30 Ways Your Windows 10 Computer Phones Home to Microsoft

 

Windows 10 phones home more than any other version of Windows before it. Along with Windows 10, Microsoft released a new privacy policy and services agreement containing 45 pages of legalese. If Google wrote these, Microsoft might say you were being “Scroogled.”

 

Editor’s Note: almost everything is sending back data to somewhere — for instance, if you are using Chrome, everything you search for is sent back to Google. Ad networks are tracking you on every website (including this one). Facebook and Amazon have ad systems that border on creepy. We’re not necessarily condemning Microsoft with this article, but with all the recent interest in privacy and Windows 10, we decided to build a list of all the things being sent back in Windows 10 and let you decide what you think.

30 Ways Your Windows 10 Computer Phones Home to Microsoft

 

Thanks to.

Chris Hoffman At howtogeek.com

Thanks for the share. I look forward to installing 10 still.

thanks for sharing somewhere on micrsoft website i have read that thos who running latest OS 8.1 denim update they eligible to update windows 10 on mobile it is correct

Windows 8.1 Phone users are elligible to the Windows 10 Phone upgrade, yes.

This topic is so important, it should be pinned.  Thank you, Nick.  I was going to make a video about this, but now you saved me the time!  Bookmarked it, thank you again!

Editor’s Note: almost everything is sending back data to somewhere — for instance, if you are using Chrome, everything you search for is sent back to Google. Ad networks are tracking you on every website (including this one). Facebook and Amazon have ad systems that border on creepy. We’re not necessarily condemning Microsoft with this article, but with all the recent interest in privacy and Windows 10, we decided to build a list of all the things being sent back in Windows 10 and let you decide what you think.

 

DuckDuckGo, NoScript, Adbockplus, and Ghostery add-ons or using the Tor browser cuts out that problem.

Plus, in Firefox you can block cookies.  I was surprised to learn my domain asks to set cookies.  I don't know who's asking or getting them, because I'm not.  So it must be the webhost, godaddy.  Maybe they do it for security.  For two weeks ago (?) when they told me someone was trying to hack into my domain (which is crazy, my stuff is about Bible exegesis etc) -- when they called me, they wouldn't disclose any id information they had on the putative hacker.

 

So maybe add godaddy to the list: and they do all their stuff in Linux.  I'm so glad to have left yahoo.

Edited by brainout, 04 August 2015 - 09:22 AM.

Blocking cookies will, however, often stop sites working. Many sites put a cookie on your computer when you log into them, so if you block all cookies logging into some websites (such as gmail, but loads of other webmail providers and forums also) can fail. A generally more practical thing is to have cookies clear every time you close the browser, so after you close the program and reopen it you don't have cookies around from your previous session. Firefox and chrome (don't know about IE or edge) also let you choose to block "third party cookies" (those coming from any domain you aren't presently on, this can be helpful too, but it may break some logins. The setting of having cookies cleared when the browser is closed, and blcking third party cookies, is more convenient for most users, if you don't want a cookie from example1.com to know what you are doing on example2.com then you just close the browser and reopen between visiting the two sites.

Having things like noscript and adblockplus are also helpful, noscript will prevent some cookies because they won't be able to load at all, adblockplus won't have much effect on cookies directly, but it will help block the key consequence of them (adverts). Noscript also blocks adverts, because adverts almost always come from third party domains, and if you don't let scripts come from these domains the ads cannot load.

Edited by rp88, 04 August 2015 - 03:47 PM.

Firefox is the only browser which allows you to select how to handle EACH INDIVIDUAL cookie prompt.  So you can select Allow, Allow for Session, or Block.  That's what I do. Edge has NOTHING at all, complete waste of a browser, same for IE11 in Win10.  Chrome only allows you to do session cookies or block or allow as a blanket thing.  So I need to use it for Computerworld, Infoworld, PCWorld, and Forbes.  Adblock can be reenabled after sign in, if you want to comment.  Those sites won't work in Firefox unless ALL cookies are allowed.