A detailed view of what you can control in Win10 privacy

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Ed Bott has another good, detailed report in his latest ZDNet column.
[See the full post at: A detailed view of what you can control in Win10 privacy]

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I use O&O Software’s ShutUp10 for Windows 10 privacy controls:

https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10

This tool collects everything known which can be done to control Windows 10 privacy. Some of the changes (all are annotated, but should be googled when in doubt) can wreck updating and activation, but if you steer clear of these clearly-marked risky settings, a lot can be controlled from one screen with simple On/Off sliders.

There are tutorials elsewhere online about how to safely use this powerful privacy tool.

ShutUp10 has been updated to reflect changes made in the Anniversary Update. It includes the ability to turn off virtually all of Cortana’s intrusions without sacrificing desktop search.

To control Windows 10 updates, do NOT use this product! It turns off Automatic Updates Services. Use wushowhide and either Group Policy or Registry Edits to accomplish updates controls instead of this utility.

Otherwise, I find it to be relatively safe, and its settings are reversible in most cases.

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Hadn’t realized that 1607 FORCED bing search via start menu on. Now all your local file searches get sent to Microsoft….

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I also used this a while back whilst testing Win10 2015 fall update and also found it to be a worthy utility to prevent background MS telemetry/slurpware/phone home etc..
As you state, some of these settings can have an undesirable effect on your system, unless you know what your doing.
Interface is very simple with explanations of what each tweak affects when you mouse hover over IIRC.

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Forgot to add that they should bring this out for windows 7 and 8.1, as that will be the next chapter after the October roll-ups.

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In the Anniversary Update, Cortana knows all, sees all.

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I’m still a fan of Spybot’s Anti-Beacon. It has detailed views of what telemetry, etc. is being blocked, and it has an Undo button to restore to previous settings if you so desire. It does not install any malware/adware/bloatware that I can find, and believe me, I’ve looked.

It also works from Win 7 on up.

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Dear Woody,

Is this true even with no MS account and if a home user can, Cortana disabled?

Thanks!

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Yes and no. ShutUp10 gives a lot of control back to us. But it may not solve the entire MS Spyware controversy. The utility can render Cortana nearly mute and control Win 10 “telemetry”, among other abilities. As with anything powerful, make a full system and EFI Boot partition(s) backup before messing with ShutUp10.

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Also good. I simply found ShutUp10 first, then heard about Anti-Beacon. Personal choice.

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