Another article on telemetry. Interested to read the opinion of the more experienced forum members and the opinion of the three tools mentioned. (Spybot Antibeacon, O&O Shutup, Wireshark) Credible idea or too much tin foil ?If you ask me whether I'm worried about using Windows 10, my answer would be "no." I have dozens of Windows 10 installations here and I'm not in the least bit worried.
But despite such reassurances, there are a lot of people who are concerned by this, and the fact that Microsoft isn't willing to give concerned users an official way to opt out from data collection (which I think is a bad idea) is adding fuel to the flames. After all, as Bisson pointed out, we live in "justifiably paranoid times," where governments and social media sites are slurping up user data.
What's wrong with a little protection?
If you are worried about Windows 10 privacy, I suggest that you take matters into your own hands and install a tool that allows you to shut down all the different ways that your PC is communicating with Microsoft. Be aware though that doing this will result in some features no longer being available, since a number of Windows 10 features rely on having a connection to the cloud.
Be careful though. I've come across a number of "Windows 10 privacy tools" from unknown sources that do who knows what. Some tools actively display ads, and one even installs a third-party tool that displays ads in other applications. Talk about taking what is a non-issue and blowing it up into a real problem! No self-respecting privacy tool should install adware onto a system. Period.
I've tried a number of Windows 10 privacy tools and boiled them down to two.
The first is Spybot Anti-Beacon. This is a one-click solution (along with an undo button in case things don't go as you planned) from a known developer that's been in the privacy business since 2000.
Another tool that I like is O&O Shut Up 10. This one is particularly useful if you have multiple PCs because it doesn't need to be installed and can be run from a USB flash drive. O&O also offers a good explanation as to why Windows 10 needs to be able to communicate with the cloud.
As an example, Windows 10 can remind you to set off to the airport 30 minutes earlier due to traffic en route. In order to deliver this information to you, however, Windows 10 has to access your calendar entries, your mails (i.e. the airline confirmation email), your location and it has to have access to the internet to get traffic news."
I've tested both of these tools on a variety of systems and both utilities seem to do what it says it does on the tin, and nothing more.
If nothing else, they put you in charge of what happens to your data. If something stops working (or you break something) as a result of using these tools, well, that probably explains why Microsoft doesn't want you to have this sort of granular control over communications to and from your PC.
And if you're still worried, then fire up your PC, install Wireshark, and examine the packets yourself.
Windows 10 and telemetry: Time for a simple network analysis - Windows 10 blog
Here is a post I made on the subject:
Solved Unsafe at any circunstance? - Windows 10 blog
(Of course, you certainly don't want to use any anti-telemetry programs if you're in the Insider program.)
RE: Spybot Antibeacon - no experience with it
RE: O&O Shutup - several people here in the blog have used it, and then had problems with Insider builds.
RE: Wireshark - simply allows you to sniff your own packets.
I use O&O Shutup10 on my computers. What I like about it is the granularity. You can toggle each option individually and if you're not sure what an option does you get a good description when you click on it. You can also apply settings via three presets i.e. "recommended settings", "limited recommended", and "all settings". O&O SU10 will also offer to create a system restore point before making any changes. That's not a bad idea, but I've also never found it necessary; I've never had a problem going back into the program and changing a setting.Another article on telemetry. Interested to read the opinion of the more experienced forum members and the opinion of the three tools mentioned. (Spybot Antibeacon, O&O Shutup, Wireshark) Credible idea or too much tin foil ?
Whether or not it's a good idea to limit Windows 10 telemetry depends on who you ask. Opinions here cover the spectrum. I strike a balance and allow the OS to communicate with regard the updates, Windows Defender, Smart Screen, and One Drive, and block everything else. If you're curious I would install O&O Shutup10 so you can examine all of the items and learn about them. Then you can decide which, if any, you want to turn off. Hope that helps
Spybot Antibeacon is great, because it shows the setting, so you can simply copy it and do it yourself.
