Windows 10 was launched last month and critics have raised concerning its functionality. Reports have been made on the fact that Windows 10 is spying on its users. Apparently, Microsoft collects personal information and the company does not want to give a comment about that.
Windows 10 shares your personal information with Microsoft by default
Windows 10 shares a lot of information about their users with Microsoft. The company’s privacy policy stipulates that windows sends Microsoft everything you say to Cortana, Windows 10’s Siri-like virtual assistant. It also collects your name and nickname, your recent calendar events, the names of the people in your appointments, and information about your contacts including their names and nicknames.
Also read: Windows 10 Has Introduced Useful Keyboard Shortcuts For The Command Prompt
Borrows bandwidth from your home Internet connection
Windows 10 has the ability to use your Internet connection to help other people download apps or update their PCs. If someone is not able to connect to Microsoft servers, he or she can instead download that update or app from you. This in the background, without either of you ever knowing it.
The feature is called Windows Update Delivery Optimization. The feature helps Windows 10 users update their PCs faster by connecting to millions of different people instead of just Microsoft. Microsoft has never told users about this feature.
To turn it off, navigate to a submenu –Choose how updates are delivered of a submenu — Advanced options — within the settings app.
Can share your wireless password with your friends’ PCs
Wi-Fi Sense allows you to automatically log your friends onto your Wi-Fi network without ever giving them your password. This is very creepy since the password might be the key to all your private information and photos.
However, Microsoft enables Wi-Fi Sense by default on Windows 10, it doesn’t share your networks by default you have to choose to do that. When your friends connect via Wi-Fi Sense, they won’t then, in turn, be able to share your network with their friends. Wi-Fi Sense encrypts your password, and it won’t work on corporate networks with special security protocols. And you can opt out.
Windows 10 will continue to send information to Microsoft after you disable data-sharing settings
If you shut off all the data sharing, you will still share your information with Microsoft. If you disable Cortana and Bing queries in the search box, opening the Start Menu and typing anything will still send some data to Microsoft. Microsoft said there’s nothing nefarious going on there. It’s not reading your search queries, just learning some basic habits about how you are using search. It’s not clear exactly what Microsoft means by that, but the company hinted that it’s looking at broad behaviors. For example, it may be recording the simple fact that you searched for an item on your PC and how you initiated the search.
“As part of delivering Windows 10 as a service, updates may be delivered to provide ongoing new features to Bing search, such as new visual layouts, styles and search code,” a Microsoft spokeswoman said in a statement. “No query or search usage data is sent to Microsoft, in accordance with the customer’s chosen privacy settings.”Reports CNN.
Also read: Windows 10 Has Been Installed On More Than 50 Million Devices
