Brand new computer, want it pared down

rosawoodsii said:

I just bought a Dell Inspiron 7506 2n1, Windows 10 Home version 2004, build 19041.508.

Microsoft includes so much spyware and Dell probably includes its own garbage as well. What I'd like to do is turn off unnecessary ports, turn off most of Microsoft's "helpful" apps, increase font and icon size so I can actually see something, and just generally pare down anything not strictly necessary.

I've already downloaded Firefox and will not be using Bing. I currently have a 30 day trial of McAfee, but have been told on this forum that Defender is now very good and I don't need third party...but how much info does it send to MS?

I'll be using my computer mostly for documents, a little (but not much) social media, a lot of online research, and online classes. So, can someone point me to the correct tutorials? Personal experiences would be helpful as well.

https://www.wired.com/story/windows-10-privacy-

settings/

Check the above for info.

This whole thread sound like a 1950s epic about how the Russians are coming! Or space aliens are invading! Must wear a tin foil had to protect against radiation sent by the enemy!

All for nought.

rosawoodsii said:

I really don't remember. It was on a tech forum and it was a while ago, so I can't point you to it.

Ah. It was on the Internet, so it must be true.

There was some keystroke recording being sent to microsoft. You can disable under privacy by disabling the setting for improve inking and typing recognition.