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Pastimes : Computer Learning -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: steve harris who wrote (97257)	7/4/2017 5:19:50 PM
From: steve harris	2 Recommendations Recommended By scion Zen Dollar Round Respond to of 110623

Interesting. .. Think Windows 10 spying is bad? Microsoft has rolled out updates for 7 and 8.1 to collect data just as 10 does. thehackernews.com Unlike 10, you can go in and uninstall the updates, instructions in article above. More: computerworld.com

To: steve harris who wrote (97257)	7/4/2017 5:50:35 PM
From: Eric L	Respond to of 110623

Don't fear Cortana ... ... but neutralize it to your satisfaction. << Just how bad is Windows 10 spying on you? >> On me? Very little. Just enough to be useful. By default quite a bit of data is fed back to Microsoft, but thee (should You use Win10) and me and others have a great deal of control over which data is fed back to Redmond. Default settings rarely meet the needs of every user. Fortunately, Microsoft has generally been good about allowing you to adapt its software to your preferences, and when they aren't, there's generally a 3rd party application to suit your needs. << I guess my question is, just how much data is Windows10 phoning home with? >> That depends on the user and his or her receptivity to, and aptitude for learning and applying what they learns to their advantage. Enabling or disabling Win10's manifold privacy and feedback settings enables us to create a personal customized experience in Windows 10 that is greater than it was in earlier versions. One does, however, need to consider the expense of sharing actions and activities with Microsoft while striking a suitable balance between personalization and privacy. Doing so really does not consume much time or tax the brain very severely. << A Microsoft VP says it [Cortana] cannot be turned off. That covers it methinks. >> It can still be turned off with a registry hack in Home and by using the Group Policy Editor in Pro ... but it will likely reappear in Home with an update and perhaps in Pro. Completely disabling it could potentially impact some aspect of performance negatively and I would strongly recommend not doing so. Best left alone since it is an integral part of the current Windows OS, but neutered with privacy settings that satisfy an individual user's needs to achieve the most suitable balance between personalization and privacy. My Win10 Desktop GUI while just slightly more feature rich is virtually identical to my Win 7 and Win 8.1 desktops (which all run Classic Shell™ 4.3) and all hark back to Win95 with the Quick Launch toolbar which You activated in Win 7 and I've always since used as my primary launcher without pinning items to the taskbar (save for 2 in Win 10) ... I do not enable voice activation for Cortana and I choose not to hide the Cortana Taskbar icon because it has some utility to me. Although I have a Microsoft Account administrator login I generally log in from a local account with administrative privileges. While I could due it in 'Settings' I manage the most important security and privacy settings from my ASC 10 Pro optimizer ... While I'm not yet using it the new Win 10 Creators Update offers some enhancements to your privacy settings. That's rather thouroughly discussed in Lance Whitney's May 30 PCMag article " How to Protect Your Privacy in Windows 10" ... Microsoft is not Google and they have a different business model. Cheers and Happy Computing, - Eric L. -