Windows may be a privacy nightmare but if you have to use it...
- Use a local account, not a Microsoft account
- Toggle every privacy setting off
- Download O&O Shut Up 10 and disable as much as you're comfortable with
- Block Microsoft telemetry domains via firewall and hosts.txt
- Use Windows Security instead of other antivirus (reduce your data footprint to only one company this way) but ensure you disable any features that upload data, such as sample submission and SmartScreen
- Replace every Windows tool with a free and open source alternative (eg. Notepad++, VLC, ImageGlass, Gimp, Brave/Firefox)
- Avoid all AI features in Microsoft's tools
- Pay attention to Windows Update; only install what you need for security or bug fixes
- Speaking of Windows Update, make sure to check your privacy settings regularly (including in Shut Up 10), as Windows has been known to toggle things back on
- If you use Bitlocker, don't upload the recovery keys to Microsoft. Store them offline somewhere, with redundant backups (preferably off-site)
It'd be great if everyone could fully move to Linux but in the meantime, those are some things you can do to significantly reduce what Microsoft can harvest from you. It's not a perfect solution but we do what we have to do and hope for the best. #privacy #privacymatters #microsoft #windows #windows11 #windows10 #security #cybersecurity #techtips