Turning Off the Keylogger
Do you know? Microsoft has the power to track every single word you type or say to its digital assistant Cortana while using its newest operating system, Windows 10. The keylogger that was included in the Technical Preview last fall has been kept in the public release of Windows 10.
However, the component is not actually a keylogger in terms of malware. It’s much more, as described by Microsoft during the Technical Preview:
“When you interact with your Windows device by speaking, [handwriting], or typing, Microsoft collects speech, inking, and typing information – including information about your Calendar and People [contacts]…”
Luckily, the keylogger function, among many other privacy issues in the new Windows 10, can be disabled easily.
HOW TO DISABLE WINDOWS 10 KEYLOGGER
- Click on the Start Menu, then open Settings.
- Click on Privacy settings, which you’ll find in the very last row of the menu.
- Once you are in the Privacy menu, click on General
- Under ‘Send Microsoft info about how I write to help use improve typing and writing in the future’ – Turn it to Off.
- Now move ahead to the ‘Speech, Inking and Typing’ menu and click Stop getting to know me. This will help you turn off the speech tracking through dictation or Cortana.
Other Functions of Windows 10 You Might Wantto Turn Off
Limiting Account Information Sharing
By default Windows 10 will share some of your account details, including your picture and your name, with third-party apps. You can stop this from happening in the Account Info section of Privacy settings.
Stop Sharing Updates
Windows 10 will try to use your network connection to share updates with other systems. This uses a P2P-type system called Windows Update Delivery Optimization (WUDO). To stop this open up Settings and click Update & Security. In the Windows Update section on the left select Advanced options and click Choose how updates are delivered. You can switch off WUDO by flicking the toggle switch to the Off position. Or if you have other PCs on your network you can continue to share updates with these but not with the outside world by leaving this toggle in the On position and selecting PCs on my local network.
Tone Down Feedback
If your system or a piece of software you’re running crashes, the OS will send diagnostic data back to the software vendor. There’s a risk that these could include memory dumps which contain personally identifiable data. You can’t stop Windows sending these reports but you can reduce the amount sent by going to Feedback & diagnostics from Privacy settings and changing the Diagnostic and usage data drop-down to Basic.
Taming Cortana
Windows 10’s digital assistant Cortana uses machine learning in order to be responsive to your needs. This means Cortana can snoop into your emails and contacts, if you’d rather it didn’t do this turn the assistant off. To do this go to Settings and select Privacy, Speech, Inking & typing and then click the ”Stop getting to know me” button.