Windows 10 is by far the most invasive operating system that Microsoft has created to date. Between data-tracking tidbits and forced tethering to Microsoft's online services, Windows 10 is almost always looking over your digital shoulder. This can be a daunting thought and one that does not sit well with most end-users and rightfully so!
In this day and age, it is nearly impossible to escape the “eye-in-the-sky”; Facebook is watching. Google is watching, Apple is watching. Alexa is listening…and the list goes on. Unless you decide to become a hermit crab or live in a hole (or perhaps both), most of these privacy invasions are nearly impossible to avoid. Here at Puget Systems, we take your privacy very seriously. We may not be able to control the sites that you visit, the newsletters you subscribe to or the things you buy online but we can help you reduce the amount of information that your operating system is collecting behind your back and that, my friends, is exactly why we are sharing this article with you!
“It seems like going forward we have two choices. We can either accept that privacy is dead and that we now live in an open world or we can challenge this notion and continue to fight for privacy” – Jacob Morgan, Forbes Magazine
How To Safeguard Your Privacy
If you would like to safeguard your privacy in Windows 10, I would recommend soliciting the assistance of a nifty tool called ShutUp10. ShutUp10 is a program designed by a software company known as O&O Software. O&O is based out of Berlin, Germany and is one of the leading manufacturers of system tools for the Windows operating system.
“As a Microsoft Gold Partner (the highest partner level) we are in constant touch with Microsoft and stand at the very forefront of new Windows technology.” – O&O Software
If you would like to learn more about O&O software, please visit their website here: https://www.oo-software.com/en/
Why We Like ShutUp10
Some of the many reasons we like ShutUp10 is that it is a very straightforward, user-friendly tool that doesn’t actually have to be installed on your system to run. That means no possibility of installing any sort of bloatware or malware onto the system while attempting to utilize the very helpful features of ShutUp10.
Using ShutUp10 allows you to easily configure your Windows 10 operating system to be more secure and protective of your privacy by disabling settings like the following:
–Steps Recorder: records everything you do on your system automatically, including writing in elements you have clicked on and capturing screen shots of each click motion you make.
–Telemetry: Microsoft collects information on your computer, installed programs and possible problems in Windows 10
–Transmission of typing information: Windows 10 tracks your writing habits. It is unclear on what actual data is collected in that regard and how anonymous the data is.
–Conducting experiments with this machine by Microsoft: Allows Microsoft to “experimentally” change settings on your system remotely to test or check certain configurations.
-Tracking and page prediction in Microsoft Edge: Microsoft can track the websites you visit and then open links to similar or related sites in the background without your prompting.
Shutup10 also helps disable Cortona personal assistant (turns out she is pretty invasive), the ability for Microsoft to collect data about your lock screen picture preferences, and miscellaneous other functions like annoying reminder pop-ups that solicit feedback and provide quirky tips/tricks for Windows 10.
We strongly recommend only applying the Shutup10 settings that O&O Software recommends be disabled. To see which settings those are, please click here.
When viewing the above screenshot, please keep the following ShutUp10 rule in mind:
O&O ShutUp10 is entirely free and does not have to be installed – it can be simply run directly and immediately on your PC. And it will not install or download retrospectively unwanted or unnecessary software, like so many other programs do these days! – O&O
If you would like to use ShutUp10 to configure your Windows 10 privacy settings, you can access the ShutUp10 software here: https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10
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