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By now, almost everyone knows and understands how important security is at every level, from your network as a whole, to your individual PC. What many people may not know is that if you upgraded to Windows 10, your new OS was pretty generous in terms of allowing applications to access…well, pretty much anything they wanted. Here are three simple steps you can take to regain control over your PC.
Disable Wi-Fi Sense
One of the neat features of Windows 10 is that it allows you to build a list of Wi-Fi hotspots based on information your contacts send you. By default, this is turned “on,” meaning that you’re willing to share your Wi-Fi with anybody on your contacts list. Except of course, you’re probably not willing to share this with everyone in your contact list. It is definitely best to make that decision on a case-by-case basis as it comes up. To change this setting, go into your Windows Settings screen, then click or tap (as applicable) “Manage Wi-Fi Settings.” Simply turn Wi-Fi sense to the off position and you’re all set.
Windows Defender
On the surface of it, Windows Defender isn’t a bad thing. It’s a built-in program designed to stop Malware. When you upgraded, your PC was set up to automatically send Windows Defender bits of malware code it finds, in order to help make the program better.
If you’re like most people, you would rather make the call yourself, on your own terms, so to disable this automatic submission, go to Settings, then Update and Security, and click on Windows Defender. From here, disable the Sample Submission option (change from yes to no).
Maximize Privacy
Finally, and this is the big one, go to Settings, Privacy, and General, and review every option under the General tab. You’ll want to turn most everything off, and Windows 10 defaults to turning almost everything on. In a few specific, app-by-app cases, you may want to allow certain apps to access certain things. One example of this is to allow Skype to access your Camera, but in the overwhelming majority of cases, you probably don’t want your apps having virtually unfettered access to your system.
It is highly recommended that you look at these three things, by doing so your Windows 10 PC will be a whole lot more secure, and you can be sure you have taken some simple steps to ensure better security on your system.