Windows 10 Security & Privacy Settings

[AlanHo]

I am the computer guru for several friends and family members. Most of them have upgraded to Windows 10 now and keep coming back for help and advice.

 

None are experienced computer users and I have to adopt a KISS policy with any advice. One topic that worries some is the multitude of Privacy and Security settings built into Windows 10.

 

I have had to learn the hard way and have slowly assembled a record of advice collected from various sources, including the media, computer magazines and friends on forums. I have summarised it in a Doc file and uploaded it to my Onedrive site.

 

Anyone interested can find it here :-

 

http://1drv.ms/1JvnvLj

 

 

 

[Gandalph]

Please accept the following advice in the spirit that it is meant to be in.

 

When adopting the KISS policy, just make sure that the person you are kissing has not got an unidentified lip fungus. 

[D4\/!d]

Just downloading this now, will read when I go for a pint - provided TEN allows me to do so [before you say anything, that's Win10 not 10 pints] !

Thanks Alan.

 

[johnoo]

Alan,

Good list for persons who have not got your ability &/or have not got any ready help when installing.

Many thanks

[D4\/!d]

Alan, you have a clear and concise writing style. Much of the summary must be copy paste from the internet but then you have Alan-ised it into a most readable guide, nicely laid out with headings and easy to follow instructions. You seem to know about descriptive vs prescriptive. Did it flow logically, or was it just me jumping around looking for the good bits with dog-eared corners.

Small typo on page 3:

To do this :-

Rick click on the task bar at the bottom.

 

For me using the summary is rather tricky coz my Win 10 Start button does not work. Nor does the Search window, bottom right. Its a feature that many throughout the internet are grumbling about. MS have their head in the sand as usual. Worry not coz I have set up work-arounds - as you do. I like the way File Explorer gives you Quick access and Frequent folders, and I use that a lot.

[Late Edit] after I submitted this I found out I can use Win+I (Windows button plus i on the keyboard) to bring up Settings.

 

Oh yes, ha, I was expecting it to be in rhyming verse though.

[AlanHo]

Da\/id

 

Thanks for the response - and for finding the typo which I have now corrected in the original on my computer. Later I might upload it again to My One Drive and edit the link in my original post.

 

The advice I gave about backups may be misleading inasmuch as I cannot get the Windows backup to work properly. In theory it should keep an image of the folders you have selected to back up - and you can set it to carry out a backup at a choice of frequencies from a few minutes to each day.

 

I set it to do a backup every hour and 8 working hours later I got a windows error flag in my notification tray stating that my external drive was full.

 

When I looked at the drive using explorer I found that it had written 8 copies of every file in the backup file. I was expecting it to only backup and overwrite any files that had changed - thus leaving only 1 version of each file.

 

Hence I am no longer using it.  Perhaps I have done something wrong in the settings - so I await a flurry of comments on the web when others hit the same problem

 

I don't have a problem with the start button - because I don't use the Windows 10 one - I have installed Stardock Start 10 which puts a Windows 7 front end onto Windows 10.

 

I thus enjoy all the benefits of Windows 10 with the convenience of the Windows 7 desktop and menu. On my computer I can switch to the Win 10 desktop and tiles by pressing the Windows key on the keyboard - but there is little reason to do so. In my case I can easily select settings by clicking on the Start 10 button and it appears in the menu list together with Control Panel and Devices and Printers

 

 

 

[D4\/!d]

I don't use MS Backup. I wouldn't touch it. I am an Acronis boy; have been for years; scheduled backups three times a week. Sorted.

 

I have purposely not disguised 10 and made myself use it as it was. That was hard work coz 10 is not the breath of fresh air that Win 7 was after XP Pro.

 

Neither my Start button nor Windows button respond and the internet is full of others with the same complaint. Many have gone back to 7 or jumped to Linux. I have stuck with 10, and to be honest it gives me little or nothing new over 7. Although I do like the File Explorer setup.

Ha, much of your findings I had in fact already found and tweaked, nevertheless thanks again for a well researched and written guide.

 

[AlanHo]

I too have used every version of Acronis since it was first launched.  I am currently using True Image 2016 but I really don't like the new interface - it is a change made for the sake of change rather than out of necessity.

 

My computer hard drive is split into two partitions which keeps the O.S and programs on C: separate from all the data folders on D:

 

I have "Second Copy" installed on my computer set to make a back up of the D: drive (onto an external eSATA hard drive alongside the tower) every time the computer is shut down.

 

I use Acronis to take a full backup of my computer (C; and D: drives) every Sunday to an external 2GB USB drive that is then stored in our garage which is remote from the house. I keep the last 2 versions of the backups and delete the eldest one each time.

 

My valuable records are thus reasonably well protected from fire and theft.

[D4\/!d]

I know you like tweaking - and I am talking about yer PC here not anything else that might come to mind ;O)

Have a read of these Hidden Secret Registry Tweaks. I suggest you read the whole lot first before taking any action, esp comments; and bear in mind it was written months ago for the RTM version, so things in newer builds will have changed.

Anyway use at your peril, relying on one of yer backups icon.

Have fun,

Collection of Windows 10 Hidden Secret Registry Tweaks

[AlanHo]

D4\/1D - I took a look at all those registry tweaks but none floated my boat.

 

I am happy with the way my rig and laptops are set up.

 

Thanks for the post though - it tweaked my interest but not any adoption.