Begin your Windows
10 lockdown by going to Settings/Privacy.
Caption by: Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
Windows 10 Privacy Master Screen
On the General
privacy page, turn off advertising ID and sending Microsoft info
about how you write. You should leave SmartScreen, a security routine
that prevents bad apps from sending you to malware-corrupted
websites, on. The language option is harmless so I've left it on.
Caption by: Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
Windows 10 Advertising Settings
To control your ad
personalization, Windows 10 sends you to the Web with its Edge web
browser. I prefer to turn this off.
Caption by: Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
Windows 10 master Location setting
I'd prefer Microsoft not know where I am every time I'm working on my computer.
If you agree, turn location off.
Caption by: Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
Windows 10 Location specific settings
If you do elect to
use location, do yourself a favor and don't give every application
permission to use your location data.
Caption by: Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
Windows 10 Getting to know you
I really wish
Microsoft had named "Getting to know you" something else.
It sounds friendly, but what it really means is Microsoft will be
watching every typed or spoken word. I'd prefer to turn this off but
without it neither dictation nor Cortana will work.
Caption by: Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
All of Windows 10 privacy settings are important.
Be sure to check all
the other privacy controls. For example, calendar should certainly
access the Mail and Calendar app, but the App connector? Microsoft
hasn't even made it clear what the App connector is! It appears to be
an application programming interface (API) for data
services. If
I don't know what something is, I don't use it. You shouldn't either.
Caption by: Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
Windows 10 Backgrond apps
I
don't like apps running in the background, both for power and privacy
concerns, unless I really need them. Many of Windows 10 default
background apps don't need to be running. Turn them off.
Caption by: Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
Disable Windows 10 Tracking
With
all those privacy screens don't you wish there was a simple way to
deal with them? A first try at this is the brand-new, open-source
program is Disable
Windows 10 Tracking. I can't recommend this bare-bones program to
anyone except experts. Eventually, I hope it will give Windows 10
users an easy, clear way to protect their privacy.
I'm
usually
wary
of
security
apps,
but
iVerify
by
Trail
of
Bits
is
different.
It
comes
highly
recommended
and
offers
a
lot
of
features
in
a
small
download.
...
The
Netgear
BR200
Insight
Managed
Business
Router
has
been
designed
to
be
easy
to
set
up,
and
features
a
built-in
firewall,
VLAN
management,
and
remote
cloud
monitoring,
and
can
be
...
The
YubiKey
5C
NFC
can
be
used
across
a
broad
range
of
platforms
--
iOS,
Android,
Windows,
macOS
and
Linux
--
and
on
any
mobile
device,
laptop,
or
desktop
computer
that
supports
USB-C
...
The
new
Aegis
Secure
Key
3NXC
builds
on
Apricorn's
Secure
Key
3z
and
Aegis
Secure
Key
3NX,
taking
the
same
proven
form-factor
and
physical
keypad,
and
adding
something
that
users
have
...
Join Discussion