Network" you configure network connections

In the “Services” tab, turn off system services that supposedly perform useful functions, but in fact monitor the user: biometrics, “Defender” and more.
“Services” contains items that disable Defender, biometrics, delivery optimization and other functions

We disable spyware modules for Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer and OneDrive in the following tabs of the same name.
In the Edge tab, spyware modules of the standard Dozens browser are deactivated

In the “Tasks” section, you can disable Defender components, SmartScreen, Microsoft Office telemetry, office license verification, and much more.
In “Tasks” you can turn off “Defender”, SmartScreen and other modules

The “Tweaks” section contains additional functions of the anti-spyware program: disabling Windows updates, sleep mode, standby mode, SuperFetch service, etc.
“Tweaks” provide items for disabling SuperFetch, sleep mode and other system options

In the “Firewall” tab, you can fine-tune your PC’s protective wall (Firewall) to block the transmission of network packets by almost all spyware modules.
In the "Firewall" you can change the settings of the built-in protective wall

In the next three tabs with applications, you can disable data collection for certain programs: background, system and user. Utilities in user and system tabs are removed.
Disable or remove background, user and system components in recent tabs

Click on the "Configuration" menu and then on "Save As". This will create a system configuration file containing all the settings you have changed in the program. Thus, you will not need to configure the program for each PC or do everything again in the utility interface after reinstalling Windows.
You can save all settings to a special file and use it on another PC

You can deactivate surveillance only if you do not need system support from Microsoft. Disabling it using built-in tools only reduces the amount of data collected. If you want to disable spying using standard methods, stop telemetry tracking as well. Third-party anti-spyware programs are an effective solution for completely getting rid of surveillance: DoNotSpy10 and Destroy Windows 10 Spying are designed more for beginners, and Disable Win Tracking and W10 Privacy are designed for advanced users.

Since the release of the new version of the OS from Microsoft, a lot of information has appeared on the Internet about Windows 10 surveillance and that the OS spies on its users, inexplicably uses their personal data, and more. The concern is understandable: people think that Windows 10 is collecting their personalized personal data, which is not entirely true. Just like your favorite browsers, websites, and even the previous version of Windows, Microsoft collects anonymous data to improve the OS, search, other system functions... Well, and to show you advertising. If you are very concerned about the security of your confidential data and want to ensure its maximum safety from Microsoft access, in these instructions there are several ways to disable Windows 10 surveillance, a detailed description of the settings that allow you to secure this data as much as possible and prevent Windows 10 from spying on you. See also: Using the program. You can configure settings for transferring and storing personal data in Windows 10 already in the installed system, as well as during its installation. Below we will discuss first the settings in the installation program, and then in the system already running on the computer. Additionally, it is possible to disable tracking using free programs, the most popular of which are presented at the end of the article. Attention: one of the side effects of disabling Windows 10 spying is the appearance of the inscription in the settings.

Setting up personal data security when installing Windows 10

One of the steps in installing Windows 10 is setting up some privacy and data usage settings.

Starting with version 1703 Creators Update, these parameters look like the screenshot below. To disable, you have the following options: location determination, sending diagnostic data, selection of personalized advertising, speech recognition, collection of diagnostic data. If you wish, you can disable any of these settings.

Additional options that may make sense to disable in the privacy settings (for Windows 10 Creators Update):

• Applications' use of your account information (under Account Information).
• Allow applications to access contacts.
• Allow applications to access email.
• Allow applications to use diagnostic data (in the Application Diagnostics section).
• Allow applications to access devices.

An additional way to give Microsoft less information about yourself is to use a local account rather than a Microsoft account.

Additional privacy and security settings

For greater security, you should also perform a few more steps. Return to the All Settings window and go to the Network & Internet section and open the Wi-Fi section.

Disable the options “Search for paid plans for nearby recommended open hotspots” and “Connect to suggested open hotspots” and Hotspot 2.0 Networks.

Go back to the Settings window, then go to “Update & Security”, then in the “Windows Update” section, click “Advanced options”, and then click “Choose how and when to receive updates” (link at the bottom of the page).

Disable receiving updates from multiple locations. This will also prevent other computers on the network from receiving updates from your computer.

O&O ShutUp10

The free program for disabling Windows 10 surveillance O&O ShutUp10 is probably one of the simplest for a novice user, in Russian and offers a set of recommended settings for safely disabling all tracking functions in 10.

One of the useful differences between this utility and others is detailed explanations for each disabled option (called by clicking on the name of the parameter to be enabled or disabled).

You can download O&O ShutUp10 from the official website of the program https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10

Ashampoo AntiSpy for Windows 10

In the original version of this article, I wrote that many free programs have appeared to disable the spying capabilities of Windows 10 and did not recommend using them (little-known developers, quick release of programs, and therefore their possible imperfection). Now one of the fairly well-known companies, Ashampoo, has released its AntiSpy utility for Windows 10, which, it seems to me, you can trust without fear of ruining anything.

W.P.D.

WPD is another high-quality free utility for disabling surveillance and some other functions of Windows 10. Among the possible disadvantages is the presence of only the Russian interface language. One of the advantages is that this is one of the few utilities that supports the Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB version.

The main functions of disabling “spying” are concentrated on the program tab with the image of an “eye”. Here you can disable policies, services, and tasks in the Task Scheduler that are somehow related to the transfer and collection of personal data to Microsoft.

Two other tabs may also be interesting. The first is Firewall Rules, which allows you to configure Windows 10 firewall rules in one click so that Windows 10 telemetry servers, Internet access of third-party programs are blocked, or updates are disabled.

The second is convenient removal of built-in Windows 10 applications.

You can download WPD from the official website of the developer https://getwpd.com/

Additional Information

Possible problems caused by Windows 10 anti-spying software (create restore points so you can easily roll back changes if necessary):

And in conclusion, the author’s opinion: in my opinion, the paranoia about Windows 10 spying is overblown, and much more often we have to deal with the harm of disabling surveillance, especially for novice users using free programs for these purposes. Among the functions that really interfere with life, I can only mention “recommended applications” in the Start menu, and among the dangerous ones - automatic connection to open Wi-Fi networks.

What seems especially surprising to me is the fact that no one blames their Android phone, browser (Google Chrome, Yandex), social network or messenger so much for spying, which see, hear, know everything, transfer it where it should and should not, and actively use namely personal, not anonymized data.

This is another article on setting up Windows 10. This time we will regain our anonymity. It just so happens that for more or less advanced users, ten is synonymous with the word “surveillance” or “espionage.” “Quality control and enhanced user protection” is what Microsoft calls its process of tracking, sending statistics to its servers and manipulating users’ personal data. Perhaps this is the main and perhaps the only drawback of this operating system. Even if there is no top-secret information or other purely personal data on the computer, it is still unpleasant to realize that someone is looking at all this, reading it, and maybe transmitting it somewhere for their own personal purposes. If you don’t want to put up with this and you want to know how to disable tracking in Windows 10 forever, then this article is for you.

We will consider disabling tracking and telemetry at different stages of the life of the Windows system - during installation and after.

1. Disable tracking in Windows 10 during installation

All the most important settings for restoring privacy begin before the first launch of the operating system. The list of necessary actions includes:

• Initial settings screen.
• Settings.
• The final stage of setup.
• Create a local profile.

1.1. Home Settings Screen

After installing Windows 10, the first final preparation window appears. Here you should not give in to the temptation by clicking the big “Use standard settings” button; this is tantamount to agreeing to violation of all your privacy and anonymity rights. On the left side of the screen there is an inconspicuous item written in small, pale font “Settings”. This is where it all begins.

1.2. Settings

This is where the first catch lies. The window that opens already contains a bunch of functions that track user actions, which are enabled by default.

There is no point in explaining what it is and what it does - everything is clearly described. Set all sliders to “Off” and click “Next”.
After completing the steps, the following window will open. Here, too, everything is turned on by default and it is suggested that some actions be performed.

Just like in the previous step, here you need to move all the sliders to the “Off” state and click “Next” again.

1.3. Final setup step

And here comes SmartScreen - the same service that is often one of the services in exchange for the so-called “security” and “protection”. There is also a second item here – “Page Prediction”, which allows you to officially spy while surfing the Internet, and the third item about PC updates is the most interesting. It uses something like a torrent client on the system, downloading and distributing updates over the network. Naturally, this affects Internet speed, signal delay in online games, and so on. Here again you need to turn off all the sliders and click “Next”.

1.4. Create a local profile

Next, the final settings window will appear. Here the user is prompted to create a Microsoft account. This is actually a kind of cornerstone, because if this record is created, then all personal data and all settings will be tied to this record. If you have several computers at home and you need a single record for possible login or recovery, you can, in principle, create one, but if this record is hacked, then the attacker will automatically have literally everything at once. In most cases, it's best to click "Skip this step" and create a local profile.

Everything is standard here - you need to specify a username and password. All that remains is to press the “Next” button one last time so that the desktop appears.

2. Disabling telemetry after installation in Windows 10

It is better, of course, to disable everything possible during the system installation stage. But if for some reason you were unable to do this, then there is no reason to panic.

In the window that opens, you need to go through almost all the menu items on the left and move the switch to the “Off” position.

Let's briefly go over these points.

First of all, you need to go to “General” and turn off all settings.

Similarly, go to the “Camera” item and disable this setting, because we don’t want any applications to be able to quietly turn on the camera without your knowledge.

In this regard, whether for the camera or the microphone, it is better to adhere to this strategy - we disable access for all applications, and then, if you still need access to these devices for some program, for example, Skype, then enable it. This way you can have more control over your privacy.

Similarly, we disable access to notifications.

Next, in the same way, disable the “Speech, handwriting and text input” function. This is an important option for maintaining your privacy, because if you do not disable this setting, samples of your keyboard and voice input may end up in Microsoft cloud services. It is unlikely that you will use the voice assistant Cortana, and in the meantime your private data will slowly “leak” into the cloud. It is almost impossible to control this process and the transmitted information.

Disable access to contacts.

We block applications from accessing your calendar.

Close the call log in the same way.

It is also better to turn off access to tasks.

We enable a ban on reading and sending SMS and MMS.

It is better to control access to radio modules manually for specific applications, so we disable it.

Similarly, we impose a ban on the uncontrolled use of other unconnected wireless devices.

In the “Feedback and Diagnostics” item there is no way to completely disable this functionality, so you need to reduce telemetry sending to a minimum by selecting the “Basic” mode. Microsoft should also be prohibited from providing customized features and asking for feedback.

You will learn about complete blocking of diagnostic and telemetry collection below in the article.

Next, disable the ability of applications to run in the background. I would like to note that this will not affect the functioning of Windows 10 in any way; rather, on the contrary, it will help speed it up a little. We have already written in more detail about the impact of background applications on system performance earlier on this site.

At this point, the process of basic privacy settings can be considered complete, but for advanced users it is possible to make a number of other settings, but you need to be very careful, since incorrect actions can render Windows inoperable.

2.2. Prohibiting telemetry through the Windows registry

Before performing the steps described below in this article, be sure to back up your system. This can be done using some third-party software or by creating a restore point for the system drive in Windows System Protection.

Launch Registry Editor and navigate to the following path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\DataCollection

Here you need to create a new parameter AllowTelemetry(type DWORD 32-bit) and assign it the value zero.

In order for the registry settings to be applied, do not forget that you need to completely restart the computer.

2.3. Disabling and removing DiagTrack and dmwappushservice

1. DiagTrack
2. dmwappushservice
   

This can be done through the Services snap-in or in Computer Management. You need to stop the service and change the startup type.

Hello, dear friends! With each new update to the Windows operating system, surveillance of users became more and more intrusive. Tracking is expressed in the collection of various data about the user, in saving logins and passwords. This information is usually used for advertising, but no one wants personal data to be available to anyone else, regardless of whether the person has a clear conscience or not.

Microsoft's latest creation, Windows 10, has become the most sophisticated control tool. This version of the operating system uses several services to send data to Windows servers. After reading this article, you will be able to isolate yourself from unnecessary surveillance. Simple instructions, high-quality screenshots and videos will help you with this.

We will look at two ways to disable tracking in Windows 10:

- Using the program.

— Manually – by changing parameters in Windows 10.

How does Microsoft explain the addition of such services?

First of all, I would like to note the fact that Microsoft representatives have been asked this question about surveillance in Windows 10 more than once. Employees of this corporation assure us that these services are not configured for additional “surveillance”, but to improve the quality of the “computer-to-computer” connection. man" and "man-computer". Indeed, some applications have made it easier to manage your computer and its services. However, not every ordinary user knows how to disable tracking in Windows 10.

For example, you can take the Cortana assistant program:

1. When errors and malfunctions occur in the Windows operating system, warning signals appear;

2. The system notifies you about upcoming events. This is a useful function for business people who always need to remember their plans and upcoming activities;

3. Windows 10 introduces full control and configuration of your computer using voice commands. You can make changes in the control panel, as well as manage individual applications.

Indeed, without services that collect information, it would be impossible to create such an assistant. But this is only one service that provides communication between Microsoft servers and user data. There are also other functions that are aimed at collecting personal data. The built-in and, most importantly, hidden keylogger causes particular suspicion among users. Its task is quite simple - to record data entered from the keyboard and then send it to Microsoft servers.

There is also a possibility that even video recordings from a webcam are sent to the corporation’s servers. Users learned about this when they noticed large packets of data that were sent to Microsoft servers during a conversation on Skype. After this, many users had a strong desire to completely get rid of surveillance, because saving queries in a search engine is one thing, but saving video from a webcam is an invasion of personal life. In this case, many users are already wondering how to disable tracking in Windows 10?

First, you can disable updates, how to do this is described in detail below:

First, let's look at the simplest method - disabling programs that collect data using the Remove Windows 10 Spying Features utility. Download the application http://wintoflash.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=42295 to disable tracking in Windows 10.

The utility allows you to remove surveillance services, as well as tweak Windows 10 - fine-tune the operating system. But we are primarily interested in disabling annoying spyware.

ATTENTION! I strongly recommend that you create a restore point for your operating system. Disabling services may negatively affect the operation of Windows 10, and then you can safely return to the untouched version. If you don’t know how to create a restore point, then first read this article:

So, there is no installation required for the utility, but when downloading, some Internet browsers may be wary of this file, so just confirm the download. Having opened the application, we will see a window with a modest interface, where we are offered to disable certain Windows 10 services. Let’s take a closer look so that we know where to uncheck and where to leave it.

There is no need to explain the effect of the last three points - it’s already clear what the application will do if we leave the checkboxes.

— Delete “Keylogger”, “Tracking” and “WAP Push” - the main services that monitor and send user data, so we definitely leave the checkbox here.

— Disabling scheduled tasks - some tasks do not help or improve system performance in any way, and they take up RAM.

— Disable domains sending data - after disabling this item, feedback from Microsoft servers will be disabled.

— Block unwanted domains – the application disables domains that collect information about computer users.

— Block Advertising ID – disabling this item means blocking the advertising identifier that appeared in the latest version of the operating system.

— Uninstalling the “Metro” program - if you want to disable only some services from this program, you will have to do this work manually. Selecting this item will disable all programs from the “Metro” series.

Think about which services you will need, and then check the boxes next to unnecessary programs and applications. By clicking the “Start” button, you will begin the process of disabling spying services.

For the changes to take effect, all you have to do is restart your computer. Ready!

How to disable tracking in Windows 10 manually?

This method is longer, so we will break it down into several steps. First of all, we will change the Windows settings, then turn off the services that collect information.

The process goes like this:

1. Go to “Start”, go to “Settings” and select the “Privacy” tab. Next, click on the “General” tab and drag all the sliders to “Disable”, as shown in the screenshot.

2. Go back to the “Privacy” section and turn off “Location”. We should also turn off the study function, which is located in the “Text input, speech” section.

3. The next step is to turn off updates that will restore surveillance services. Go to “Settings”, then to “Updates” and go to “Update Center”. In the “Advanced Settings” tab, you should disable the “Update from different locations” option.

4. We also need to disable some services using the operating system firewall. Open “Start” and enter “Firewall” in the search bar and click on it. Inside the service, we should go to “Data sharing with applications” and turn off the “Remote Assistance” and “Wireless Display” services. As a result, you should get something like the screenshot.

Turning off services.

Here you will have to work with the command line, but there is nothing difficult about it:

We go to the command line (it can be found in Start or through a search service). Now we copy these commands one by one, after entering each of which you should press the “Enter” button:

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

Using the Win+R key combination, launch the service editor and enter there: gpedit.msc. We need to turn off the Telemetry service, which is located in Windows components. You will quickly find it using the screenshot below:

In conclusion, I suggest you also watch the following video on how to properly disable tracking in Windows 10.

That's all, now your privacy is not at risk. Concluding today’s article, I would like to know your additional suggestions on how to disable tracking in Windows 10 and what are your general opinions on today’s topic.