Why You Shouldn’t Use “Anti-Spying” Tools for Windows 10

[Batu69]

 

Since Windows 10’s release and the privacy controversy that followed, many “anti-spying” apps have sprung up. They promise to keep Windows 10 from tracking you–but often, they can cause more problems than they solve.

 

We recommend changing privacy settings using the normal options in Windows. These invasive tools can break things and cause a variety of system problems you may not notice until later, with no indication that the problem was caused by the tool.

What “Anti-Spying” Tools and Scripts Promise

These types of tools include Destroy Windows Spying (DWS), O&O Shutup10, Spybot Anti-Beacon and many smaller scripts named things like “DisableWinTracking” and “windows-10-tracking“.

 

They promise to quickly stop Windows 10 from “spying” and communicating with Microsoft in just a few clicks. They do this in some good ways–like changing basic settings–and some bad ways–like blocking web addresses in the hosts file and flat-out deleting services that are part of the Windows operating system.

The Problem with These Tools

Tools of this type can cause a variety of problems, and if you look around the web, you can see plenty of instances of people experiencing those problems. These include:

• Blocking Windows Update completely, preventing the installation of important security updates and leaving your PC vulnerable.
• Tampering with the hosts file to block specific Microsoft web servers, leading to various problems like Skype failing to synchronize chat messages or being unable to update itself.
• Breaking the Windows Store, preventing you from installing apps from there and preventing it from updating the included applications in Windows 10.
• Disabling the Windows Defender antivirus, which helps keep Windows 10 secure, and other system components you may actually want, like OneDrive.
• Deleting various services and parts of Windows 10, breaking various things and potentially blocking you from installing major updates like the Anniversary Update and November Update before it.

For example, if you downloaded the “windows-10-tracking” PowerShell script from GitHub and ran it, the tool will block various Skype domains in your hosts file, preventing Skype from working properly. It can also delete various services from Windows rather than simply disabling them.

 

The download page warns you should use this script at your own risk and that “We have not personally tested every HOSTS entry. Some of them may cause applications and services to stop working.” Running a not-properly-tested script that takes a shotgun approach to your operating system sounds like a bad idea (and it is).

 

 

Download DWS and you’ll see it will “disable Windows Update” so you will “not receive updates of new spyware”. The tool also notes that the changes made are “irreversible”, so there’s no easy way to undo them without just reinstalling Windows. That means you won’t get important security updates and stability fixes to problems like the recent webcam breakage, either.

 

These are just a few major problems we found with a quick look at a few of these tools.

 

Just Configure Windows 10’s Privacy Options Yourself

We’re not here to slam any individual tool. Some of them may work alright, but most of the tools and scripts we’ve seen look harmful and dangerous, albeit to different degrees. Over the past year, we’ve regularly seen stories of people who ran these tools and only later discovered something wasn’t working properly, forcing them to reset or reinstall Windows 10 to fully repair the damage (or, at best, go hunting for the setting that triggered the problem–a huge hassle in and of itself).

 

Rather than relying on some tool to change the settings for you, learn what Windows 10’s privacy settings do and change them yourself. They’re a bit scattered throughout Windows 10, but they’re not hard to find if you have a good guide. Run through our list of the various options that “phone home” on Windows 10 and you can disable them in a safe way.

 

Even Tools Can’t Block Everything on Windows 10

Some settings aren’t available for a good reason–you shouldn’t disable Windows Update entirely, for example as security updates are crucial. You can’t fully disable telemetry on Home or Professional editions of Windows 10. Many tools set the “Allow Telemetry” value to “0” and say they’ve disabled telemetry. That only works on the Enterprise and Education editions of Windows 10. A value of “0” just chooses the Basic telemetry level on Home and Professional editions. In other words, it’s complete snake oil.

 

In other cases, Microsoft can easily work around these changes. Windows 10 actually ignores the hosts file for certain domains, which means attempting to block domains in your hosts file won’t actually do anything. So once again, these anti-spying tools and scripts aren’t living up to their promises.

 

Instead of using one of these tools, do your research on what these controversial Windows 10 features actually do. That way, you can turn off the stuff that actually matters to you. Microsoft uses the telemetry features to identify bugs and decide which features it should work on, not to steal your personal documents. So you may find these features are not as sinister as they might seem.

 

If you have a major philosophical problem with the fact that Windows 10 doesn’t let you avoid non-security updates or disable telemetry, don’t try to fix it. Instead, just switch to another operating system, like Linux or Windows 7 (or Windows 10 Enterprise, if your organization is eligible).

 

Article source

[Pete 12]

Im using O&O for a few months , and blocked almost everything with it , still no problems at all , the cumulative updates ( these are the most "heavy " updates !) are still installed every month. And Office and Windows Defender are updating also .

Im afraid if I remove this ( portable) program  the problems could be worse , so better leave it this way coz it did not do any harm...........

[Bausch]

Hmm. Why doesn't Microsoft just stop spying on its customers in the first place? What would they feel about consumers spying on them?

[visualbuffs]

3 hours ago, Batu69 said:

 

Spoiler

 

Since Windows 10’s release and the privacy controversy that followed, many “anti-spying” apps have sprung up. They promise to keep Windows 10 from tracking you–but often, they can cause more problems than they solve.

 

We recommend changing privacy settings using the normal options in Windows. These invasive tools can break things and cause a variety of system problems you may not notice until later, with no indication that the problem was caused by the tool.

What “Anti-Spying” Tools and Scripts Promise

These types of tools include Destroy Windows Spying (DWS), O&O Shutup10, Spybot Anti-Beacon and many smaller scripts named things like “DisableWinTracking” and “windows-10-tracking“.

 

They promise to quickly stop Windows 10 from “spying” and communicating with Microsoft in just a few clicks. They do this in some good ways–like changing basic settings–and some bad ways–like blocking web addresses in the hosts file and flat-out deleting services that are part of the Windows operating system.

The Problem with These Tools

Tools of this type can cause a variety of problems, and if you look around the web, you can see plenty of instances of people experiencing those problems. These include:

• Blocking Windows Update completely, preventing the installation of important security updates and leaving your PC vulnerable.
• Tampering with the hosts file to block specific Microsoft web servers, leading to various problems like Skype failing to synchronize chat messages or being unable to update itself.
• Breaking the Windows Store, preventing you from installing apps from there and preventing it from updating the included applications in Windows 10.
• Disabling the Windows Defender antivirus, which helps keep Windows 10 secure, and other system components you may actually want, like OneDrive.
• Deleting various services and parts of Windows 10, breaking various things and potentially blocking you from installing major updates like the Anniversary Update and November Update before it.

For example, if you downloaded the “windows-10-tracking” PowerShell script from GitHub and ran it, the tool will block various Skype domains in your hosts file, preventing Skype from working properly. It can also delete various services from Windows rather than simply disabling them.

 

The download page warns you should use this script at your own risk and that “We have not personally tested every HOSTS entry. Some of them may cause applications and services to stop working.” Running a not-properly-tested script that takes a shotgun approach to your operating system sounds like a bad idea (and it is).

 

 

Download DWS and you’ll see it will “disable Windows Update” so you will “not receive updates of new spyware”. The tool also notes that the changes made are “irreversible”, so there’s no easy way to undo them without just reinstalling Windows. That means you won’t get important security updates and stability fixes to problems like the recent webcam breakage, either.

 

These are just a few major problems we found with a quick look at a few of these tools.

 

Just Configure Windows 10’s Privacy Options Yourself

We’re not here to slam any individual tool. Some of them may work alright, but most of the tools and scripts we’ve seen look harmful and dangerous, albeit to different degrees. Over the past year, we’ve regularly seen stories of people who ran these tools and only later discovered something wasn’t working properly, forcing them to reset or reinstall Windows 10 to fully repair the damage (or, at best, go hunting for the setting that triggered the problem–a huge hassle in and of itself).

 

Rather than relying on some tool to change the settings for you, learn what Windows 10’s privacy settings do and change them yourself. They’re a bit scattered throughout Windows 10, but they’re not hard to find if you have a good guide. Run through our list of the various options that “phone home” on Windows 10 and you can disable them in a safe way.

 

Even Tools Can’t Block Everything on Windows 10

Some settings aren’t available for a good reason–you shouldn’t disable Windows Update entirely, for example as security updates are crucial. You can’t fully disable telemetry on Home or Professional editions of Windows 10. Many tools set the “Allow Telemetry” value to “0” and say they’ve disabled telemetry. That only works on the Enterprise and Education editions of Windows 10. A value of “0” just chooses the Basic telemetry level on Home and Professional editions. In other words, it’s complete snake oil.

 

In other cases, Microsoft can easily work around these changes. Windows 10 actually ignores the hosts file for certain domains, which means attempting to block domains in your hosts file won’t actually do anything. So once again, these anti-spying tools and scripts aren’t living up to their promises.

 

Instead of using one of these tools, do your research on what these controversial Windows 10 features actually do. That way, you can turn off the stuff that actually matters to you. Microsoft uses the telemetry features to identify bugs and decide which features it should work on, not to steal your personal documents. So you may find these features are not as sinister as they might seem.

 

If you have a major philosophical problem with the fact that Windows 10 doesn’t let you avoid non-security updates or disable telemetry, don’t try to fix it. Instead, just switch to another operating system, like Linux or Windows 7 (or Windows 10 Enterprise, if your organization is eligible).

 

Article source

 

 

O&O shutup10  ...

 

I can install apps on store

I can install all updates

no services or any important windows files missing

Defender Disable

 

 

 

[Pete 12]

Very good !

I have Defender enabled , only for scanning not for real time, works fine ,updates and scans when you want to...........

( so, O&O is not so bad as it seems.........)

[luisam]

Guess it should be titled

"Why You Should Be Careful Using “Anti-Spying” Tools for Windows 10"

[Sylence]

Destroy Windows Spying tool doesn't block my Windows update from operating oO getting all device drivers and Windows updates without problem 

[Pete 12]

Same for O&O.........

[steven36]

1 hour ago, Pete 12 said:

Same for O&O.........

I uninstalled everything from the store  ,i use O&O , Windows Privacy Tweaker and Win Privacy  Also  i block crap in my host and in my Firewall  and i still get updates OK in Windows 10 on 2 PCs .Its a shame we have too use such tools  ..But its  ether use these or put Windows 7  in too run windows programs .  This post  is purely 100% M$  FUD  the reason they dont want you blocking them is because harvesting data and showing you ads is how they make Money off  you . I'm  not going too use a OS  that's always calling home using up my bandwidth  making my download speeds slow and stuff.

 

How to Geek dont thank you should  use nothing but built in apps for windows.. i been reading  there articles along time ..If you dont use something its a good place to dig up fud to use  against them .. But still  it's one editors opinion against  the worlds (that's all that site is opinion)  Its not news.at all ..it's software chat. and it  defeats the reason for using windows at all  ..If i just wanted to use built in apps id use Linux  because it has better apps built in . lol

 

Some of there tuts are helpful  and i agree  with some of there opinions .. but  if  someone makes something better than Microsoft does witch someone does for most things on Windows  I'm all for it . And if they make something helpful  that i need that windows dont have I'm all for it . But there are somethings you simply dont need. but sorry this is not news. No one is going agree fully with any editors opinions. That why I most the time never visit there site, unless im searching for something and it pops up .

 

[eddman]

Every single piece of software that connects and works through internet "spies" on you. It's called telemetry. There is no spying going on, unless you think windows windows logs are personal data. Do you really think MS stores your entire HDD on their servers? They have better things to do. They do not collect any private data that you have not provided them yourself. If you really are that worried then don't log in with an outlook.com account.

 

Do you use gmail, yahoo or any other web mail? Do you use iOS or android? How about cloud storage services like dropbox, google drive, etc.? If yes, then you are being "spied" on. (not really)

 

Just because companies have access to your data, doesn't mean they systematically catalog them in secret lists and spy on you. If you want to really believe that one company spies on you, then you might as well believe that they ALL do it.

 

Even windows 7 and 8/8.1 send telemetry, but to a lesser extent. Why there is more telemetry in 10? Because it's the first OS by MS that is gradually updated as it goes on, and as a result more telemetry and feedback is needed to monitor and find bugs.

 

There is no need for such tools. These telemetry services can already be disabled in settings (a few), group policy editor or registry. I've done so already, not because they are "spying" on me, but because I don't want my PC to use hardware resources and internet bandwidth in random times.

 

If MS were really spying on anyone, security researchers would have found them and businesses would have sued MS left and right.

[Pequi]

6 hours ago, Bausch said:

Hmm. Why doesn't Microsoft just stop spying on its customers in the first place?

Because it's more lucrative to pay people to write articles saying the spying is harmless, and there is no reason to block it.

And sell everything they datamine to the largest bidder ...

It's in the T.O.S

[steven36]

34 minutes ago, Pequi said:

Because it's more lucrative to pay people to write articles saying the spying is harmless, and there is no reason to block it.

And sell everything they datamine to the largest bidder ...

It's in the T.O.S

If you really want see the truth behind  the madness  watch  Generation Like | FRONTLINE | PBS ,   People  today love selling there own data  its been like that long before windows 10 and there's already the research  is there that shows it.. See people have been selling there data so long to other services they  thank  it dont exist .

 

!, Only Phone i have is a burner

2. Only thing Google I use is web search and YouTube..Ive not signed  into Google since 2011 when they changed there privacy policy

3. I dont Yahoo since 2011 ether .

4.Ive not been on Facebook since 2011.

5. I dont have a M$ account

5. I never made any accounts with my real info before.

6.I use a VPN when I surf the internet

7, I practice what I preach 

 

[pc71520]

18 hours ago, eddman said:

Do you really think MS stores your entire HDD on their servers? They have better things to do.

 

Do you use gmail, yahoo or any other web mail? Do you use iOS or android? How about cloud storage services like dropbox, google drive, etc.? If yes, then you are being "spied" on. (not really)

 

Just because companies have access to your data, doesn't mean they systematically catalog them in secret lists and spy on you. If you want to really believe that one company spies on you, then you might as well believe that they ALL do it.

Exactly!

Blame it only on M$ when everybody else does it?

[Holmes]

They do work some disable ip addresses in host file like block all microsoft ip addresses and thats not good to do you could block microsoft.com skype address that skype requires to function properly windows update ip addresses.  You would have to go through the host's file and test each one that microsoft uses to make sure you dont break a program or application of your's functionality.  I wouldnt block windows update thats not a good idea who uses apps from the windows store are there any good apps I dont think there are unfortunately microoft may put a update for windows ten in the windows store in the future and if you block or disable windows store you might not get the update.  I wouldnt use a program or script to block or delete windows services as thse are easy to disable yourself just go into contol panel administrative tools and click on services and right click on any you dont want stop and disable and those that you dont have the option to stop go into task manager and end the task after you have disabled it in services that works to. 

 

I think luisam is correct the title should be why you should be careful running anti spying tools.  If you decide to use a anti-spying tool make sure you look at what it does read the documentation before using it and before you use it create a system restore point or image backup.  If your going to use a script go through it one line at a time to make sure its not going to do something crazy like delete windows system files or do something that cant be undone and when you have looked at it then think before you do anything.

[steven36]

I have a friend  who still uses TH2  and there not going to bother to try to install RS1  again tell they get time off work   they disable the update service  So it dont upgrade to  RS1 . They still do TH2 updates on patch Tuesday  by  re enabling the AU service and doing them offline and disabling  it again so that shoots  the presses theory that you cant stay on a old version of windows 10 to shreds. TH2 still gets updates . You dont even need LTBS  to do this they use PRO . It just depends on you're skills  and needs if you want too fool with  disabling AU  or not. .That setting is there for a reason.

 

What makes this Topic FUD  any tools i seen that can disable AU  it has a setting  to do it  you just dont engage  the setting and it dont turn  it off.  ..  Not all these tools use host blocks  ether like O&O or Windows Privacy Tweaker dont . Just use those if you dont  know what you're doing. Most likely if you use Skype you can go to Github  and the devs can tell you with lines to remove or most likely you can just Google it,

 

1.No one will ever achieve 100% privacy , 

2.The more you do to protect it  the more privacy you will have, 

3. If you do nothing  and make like people who earn a living  off harvesting you're Data don't exist you will have no privacy  and  if you don't mind you dont have privacy  it dont hurt me.

3. I been setting up computers for 15 years and i'm not asking you for and opinion . I  only use info that's helpful too me and leave anything that's not lay .

4. What I dont like is people spreading FUD  and leading people the wrong way because they dont want to try to protect there privacy they thank we should join them at not protecting our privacy,

5.  Privacy Experts have done spoke against  it 

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/08/windows-10-microsoft-blatantly-disregards-user-choice-and-privacy-deep-dive

6. So making like it dont exist dont cut it anymore.  We cant make Microsoft change,  so all we can do is fight back by blocking it, if we chose to use Windows 10.  And if you care about you're privacy you will.!