Windows 10 privacy protection
Overview
I am a big fan of Windows computers. They provide you extreme ease & comfort to perform numerous tasks seamlessly. While I use these machines to perform day-to-day tasks, I also use to store my valuable data. This data may include my personal pictures & videos, my favorite music files, client’s documents, presentations, and more. Knowing the fact, computers are prone to cyber threats, I also try to follow some important security aspects for data safety. I recently researched some important built-in privacy & security features that come loaded on your Windows 10 PC. All you required is to at least know them. Here, I have discussed all these important privacy & security features that will help you protect your privacy in Windows 10.
Secure local accounts: When you are using a local account on your system or even using Microsoft account, your priority should be to make it more secure. To do this, always prefer settings a strong password instead of a PIN. Here, you can use the alphanumeric password with a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters. Furthermore, you can avoid linking your PC with a Microsoft account. Here, you can create a local account for daily operations. To do this, go to Settings > Accounts > Sign in with a local account instead. This simple tweak will offer complete identity protection effortlessly.
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Use random hardware addresses: If you are worried about people tracking your Wi-Fi address, then you can use the built-in feature in Windows 10 to randomize your hardware address on Wi-Fi. Here, you will be less prone to tracking across different networks. To do this, go to Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi.
Don’t connect to open Wi-Fi networks automatically: When allowed Windows 10 could connect directly to suggest open Wi-Fi networks automatically. It may cause unnecessary trouble to you as if some network goes rogue. Here, you should avoid this setting by heading to Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi. In addition to that, you should also avoid using open networks while you are online. Here, open networks like free Wi-Fi brings a lot of security issues, as it is extremely easy for cyber criminals to breach your system security on open networks with a small piece of malicious code. Here, you should prefer encrypted and password network for better security.
Tweak other settings: There come numerous other settings that could be tweaked to make your system more secure. You can find these settings built-in in your Windows 10 PC that will help you manage various permissions to different apps. It will also help you keep your privacy intact. To do this, follow these steps.
- As Cortana sends commands back to Microsoft, you can consider disabling it by heading to Settings > Cortana.
- Block apps’ access to your advertising ID by heading to Settings > Privacy > General.
- Manage location access by different apps by heading to Settings > Privacy > Location.
- Control apps’ access to sensitive data by heading to Settings > Privacy > Calendar/Contacts/Microphone/Camera/Call History.
- Manage apps’ access to account info by heading to Settings > Privacy > Account Info.
- Manage apps that send or receive messages by heading to Settings > Privacy > Email/Messaging.
Avoid clicking on unknown links: You get tons of emails every day offering you some out of the box offers and discounts. While most of these apps land in your Spam folder which you can easily empty with a click of a button still there remain certain emails that manage to land in your inbox. Here, you should be careful about these emails. If you find an unexpected email from an unknown sender, then try to refrain from clicking on any link within the email body or opening any attachment. Here, these emails bring a lot of security threat. Thus, it is best practice to delete them as you receive them to avoid unnecessary trouble.
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Conclusion: Following the above mentioned built-in features, you can effectively secure your data & system privacy in Windows 10. Furthermore, simple behavior changes while being online and using third-party security tools also help you keep your privacy intact. Here, third-party security apps work as an instant solution to help you fix various privacy issues on your PC. In addition to the above-mentioned steps, if you know more such tips, then feel free to share below.
