Get your Windows 10 privacy back
Windows 10’s Cortana can be helpful with various tasks — from displaying accurate and personalized ads according to your online searches to spamming word suggestions based on your most common keystrokes. But this operating system may feel intrusive. The following tips should help you avoid being seen by Microsoft’s watchful eye. Turn personalized advertising off For those unaware, Windows 10 assigns each user an “advertising ID” that it uses to personalize your ad experience based on your recent browsing history. If you’re okay with seeing generic ads targeted to you based on demographics rather than your ID, we recommend turning this feature off. Here’s how to do it: Click on the magnifying glass symbol next to the Windows logo, at the bottom left of your screen. Next, type in “Privacy” — click on Privacy Settings, and select General. Turn off the option that states “Let apps use my advertising ID for experience across apps”. Lastly, open your web browser and go to this link. Once there, turn off the “Personalized ads wherever I use my Microsoft account” and “Personalized ads in this browser” options. This resets your ad ID, letting you surf the web without the targeted advertisements. Disable Cortana Voice-controlled digital assistants have become big business. Microsoft aims to capitalize on this market with Cortana, an incredibly resourceful built-in assistant that allows to you quickly set reminders, schedule events and send email, among many other intuitive features. It uses the information it collects similar to how Google’s Android-based assistant does it. However, it can become overbearing at times. To turn it off, click on the Cortana icon on the taskbar, followed by the notebook icon on the left-hand side of the pop-up panel. Click on Settings, which should present you with the option that says, “Cortana can give you suggestions, ideas, reminders, alerts and more”; you can actually just click the On/Off toggle, too. Once disabled, the Cortana option disappears and you’re now presented with a search bar, which you can use to search for things online or on your desktop. Stop peer-to-peer file sharing With P2P file sharing enabled, Windows 10 shares downloaded updates to your PC with other Windows 10 users by default. This helps other users update their systems faster, and speeds up your upgrade downloads, as well. However, if you are unhappy with your files being utilized by other users, you can turn it off. Head over to Settings once again. Click on Update and Security > Windows Update > Advanced Options > Choose how updates are delivered. By default, the option “Updates from more than one place” is on, followed by two options: “Distribute updates only to PCs on local network,” and “Shut off P2P updates entirely”. If you want to disable this feature entirely without worrying about specifics, then move the toggle to Off. If you want to share your files with PCs on your in-house network only, leave this option on and select the option that says “PCs on my local network.” For more detailed instructions on how to stop P2P updates, click here. Blunt Microsoft’s Edge Microsoft Edge is chock-full of features — such as Cortana Integration and typing prediction — which may make you uncomfortable, since all the features send data back to Microsoft. To turn off these intrusive functionalities, open Edge and click on the menu icon in the far right corner (three dots). Once in, click on View Advanced Settings. There you have the option to disable Adobe Flash — which stops those Flash cookies from going anywhere. You’ll also encounter a bunch of settings you might want to disable under the “Privacy and Services” section. These simple security tips will stop Microsoft from tracking your online activities for good! Don’t hesitate to contact us today for all matters security-related. Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.
9 Cybersecurity terms you need to know
Cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility. But you don’t need to be an IT expert to know how to protect yourself from a cyberattack. To help you get started, here are helpful terms you need to know so you’re not left in the dark, whether you’re teaching yourself how to update your anti-malware, updating your systems, or consulting your tech support. Malware For a long time, the phrase “computer virus” was misappropriated as a term to define every type of attack that intended to harm or hurt your computers and networks. A virus is actually a specific type of attack, or malware. Whereas a virus is designed to replicate itself, any software created for the purpose of destroying or unfairly accessing networks and data should be referred to as malware. Ransomware Don’t let all the other words ending in “ware” confuse you; they are all just subcategories of malware. Currently, one of the most popular of these is “ransomware,” which is malware that encrypts valuable data until a ransom is paid for its return. Intrusion protection system(IPS) There are several ways to safeguard your network from malware, but IPSs are quickly becoming one of the non-negotiables. IPSs sit inside of your company’s firewall and look for suspicious and malicious activity that can be halted before it can exploit or take advantage of a known vulnerability. Social engineering Not all types of malware rely solely on fancy computer programming. Experts agree that the majority of attacks require some form of what is called “social engineering” to be successful. Social engineering is the act of tricking people, rather than computers, into revealing sensitive or guarded information. Complicated software is totally unnecessary if you can just convince potential victims that you’re a security professional who needs their password to secure their account. Phishing Despite often relying on face-to-face interactions, social engineering does occasionally employ more technical methods. Phishing is the act of creating an application or website that impersonates a trustworthy and often well-known business in an attempt to elicit confidential information. Just because you received an email that says it’s from the IRS doesn’t mean it should be taken at face value — always verify the source of any service requesting your sensitive data. Antivirus Antivirus software is often misunderstood as a way to comprehensively secure your computers and workstations. These applications are just one piece of the cybersecurity puzzle and can only scan the drives on which they are installed for signs of well-known malware variants. Zero-day attacks Malware is most dangerous when it has been released but not yet discovered by cybersecurity experts. When a vulnerability is found within a piece of software, vendors will release an update to amend the gap in security. However, if cyberattackers release a piece of malware that has never been seen before, and if that malware exploits one of these holes before the vulnerability is addressed, it is called a zero-day attack. Patch When software developers discover a security vulnerability in their programming, they usually release a small file to update and “patch” this gap. Patches are essential to keeping your network secure from the vultures lurking on the internet. By checking for and installing patches as often as possible, you keep your software protected from the latest malware. Redundant data When antivirus software, patches, and intrusion detection fail to keep your information secure, there’s only one thing that will: quarantined off-site storage. Duplicating your data offline and storing it somewhere other than your business’s workspace ensures that if there is a malware infection, you’re equipped with backups. We aren’t just creating a glossary of cybersecurity terms; every day, we’re writing a new chapter to the history of this ever-evolving industry. And no matter what you might think, we are available to impart that knowledge on anyone who comes knocking. Get in touch with us today and find out just how we can help you with your IT woes. Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.