How to keep your privacy with Window 10 (vanity)

self | 9/10/2015 | self

[Signalman]

If you have Windows 10 and you want Microsoft to stay the hell out of your computer activities, do the following:

1. Click the windows icon located at the bottom left-hand corner of the main screen.

2. In the Search Windows dialog box, type "privacy".

3. When the Change Privacy window appears, turn all options "off".

4. After that is completed, click "Manage my Microsoft Advertising and other personalization info".

5. When that appears, click the purple box labeled "choose" and turn it off.

6 click the green box regarding personalized ads (you have to sign in with this one) and turn it off.

[fwdude]

Bkmrk

[cuban leaf]

Later...

[A CA Guy]

Great, thanks.

So the old magnet on the hard drive would have been going too far in this case?

[jazusamo]

Thanks much! Saved for future use.

[doorgunner69]

How thorough is this fix?

[Signalman]

Here’s more info.

http://www.komando.com/tips/320246/3-windows-10-privacy-dangers-to-fix-now/all

[The Working Man]

BKmrk 2

[TexasRepublic]

Just nuke it with Linux to be sure.

[Resolute Conservative]

Stay off the internet.

[Dr. Sivana]

That’s just for starters. The next step is to blacklist all of the phone-home addresses in your host files (or router, so that MS can’t worm around it).

http://init.sh/?p=236

(from article)

So since Microsoft has released Windows 10 into the wild, there have been a bunch of articles flying around about how Microsoft wants your personal data. To get this, there are a whole bunch of privacy settings which are turned “on” by default which allow Microsoft to, among many things, collect and store your personal data and use your computer to distribute updates to the faceless masses on the internet.

I have had a copy of Windows 10 running in a virtual machine for a while as part of the Insider program. Now that I have an RTM version, I decided to run a little test.

First up was to take the Windows 10 install and perform all the privacy precautions I had read about. Turning off location services, using a local account, turning off using my system as a P2P distribution server, etc. Then I shut it down.

Thusly using the Windows 10 control panel and settings pages to turn off everything privacy related that I could, I performed the following actions:

1. Power it up.
2. Log on.
3. Wait for it to stop loading.
4. Power it off.

While doing so, I was capturing all the traffic going into and out of the virtual network interface. Some interesting things showed.

During the first run, I simply picked out the DNS queries which were being requested during this process.

Here’s what showed up:

dns.msftncsi.com
ipv6.msftncsi.com
win10.ipv6.microsoft.com
ipv6.msftncsi.com.edgesuite.net
a978.i6g1.akamai.net
win10.ipv6.microsoft.com.nsatc.net
en-us.appex-rf.msn.com
v10.vortex-win.data.microsoft.com
client.wns.windows.com
wildcard.appex-rf.msn.com.edgesuite.net
v10.vortex-win.data.metron.life.com.nsatc.net
wns.notify.windows.com.akadns.net
americas2.notify.windows.com.akadns.net
travel.tile.appex.bing.com
www.bing.com
any.edge.bing.com
fe3.delivery.mp.microsoft.com
fe3.delivery.dsp.mp.microsoft.com.nsatc.net
ssw.live.com
ssw.live.com.nsatc.net
login.live.com
login.live.com.nsatc.net
directory.services.live.com
directory.services.live.com.akadns.net
bl3302.storage.live.com
skyapi.live.net
bl3302geo.storage.dkyprod.akadns.net
skyapi.skyprod.akadns.net
skydrive.wns.windows.com
register.mesh.com
BN1WNS2011508.wns.windows.com

I dutifully added all these entries to the hosts file in the vm which is found under c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts. I redirected them all to 127.0.0.1.

[Company Man]

According to privacy experts, there are privacy settings scattered in numerous places throughout the UI. I sat through a Youtube video detailing them, that was nearly 15 minutes in length.

[Grampa Dave]

I need windows for a couple of programs. I use Chrome as a browser when using windows along with Ad Block, Norton Safe Search whenever I use my home windows pc..

For most of my internet connections/work/use, I use my Acer Chromebook 15 to avoid the ms bs.

This week my old HP went into its final days. On the advice of family ITs, they told me to buy a Windows 10 Toshiba laptop on sale this week at Staples.

Then to follow these steps:

1. Remove the so called safety program that came with the pc and install the Free Norton security program which comes with Comcast. That took about an hour.

2. Run the Norton Security program to eliminate any inherited crud/malware from bloatware.

3. Add Ad Block. That happened when I installed Chrome as my browser, as it was used with my Chrome Browser.

4. Install Chrome as the browser. You have to go to Google to get the how to with this process and the steps. Again it will take some time.

5. Use Norton Safe Search to search, find and log onto any internet site. Avoid those sites which aren’t labled as safe Norton Safe Search.

6. Remove most of the free log on sites that came with the pc.

Before using these steps, just trying to log on after the Win 10 updates got the infamous blue circle just trying to log on any internet sitewith

Google/Chrome transferred all of my bookmarks and tabs. I can use my printers via Google Cloud Print and our android phones and tablets as my new Toshiba pc.

Now the log on process bookmark connections are about as fast as my Acer Chromebook.

I have printed out your suggestions and follow them today or tomorrow.

Thanks for the posting.

[JimRed]

What is a “local” account, and how do I get one? Do I have to get rid of whatever other kind of account I’m already on?

[JimRed]

4. Install Chrome as the browser. You have to go to Google...

I thought Google was the enemy, feeding your actions to the regime; where am I going wrong?

[Grampa Dave]

Read what MS has done with Win 10 in this posting, to see which enemy you want to get in bed with.

I will take Google.

Here is another example of MS taking over our computers:

http://help.win10guide.com/

Windows® 10 and Microsoft’s® new browser, Edge, will change the way you access the Internet

Windows® 10 is available for devices with qualified Windows® 7 and 8.1 operating systems. It comes with a new browser called Edge. You will lose important bookmarks, shortcuts and icons. This will change the way you browse the Internet.

[rwfok]

Bkmk

[Colorado Doug]

Bkmrk

[Dr. Sivana]

What is a “local” account, and how do I get one?

In Windows, a local account simply means it is not part of a domain. Normally, you would only be in a domain in a workplace PC, not a home unit. If you are not on a network (not counting the Internet itself), it is safe to say your regular account is a local account.

[Dalberg-Acton]

I tried that with Linux Mint. The 32 bit versions would install and run but the 64 bit versions would not.

I’m using Windows 7 64 bit version now and have an Intel Core i3-2120 CPU @ 3.30GHz, so it’s not the CPU not being 64 bit. When I finish installing Mint and reboot, I see a message that there is no operating system. Luckily, I had backed up my hard drive with Clonezilla before I started monkeying around.