Article on Extremetech. Win 10 still sending data with options turned off.

  • 14 August 2015
  • 5 replies
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I just read an article on Extremetech stating that Windows 10 is still sending data to MS with all related options turned off (cortana, no ID transmission, etc...).
 
http://www.extremetech.com/computing/212160-windows-10-still-phones-home-even-when-ordered-not-to-do-so
 
Can Webroot v9 be configured to prevent this outbound communication?
 
Of course I just read this after upgrading to Windows 10 a couple of days ago...

5 replies

Userlevel 7
Hi JHMA
 
Welcome to the Community Forums.
 
Technically, the answer is 'No' as the option to control outbound connections via the WSA Firewall for outbound connections is not enabled due to the way that Microsoft allow the use of its firewall related APIs...or at least that is how I understand it...but even if one could do that witht he WSA firewall you would need to find every single element of the Windows OS that undertook the communication and blcok each one individually, and I suspect that doing so would then cause you issue elsewhere withthe OS as I suspect that those componen ts responsible for communicating back to Microsoft are also use to communicate with other sites and therefore would not be something that you would want to switch off or tamper with.
 
Perhaps some one out there has some more detailed information relating to this?
 
Regards, Baldrick
Userlevel 7
Badge +56
A better approach would be to put entries in your hosts file for the servers it is trying to talk to, and redirect them to 127.0.0.1 - to do that you will need to temporarily turn off the Webroot host file protection. And you'll also need to know the names of the servers that Windows 10 is trying to talk to.
Userlevel 7
Hi Nic, on that theme it would make sense to install a Host File Manager (there are a few good ones out there) and wait until some enterprising individual figures it all out and provides a set of such blocks that one can just import into the Hosts file, a la MVPS Host File entries that are currently available for the blocking of dubious sites, etc.
 
I am sure that some one will enventually undertake the exercise at some point in the future if there is a call for it.
Userlevel 7
Badge +56
Good idea Baldrick - that makes it much easier to make changes!
Userlevel 7
Badge +52
@ wrote:
Hi Nic, on that theme it would make sense to install a Host File Manager (there are a few good ones out there) and wait until some enterprising individual figures it all out and provides a set of such blocks that one can just import into the Hosts file, a la MVPS Host File entries that are currently available for the blocking of dubious sites, etc.
 
I am sure that some one will enventually undertake the exercise at some point in the future if there is a call for it.
http://pastebin.com/gebp8edd
click here for a hosts file that is complete and total overkill.  it's a list of every Microsoft domain known to man merged with the MVPS domain list.

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