Comprehensive list of privacy settings? Also: Death to telemetry.

1.

Karath Vanashta said:

and internet searches keep sending me to this jerk's article

The link does not actually go to an article it simply goes to ZDNet.
I am not honestly sure if you mean - you have assessed the article as by a jerk.
If so IMHO it is perhaps not best practice to describe something as written by a jerk - (in public forum - even if indeed that is your opinion)

2. However to get to the actual problem - please explain further what you mean by - along story involving a lot of defective merchandise.

3. Also please be aware that many settings are changed to default when a new version of windows is installed from an update on your computer. However that does not account for it being the 6th time in a year

4. Rather than me simply linking you to one Microsoft article on privacy settings, it would be of considerable help to me if you were to explain NOT what settings you have in detail, but the route to where you have changed them
I can then point you to other possible routes, if necessary rather than listing all now

5. For instance some are in Edge, some are in settings generally, yet more are in your Microsoft account if you use one and some are in the cloud if you use that.

6. It maybe best of you peruse these links to start with
Change Diagnostic Data Settings in Windows 10

If you scroll down through that tutorial (which is of course from this site - written by Brink Admin of the site) you will find links to many other tutorials on the same broad subject and I feel certain you will find your answers on those.

7. If you have specific questions after browsing the above, please post and I will do my best to advise.

Tutman said:

I have tried many of the programs out there but I am impressed with using this one which was just updated and is free.
W10Privacy - Privacy made ​​easy - W10Privacy
It helps with privacy and disables telemetry and can disable/remove apps and breaks down info for each thing it disables.

Everyone must of course make their own decision, I had never heard of it, but having had a look I would not install it on my computer, without at least the precaution of a restore point and personally the latest image, which I always have any way.

I am not saying it will not work perfectly, but I would always go for the Windows provided settings in such instances.
10 IMHO is very sensitive to apps such as the suggested one.

This alone would put me off using it.
It says on the link

The by default highly questionable set options concerning privacy and data protection in Windows 10 brought me to the idea to develop this program. Microsoft generously enables everybody to change the concerning settings, but hides them in countless menus, where a normal user does not want to search for!

so it appears it only does what can be done by Microsoft provided settings, but the writer then says

W10Privacy is certainly no programming masterpiece, but it fulfills my intended purpose. The software is still in an early development phase, requests are welcome and may be included in future releases!

and the only details I can see of who wrote the app either in German with a simple contact form OR there is this on the site
Virus? - W10Privacy

In summary the choice of whether trust the app, not from a malware content aspect, but from the health of your system aspect must as I said be your choice.

If you do think of using it I would see this review by Martin Brinkmann
Comparison of Windows 10 Privacy tools - gHacks Tech News

Quoted from the link

W10 Privacy offers no backup and restore functionality. This means that you need to create a System Restore point or other type of backup manually before you use it to modify system settings.

What you can do however is save the program's own configuration. If you do that you may load them again at a later point in time.

I've used that for some time. (W10Privacy). I even used it to update windows (I'm using something else to update currently)

Using applications to stop telemetry

Comparison of Windows 10 Privacy tools - gHacks Tech News

If you go too far with some of these tools cumulative updates might fail.

I agree with :
If you go too far with some of these tools cumulative updates might fail

Callender said:

Comparison of Windows 10 Privacy tools - gHacks Tech News

If you go too far with some of these tools cumulative updates might fail.

and as I posted from the same link gHacks - RP
and the inexperienced may not realise the need for such, until it is possibly too late.
IMHO a RP and a system image is the best way as I mentioned.

Tutman said:

I would not recommend it if it were not safe. It is very descriptive on each check mark and warns you if there could be trouble. And it has not broken anything as long you don't use any of the red lined items.

I am sure you would not - of course
I still think my note of caution was appropriate

As I said

Everyone must of course make their own decision, I had never heard of it, but having had a look I would not install it on my computer, without at least the precaution of a restore point and personally the latest image, which I always have any way.

I then before sending my post found the review by Brinkmann on the link I posted on post 4 and seeing as he also mentioned that caution - I consider it vital that in case of Karath Vanashta being unaware of such precautions, he is warned.

I personally having looked at the site in greater detail, although not having tried the app on my test manchine, still would not use it.
I prefer the totally trustworthy means provided by Microsoft.

However as I said before , everyone makes their own choice.

Macboatmaster said:

I prefer the totally trustworthy means provided by Microsoft.

About half of the privacy settings those apps change can be done within Windows Settings, but they are all over the place. But even doing them using just Windows Settings can break a lot of un-related stuff. They are there, because people wanted to disable them and because of EU, but they still break some functionality.

1. I agree, I think I am right in saying that some of the recent available changes to the Privacy settings were brought about following a case in The Netherlands and some more recent elsewhere.
Microsoft’s Windows 10 breaches privacy law, says Dutch DPA – TechCrunch

https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-gb/privacystatement

https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/...id=EdgePrivacy

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...-in-windows-10
https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/...ivacy-settings


2. My own opinion is still that I would rather change what I can and leave what I cannot change from within Windows, rather than running a third part app.
I stress however as I said - each must make his own choice.

3. I have seen so many windows 10 systems with problems, many of which appear on all the evidence available to be down to a 3rd party app that makes changes to the system, that I have always stayed totally away from them.

4. The only time I would consider using one, is IF I could check that it ONLY made the same change across all aspects of the system, that clicking on the button in settings etc to turn ON to OFF - in an aspect of privacy, did.

5. I would never be able to check such, partly due to my limitations of knowledge in that area, but also of course, because it would need - GP checking, registry checking on possibly many entries - sub keys, values etc., Services checking and that maybe just for starters.

6. I have studied the subject at length and whilst I am not by any means an expert - what many people do not know is that
Windows 10 sends to Microsoft via Edge and possibly not only via the use of Edge
The hardware UUID of the device to Microsoft
UUID
cmd prompt admin
wmic csproduct get UUID

powershell
(Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_ComputerSystemProduct).UUID

and if you are using a Windows phone it sends the IMEI
Network capabilities and connection data such as the device’s IP address, mobile network (including IMEI and mobile operator), and whether the device is connected to a free or paid network.

details of such are in the Privacy link above.

8. I thought people browsing the topic may find some of the above information helpful - to see more closely what is actually recorded.