Microsoft’s latest release – Windows 10 – is spiraling down a storm with the tech press as well as the users, and for good reasons. There is, however, another side of the story. It seems as though this time around, Microsoft has taken user privacy for granted, as some of the default settings in Windows 10 allow the system to auto-share user data over the web. The purpose of the article, therefore, is to show you how to get your PC and data out of the cloud, and regain complete control over your privacy, without having to procure professional computer repair services.
1. Disable Advertising Integration
Disabling advertising integration is one of the most critical steps in regaining privacy control in Windows 10. Some of these characteristics have been also available in Windows 8. However, if you are just learning about it now, you might as well opt to turn it off. If you don’t like seeing personalized ads, then there are two ways you can disable this feature.
First, go to setting>privacy>general and slide the option that reads “Let apps use my advertising ID across app experience off (turning off this feature will turn off ad integration).
Another option would be to go your web browser. You then need to select “choice.microsoft.com/en-us/opt-out option. There, select “Off” for “Personalized ads wherever I use my Microsoft account” and “Personalized ads in this browser.”
2. Configure Cortana
Cortana analyzes your speech information and then sends it to Microsoft to develop personalized speech models to improve speech recognition. Moreover, this kind of tracking is familiar to all these services, because they can’t function without it. If you feel that you’re not comfortable using it, you can click on the search bar in the Windows 10 taskbar. Then, click the gear icon on the left side to view your Cortana settings. There, you can opt to turn Cortana on or off, and manage your data stored in the cloud by the program.
3. Disable OneDrive
In case you’re not interested in storing your files on Microsoft’s cloud servers, you can turn off OneDrive. In so doing, you can prevent it from bugging you for configuration settings. Just click the upward-facing arrow in the system tray on the right-hand side of the taskbar. Then right-click the OneDrive icon and then select Settings. In the new window that opens, uncheck ‘Start OneDrive automatically when I sign in to Windows’, and then, disable the feature.
The Bottom Line
If you want to keep your privacy and wish all the spying would go away, you may want to check out DoNotSpy10. It’s a free download that allows you to incapacitate a whole slew of Windows 10’s more controversial snooping features – covering the tracking of your website searches – from one place. If you encounter any technical problems, feel free to contact us for advice and computer repair service in Fort Worth and surrounding areas.
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