Use This Free Spybot Utility to Block Microsoft Monitoring in Windows [1]
Microsoft’s new and more aggressive monitoring of Windows systems has caused considerable discussion. Whether you believe all the telemetry is a privacy concern or not, you might be interested in an easy way to block the extensive information gathering. The developers at the well-known anti-spyware company Spybot have now provided a free utility called Spybot Anti-Beacon [3] that makes configuring many privacy settings very convenient.
The utility can be used in Windows 7, 8.x, and 10 and comes as either an installer version or a version designated as portable. The portable application actually comes as an EXE installer that places a number of files in a folder. Also the portable is labeled version 1.4 while the installed is version 1.5. I tried both and there seem to be a few added configurations in version 1.5. Normally, I go for portable apps but in this case I would choose the installer version. The download and descriptive pages for each can be reached from this link [3]. The downloads are 1.6 MB for the portable version and 2.6 MB for the installer version. Space actually used when installed is larger at around 4-8 MB.
Added later: There is, in fact, a stand-alone version available from this page [4].
Because of its nature, the program has to be run with administrative rights and will trigger a UAC challenge. The interface is easy to use. Examples of the interface for Windows 7 and for Windows 10 are shown in the first two graphics below. If changing the settings causes any problems, they are easily undone with the click of a button. Unfortunately, users of Home versions of Windows will not have the group policy settings. There is a Spybot forum thread about the utility at this link [5].
There is also an optional tab that provides additional settings. The graphic below shows some of them for Windows 10.
All in all, this free program looks like a good choice for those who wish to put some controls on how much information Microsoft finds out about their computer activities.
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This tips section is maintained by Vic Laurie [7]. Vic runs several websites with Windows how-to's, guides, and tutorials, including a site for learning about Windows and the Internet [8] and another with Windows 7 tips [9].
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