Thursday, July 20, 2017

Windows 10: Disable espionage with DoNotSpy

In the small print of Windows 10, Microsoft secures a whole lot of freedoms, which many users would call espionage. This is especially true if you are using Windows 10 with a Microsoft user account. Then, Windows not only synchronizes your settings, but also personal data with Microsoft’s servers, such as the browsing history, favorites, and open web pages, as well as stored apps, websites, mobile hotspots, and the names and access data of WLANs. But this is by no means the end.


DoNotSpy creates remedy


For each user, Windows generates an advertising ID that allows it to be tracked across ad units by different devices. If you are using disk encryption, then Windows saves a copy of the key required for decryption at OneDrive. In addition, Windows captures information about your app's usage behavior and networks that your PC connects to.


Install DoNotSpy Without Advertising


The dictation function Cortana also proves to be a data breach. In order to provide users with customized responses, Microsoft collects a lot of personal information, including the location of your PC, data from your calendar, the apps you use, the data from your emails and short messages to whom you are calling Contacts and how often you communicate with them. Cortana also monitors what music you are listening to, alarms that tell you whether the screen is active, which web pages you visit, and what to look for on the web using the Bing search engine.


To set DoNotSpy correctly


Lesetipp: Windows 10 - Change search engine and browser


Picture gallery


Fairly, one has to say that Microsoft with Windows 10 also has significantly increased the privacy settings. From formerly five headings, which you find in the settings under "data protection", have become 13.


But you also have to criticize Microsoft. According to experience, only a part of the users are concerned with the settings. The rest lives with the "Express settings" that Microsoft is cheering on during the Windows setup. What sounds comfortable is that many critical snooping functions are turned on. In addition, you do not have access to all options despite the new settings. At least this problem we can solve, because there is the free program DoNotSpy. The German- and English-language software offers extensive settings that allow you to tailor your system to your security and data protection needs. Please read the following section before you install!


DoNotSpy simply download it from the net. For a donation you get the program without integrated advertising. But even without paying, you can use it ad-free. All you have to do is to take care of the installation. Click on the button "Download DoNotSpy (ad-supported)" on the program website.


After the download is complete, run the Setup Wizard. After a few clicks on "Next" you have the choice between the installation method "Fast" and the method "Custom installation". Select the latter and remove the check mark in front of the offered add-on software. Then click on "Next". You may be offered another software. You can also click it away.


On the first start, DoNotSpy offers you to set a restore point. If necessary, you can use this function to return to the system state before changes to DoNotSpy. An additional backup can not hurt.


The numerous settings of the free program are color-coded. In our estimation, you can safely change the settings you have written in green. In the case of yellow and red, however, be careful. For example, Red is the option that allows you to prohibit the download of updates for other Microsoft products (for example, Microsoft Office) from the Windows Update feature. This may make your system vulnerable. Windows Defender shutdown is also highlighted in red.


Lesetipp: antivirus software in the test


DoNotSpy provides a short description for each setting option. Here and there, however, it is very superficial, so that the consequences of a change can hardly be estimated. For this reason we will go through the incompletely described settings in the picture gallery.

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