• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About Darknet
  • Hacking Tools
  • Popular Posts
  • Darknet Archives
  • Contact Darknet
    • Advertise
    • Submit a Tool
Darknet – Hacking Tools, Hacker News & Cyber Security

Darknet - Hacking Tools, Hacker News & Cyber Security

Darknet is your best source for the latest hacking tools, hacker news, cyber security best practices, ethical hacking & pen-testing.

Windows 10 Privacy – Just Installed? Read This

August 6, 2015

Views: 5,238

So no big surprise here but there’s some issues with the default settings in regards to Windows 10 Privacy, if you run through the express install without customizing settings the defaults a little suspect.

Windows 10 Privacy - Just Installed? Read This

A lot of Windows 7 and Windows 8 users have already opted in to the automatic (and free) upgrade to the latest operating system from Microsoft – Windows 10, so I would imagine this effects a lot of people.

Here’s a quick FYI: if you installed Windows 10, and in a rush to try out Microsoft’s new operating system, you clicked through the default settings without looking, you may want to look again.

If you value your privacy, or have a distrust of Microsoft, you probably want to make sure some or all of the settings are flipped to off. These include things like sending “typing and inking” data to Microsoft’s servers, and letting apps identify you by your unique advertising ID number.

Your physical whereabouts and your web browser history, plus your contacts and calendar records, are also phoned home to Redmond. Your PC will even let other computers download updates from it, and potentially share your Wi-Fi network with strangers.

There’s a handy guide to the settings you need to look out for during the install and afterwards. On an installed system, find the Settings app and select Privacy to see all the controls.

You probably want to turn Cortana off, unless you find it really useful, and don’t forget to opt-out of personalized ads (more info here).

Some of the features, which are on by default, have their uses: for example, SmartScreen is supposed to stop you from downloading malware or visiting websites known to be infecting PCs, assuming you’re using Internet Explorer and apps from the Windows Store. And sending odd-looking executable files to Windows Defender so they can be scanned for malware improves security for everyone using Windows 10.

So yah, no surprise it’s phoning home to Redmond – but the amount of data shared might be more than you are comfortable with, especially coming from Windows 7 (which doesn’t really share anything). I can’t say I’m familiar enough with Windows 8 to comment on its privacy settings or issues.

Here’s the guide to the settings and how to protect yourself – https://fix10.isleaked.com/

But the company tells the press: “Windows does not collect personal information without your consent. To effectively provide Windows as a service, Microsoft gathers some performance, diagnostic and usage information that helps keep Windows and apps running properly. Microsoft uses this information to identify problems and develop fixes.”

Yes, these are interesting features – perhaps even useful. It would be fantastic, though, if there was more information upfront about the services before we decide to enable them, as opposed to forcing them on us and hoping we won’t notice or care. We’re all adults, and we know what it feels like when someone is trying to pull a fast one on us.

And Windows 10 feels like it’s trying to pull a fast one on a lot of us.

Before the Microsoft apologists get too upset, there are similar defaults in OS X and some flavors of Linux. Google Android and Chrome are also pretty aggressive with your data. It always pays to check the default settings.

As mentioned, it’s also not super uncommon and we reported on the Mac OS X Yosemite Spotlight Privacy issue before, Chrome, Android and certain versions of Linux also phone a fair amount of data home.

As always, check the defaults and ensure you choose the settings that protect you to a degree you’re comfortable with.

Source: The Register

Share
Tweet66
Share46
Buffer
WhatsApp
Email
112 Shares

Filed Under: Privacy



Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Defiant says

    August 8, 2015 at 2:53 pm

    That feeling you get, when an article has so many spelling and grammar errors, that it loses credibility.

    -“So yah, no surprise it’s phoning how to Redmond”
    -“I can’t say I’m familiar enough with Windows 8 to comment on it’s privacy settings or issues.”

    Which literally reads:
    “I can’t say I’m familiar enough with Windows 8 to comment on IT IS privacy settings or issues.”

    • Darknet says

      August 31, 2015 at 3:18 pm

      Sorry, I was rushing for a flight. Thanks for the corrections :)

  2. Cassie says

    August 9, 2015 at 2:40 am

    This is one of numerous posts I have seen about Windows 10 security settings. I am glad that I don’t use Windows anymore. I feel that Windows should have told its customers about these setting before hand, but the customers are also to blame. We get so used to just trusting what the company says that we don’t ready anything anymore.

Primary Sidebar

Search Darknet

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Advertise on Darknet

Latest Posts

AI-Powered Malware - The Next Evolution in Cyber Threats

AI-Powered Malware – The Next Evolution in Cyber Threats

Views: 244

Introduction Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping cybersecurity on both sides of the … ...More about AI-Powered Malware – The Next Evolution in Cyber Threats

Falco - Real-Time Threat Detection for Linux and Containers

Falco – Real-Time Threat Detection for Linux and Containers

Views: 371

Security visibility inside containers, Kubernetes, and cloud workloads remains among the hardest … ...More about Falco – Real-Time Threat Detection for Linux and Containers

Wazuh – Open Source Security Platform for Threat Detection, Visibility & Compliance

Wazuh – Open Source Security Platform for Threat Detection, Visibility & Compliance

Views: 677

As threat surfaces grow and attack sophistication increases, many security teams face the same … ...More about Wazuh – Open Source Security Platform for Threat Detection, Visibility & Compliance

Best Open Source HIDS Tools for Linux in 2025 (Compared & Ranked)

Views: 597

With more businesses running Linux in production—whether in bare metal, VMs, or containers—the need … ...More about Best Open Source HIDS Tools for Linux in 2025 (Compared & Ranked)

SUDO_KILLER - Auditing Sudo Configurations for Privilege Escalation Paths

SUDO_KILLER – Auditing Sudo Configurations for Privilege Escalation Paths

Views: 638

sudo is a powerful utility in Unix-like systems that allows permitted users to execute commands with … ...More about SUDO_KILLER – Auditing Sudo Configurations for Privilege Escalation Paths

Bantam - Advanced PHP Backdoor Management Tool For Post Exploitation

Bantam – Advanced PHP Backdoor Management Tool For Post Exploitation

Views: 484

Bantam is a lightweight post-exploitation utility written in C# that includes advanced payload … ...More about Bantam – Advanced PHP Backdoor Management Tool For Post Exploitation

Topics

  • Advertorial (28)
  • Apple (46)
  • Countermeasures (228)
  • Cryptography (82)
  • Database Hacking (89)
  • Events/Cons (7)
  • Exploits/Vulnerabilities (431)
  • Forensics (65)
  • GenAI (3)
  • Hacker Culture (8)
  • Hacking News (230)
  • Hacking Tools (684)
  • Hardware Hacking (82)
  • Legal Issues (179)
  • Linux Hacking (74)
  • Malware (238)
  • Networking Hacking Tools (352)
  • Password Cracking Tools (104)
  • Phishing (41)
  • Privacy (219)
  • Secure Coding (118)
  • Security Software (235)
  • Site News (51)
    • Authors (6)
  • Social Engineering (37)
  • Spammers & Scammers (76)
  • Stupid E-mails (6)
  • Telecomms Hacking (6)
  • UNIX Hacking (6)
  • Virology (6)
  • Web Hacking (384)
  • Windows Hacking (169)
  • Wireless Hacking (45)

Security Blogs

  • Dancho Danchev
  • F-Secure Weblog
  • Google Online Security
  • Graham Cluley
  • Internet Storm Center
  • Krebs on Security
  • Schneier on Security
  • TaoSecurity
  • Troy Hunt

Security Links

  • Exploits Database
  • Linux Security
  • Register – Security
  • SANS
  • Sec Lists
  • US CERT

Footer

Most Viewed Posts

  • Brutus Password Cracker – Download brutus-aet2.zip AET2 (2,299,320)
  • Darknet – Hacking Tools, Hacker News & Cyber Security (2,173,111)
  • Top 15 Security Utilities & Download Hacking Tools (2,096,648)
  • 10 Best Security Live CD Distros (Pen-Test, Forensics & Recovery) (1,199,694)
  • Password List Download Best Word List – Most Common Passwords (933,536)
  • wwwhack 1.9 – wwwhack19.zip Web Hacking Software Free Download (776,176)
  • Hack Tools/Exploits (673,304)
  • Wep0ff – Wireless WEP Key Cracker Tool (530,194)

Search

Recent Posts

  • AI-Powered Malware – The Next Evolution in Cyber Threats May 21, 2025
  • Falco – Real-Time Threat Detection for Linux and Containers May 19, 2025
  • Wazuh – Open Source Security Platform for Threat Detection, Visibility & Compliance May 16, 2025
  • Best Open Source HIDS Tools for Linux in 2025 (Compared & Ranked) May 14, 2025
  • SUDO_KILLER – Auditing Sudo Configurations for Privilege Escalation Paths May 12, 2025
  • Bantam – Advanced PHP Backdoor Management Tool For Post Exploitation May 9, 2025

Tags

apple botnets computer-security darknet Database Hacking ddos dos exploits fuzzing google hacking-networks hacking-websites hacking-windows hacking tool Information-Security information gathering Legal Issues malware microsoft network-security Network Hacking Password Cracking pen-testing penetration-testing Phishing Privacy Python scammers Security Security Software spam spammers sql-injection trojan trojans virus viruses vulnerabilities web-application-security web-security windows windows-security Windows Hacking worms XSS

Copyright © 1999–2025 Darknet All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy