As we anticipated a week ago, the privacy options in Windows 10 worry many users. On the bright side, Microsoft allows you to disable the vast majority of functions, but in recent days, tools of dubious origin have emerged that seek to take advantage of the situation. What is best right now? Avoid dedicated apps until something more reliable appears, and modify the configuration manually.
Most likely, during the installation phase, Windows 10 offered some aspects of its configuration to be changed. The shortcut of choice is the so-called “express setup” that establishes everything automatically; however, with time we have learned to deny the benefit of the doubt to programs and operating systems. Personally, I think it's perfect that users care more about privacy values on their preferred platforms. The demand for more information from companies leads to clearer rules, and that's something Microsoft definitely needs to improve. One of the most striking problems of the Windows 10 privacy options is not what each one does, but the language chosen by Redmond to describe them. Without going further, Windows 10 and Cortana propose to “get to know you better” to make “better suggestions”. What kind of data do they need in exchange for those “suggestions”? Contacts, recent calendar events, handwriting patterns, voice, and part of the history. Presented this way, it's logical that some users want to burn that option with a flamethrower.
Caution with third-party tools
In recent days, different programs and scripts have appeared that offer to disable all privacy options, but common sense forces us to reject those solutions... for now. Two of them have been making their rounds recently: DoNotSpy10 and Destroy Windows 10 Spying. Unfortunately, the first comes loaded with adware (reports speak of OpenCandy), and the second has half of the antiviruses on edge. They may be false positives, or Microsoft may have decided to introduce these programs into its database as malware. Until a tool from a much safer source appears, the ideal is to go to the Privacy section in Windows 10 settings and make sure that all options are disabled. Some of them depend on the type of computer (for example, Wi-Fi Sense doesn't appear if you don't have a wireless connection on the system), and one entry in particular, which highlights the sending of device information to Microsoft, cannot be disabled entirely, with “Basic” being the lowest option.
Local accounts and P2P updates
A good number of these parameters will be nullified from the start if the user uses a local account instead of signing in with a Microsoft account, although this will block the download of apps through the store. Another very important detail to adjust is the way Windows 10 distributes its updates. In essence, the operating system has a kind of internal P2P network that uses part of each user's bandwidth to facilitate the sending of hotfixes. Theoretically, this should help those users with some instability in their web links, but then there are those who use connections with monthly data limits. The switch to disable this behavior is found within the advanced options of Windows Update, in the Update & Security section.
Now, is it reasonable to throw Windows 10 into the fire? The truth is that it's not. To be honest, Windows 10 does exactly the same as other operating systems, with Android and iOS at the forefront, and as far as programs are concerned, browsers are also addicted to personal information. The first added drawback for Windows 10 is that with its recent launch it is much more exposed to scrutiny, and the second, fully Microsoft's responsibility, by the way, is that most options are “opt-out”, that is, you participate unless you indicate otherwise. The novel of Windows 10 and privacy has plenty of material for a while, and I calculate that it will be necessary to expand this text in the near future. On the other side, we find those who point out that by disabling all these resources, the experience with Windows 10 will be more generic and less personalized. That vision is more than reasonable, however, each user is a world, and the idea is that you can do whatever you want with your operating system. All those who agree with Cortana's learning and telemetry transmission can keep the configuration intact, but those who don't already know what to do.
