by Dave Moore, CISSP, 05/30/2021
Last week, we looked at the possibility of privacy on the Internet, and the sad state of current affairs where seemingly every major Internet company wants to deny us that possibility.
No matter what Internet-connected device you use, the principles of attaining privacy, and the safety it enables, are pretty much the same: closing and locking the doors. If you are a member of the “I don’t have anything to hide, what do I care,” crowd, read on; you may not be beyond hope. So, without further editorializing, let’s look at how some modicum of privacy and safety can be achieved, first, with Microsoft’s Windows 10.
How your computer has been set up determines how you will access some of the settings involved. Look in the far lower left corner of the screen. If you have a button that actually says Start, the Windows 10 settings will be found in “PC Settings.” If your start button looks like a lop-sided window, you will be going to “Settings,” by clicking the little gear-shaped icon that’s above the lop-sided window. Both methods will get you to the same place, just look for the “Settings” gear or click “PC Settings.”
If you are unfortunate enough to have been tricked into setting up a Microsoft account (with username and password) as part of setting up Windows 10 for the first time, Microsoft is storing your browsing history, location data, search history and other items in two different places: online in “the cloud” on their computers, and in your computer, as well. You will need to tend to both areas.
If you have a Microsoft account (I do not),To access your “Privacy Dashboard” and change what Microsoft stores about you online, go to account.microsoft.com/privacy and sign in. I would visit every section here, clear everything out and set everything to “Off.” I would also visit choice.microsoft.com/en-US/opt-out and do the same thing. Set all Personalized Ads sections to “Off.”
Turn your attention next to the computer, itself. First, make sure your version of Windows 10 is completely up-to-date. Visit the Windows 10 Settings section mentioned above, and click “Update & Security.” Under Windows Update, click “Advanced Options,” and make sure “Receive updates for other Microsoft products,” “Download updates over metered connections,” and “Show a notification” are all selected. Ignore everything else, and click the back arrow to take you back to Windows Update.
If the computer isn’t already checking for and downloading updates, click the “Check for Updates” button. Download and install anything that shows up. Restart as needed, and repeat this process over and over until there are no more updates available. Ignore messages that say you’re up-to-date; click the “Check for Updates” button, anyway, just to make sure.
After updating, go to the Settings section again, and visit Accounts. You want to be using a “Local” account, not a Microsoft account. If you need to, tell it to switch to a local account, and follow the instructions. Give the account a name without any spaces in it. You can use the same password or PIN as before, if you like. It may show a scary message about signing out of your Microsoft account, which is exactly what you want to do: sign out.
Next, visit Settings again, and go to “Privacy.” This is where things start to get interesting. On the left side of the screen, you will see numerous sections that allow you to affect various privacy-related changes. Click a section on the left, and you will see its related settings on the right.
Generally speaking, you will be turning everything “Off,” with very few exceptions. In the “General” section, where it says “Change privacy options,” turn everything off. Then, back to the left side of the window and click “Speech.” Turn everything off. Keep going through every section, turning everything off. The only exception should be for Camera and Microphone, and that’s only if you are doing Zoom, Skype, or similar online meetings.
Continued next week in “Computers with privacy: is it possible? Part Three.”
Dave Moore, CISSP, has been fixing computers in Oklahoma since 1984. Founder of the non-profit Internet Safety Group Ltd, he also teaches Internet safety community training workshops. He can be reached at 405-919-9901 or internetsafetygroup.org