Windows 10: Security Yes but Privacy
Please
Windows 10 is getting excellent reviews and it’s a free upgrade the first year. Users love Windows 10 so there’s no reason not to upgrade. Windows 10 has the state of the art in security and Microsoft recommends you use the default settings for the best computing experience.
If you are concerned about privacy, Microsoft has designed options for you in Windows 10 so that you can control your privacy settings.
Table of Contents
Windows 10 Reviews
Need help with Windows 10?
Windows 10 Tutorials Quick Reference Index Compare Windows 10 Editions
Future Revenue Market for Windows 10
According to Scott Bekker of Redmond Magazine
Windows 7 upgrade market - extended support ends Jan 14, 2020 - Information from Microsoft site. Check this Microsoft site to understand what this means and how end of support will accelerate upgrades to Windows 10.
Windows 10 could be embedded in the Internet of Things – IOT https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_of_Things Protecting Against Cyber Attacks on the Power Grid
Windows 10 Innovations in Security
Microsoft makes use of Biometrics for Security
Windows 10 Hello - Windows Biometric Framework
Information on Biometric Technology from http://www.zdnet.com/ Analysis of Windows 10 Biometric Framework
Data Protection with Azure Rights Management
Information from Microsoft’s Azure https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/ Analysis of Windows 10 Azure Rights Management
Microsoft change in Windows updates
Information from Computerworld http://www.computerworld.com/ Analysis of Windows 10 updates policy
Analysis of the Microsoft Store
Secure Boot - Information from Microsoft https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/ on Secure Boot Analysis of Microsoft Windows 10 Secure Boot
Edge Browser
Information from Microsoft about Edge Browser Analysis of Microsoft Windows 10 Edge Browser Microsoft partners with HP for security tools
Microsoft partners with Bromium
Windows 10 has Device Guard and Credential Guard To Learn more about Windows 10 and your online services Learn how to configure telemetry
Setting your preferences for Windows 10 services Help shape the Windows experience for users Contact Microsoft with your questions Privacy and Windows 10
Recommended Initial Windows 10 Privacy Settings Wireless Settings
General Privacy Options Location Service Camera Access Microphone Access Speech, inking & typing Account Info
Feedback and Diagnostic Data Background Apps
Windows 10 Reviews
Geoffrey Fowler form the Wall Street Journal writes:
Microsoft’s new operating system is free to owners of Windows 7 and Windows 8 PCs. WSJ Personal Tech columnist Geoffrey A. Fowler explains why Windows 10 is the best PC experience since Windows XP.
Its free for the first year and supports many new security features like recognizing your face when you log in instead of old fashion passwords. It comes standard with a digital assistant that can recognize your voice to search the Internet.
If you don’t take advantage of the free first year upgrade, it will cost you $120 or more.
http://www.wsj.com/video/windows-10-review-a-worthy-upgrade/C6BA19C7-A322-4E6D-8EC5-708C3B35F169.html
David Pierce from Wired writes
It’s time to upgrade most of your old computers because Windows 10 is free and you will love the look and feel. The Start menu is back with a familiar look and feel.
A new touch screen laptop will definitely increase your productivity.
http://www.wired.com/2015/07/windows-10-review/
Let’s review some Microsoft documentation on Windows 10 and learn what’s
new.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/getstarted-get-to-know-windows-10 Let’s go through each of the topics:
Windows Hello Microsoft Edge Xbox app
Entertainment Office
Need help with Windows 10?
Get answers to your questions about using Windows 10 on PCs here:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/support
For tutorials on Windows 10 features check the following link and run through the topics.
http://www.top-windows-tutorials.com/master-the-basics-of-microsoft-windows-10-on-desktop-and-tablet-with-our-free-video-tutorials/
Starting your new Windows 10 PC
Diving into the Desktop
The New Start Menu
Basic Searching
Desktop Windows
Virtual Desktops
Tablet Mode and the New Start Screen
Touch Multitasking
Exploring File Explorer
File Explorer Part 2
Working With Files and Folders
Multiple Files and Folders
Cortana
Windows 10 Tutorials Quick Reference Index
Let’s review an example in http://www.tenforums.com/ which will show you how to fix most of the problems your will encounter with Windows 10.
http://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/1977-windows-10-tutorial-index.html
Let’s check out some examples like How to turn on background apps.
The steps were settings then privacy icon and finally background apps.
Here’s How:
1. Open Settings, and click/tap on the Privacy icon.
2. Click/tap on Background apps on the left side, and turn on (default) or off each app to let run in the background. (see screenshot on the next page)
Let’s review another example in http://www.tenforums.com/
We want to turn on battery saver. Tenforums.com will show you four different ways of turning on battery saver. You can go through each one for your favorite.
Compare Windows 10 Editions
Home - $120 after first year free upgrade for Windows 7 Home
Pro - $200 after first year free upgrade for Windows 7 Professional
Future Revenue Market for Windows 10
According to Scott Bekker of Redmond Magazine
Scott anticipates a big up-grade market for the quarter billion PCs that are still running Windows XP.
https://redmondmag.com/articles/2015/04/08/windows-xp-usage.aspx
Windows 7 upgrade market extended support ends Jan 14, 2020
-Information from Microsoft site.
Check this Microsoft site to understand what this means and how end of
support will accelerate upgrades to Windows 10.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/lifecycle#section_1
Windows 10 could be embedded in the Internet of Things – IOT
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_of_Things
According to Daniel Burrus, Burrus Research “The Internet of Things Is Far Bigger Than Anyone Realizes”
According to Daniel the Internet of Things is the next big technology development with every electronic device becoming intelligent. Communication between intelligent devices will require high levels of security.
http://www.wired.com/insights/2014/11/iot-bigger-than-anyone-realizes-part-2/
Protecting Against Cyber Attacks on the Power Grid
Information from http://microgridknowledge.com/
Our power grid is under constant attack with hundreds of incidents reported every year. A successful attack would result in major power outage in large portions of our country.
http://microgridknowledge.com/protecting-against-cyber-attacks-on-the-power-grid/
Windows 10 Innovations in Security
Check the Microsoft Safety & Security Center.
http://www.microsoft.com/security/default.aspx
Microsoft makes use of Biometrics for Security
Check http://biometrics.org/ for a good description of Biometrics technology. http://www.biometrics.org/introduction.php
Tim Greene from http://www.networkworld.com/ describes how Windows 10 uses biometric technology which embraces iris scans and facial recognition.
http://www.networkworld.com/article/2898097/security0/windows-10-embraces-iris-scans-facial-recognition.html
You might check Howstuffworks.com to gain a better understanding of the inner workings of biometrics technology.
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/high-tech-gadgets/facial-recognition.htm With Device Guard Microsoft protects against Zero Day Exploits.
https://www.fireeye.com/ describes how a Zero Day exploit happens.
https://www.fireeye.com/current-threats/what-is-a-zero-day-exploit.html
Windows 10 Hello - Windows Biometric Framework
Information on Biometric Technology from
http://www.zdnet.com/
Biometric is a big part of Microsoft’s security architecture for Windows 10. Ed Bott of
http://www.zdnet.com/ describes Microsoft technology for Biometrics in Windows 10. http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-to-add-enterprise-grade-biometric-security-to-windows-10/
Analysis of Windows 10 Biometric Framework
Windows 10 biometric authentication will increase security dramatically by focusing on the unique physical characteristics of each user like finger print, eye or facial recognition. Unlike passwords if a user does not meet the required physical characteristics then they will not be give any access to the computer.
Data Protection with Azure Rights Management
Information from Microsoft’s Azure
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/
Microsoft makes Azure software available for the IT professional to management data protection and security. For more information, check the Microsoft site.
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/what-is-azure/
Analysis of Windows 10 Azure Rights Management
Microsoft change in Windows updates
Information from Computerworld
http://www.computerworld.com/
Greg Keizer of Computerworld describes Microsoft three tier approach to managing Windows 10 software updates.
http://www.computerworld.com/article/2691211/microsoft-reveals-biggest-ever-change-in-windows-updates.html
Analysis of Windows 10 updates policy
The Windows Store for Trusted Applications
Microsoft provides the Windows Store to help users download only trusted applications. To get information on the store click the following Microsoft link.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/getstarted-explore-the-store
Analysis of the Microsoft Store
Secure Boot - Information from Microsoft
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/ on Secure Boot
Another Windows 10 security feature is Secure Boot which is best described in the
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/ reference.
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn486875.aspx
Analysis of Microsoft Windows 10 Secure Boot
Edge Browser
Information from Microsoft about Edge Browser
Microsoft developed a new browser call Edge which comes with a higher level of security and privacy. Click on the links below to review some of the Microsoft documentation on Edge.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/microsoft-edge
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/edge-privacy-faq
Analysis of Microsoft Windows 10 Edge Browser
Microsoft Edge has increased security to protect users from common attacks. Edge accomplishes this for eliminating support for industry extensions such as VB scripting, BHOs, ActiveX, Java as well as Flash and increases security on certificates from
Websites.
Virtual Secure Mode
Another new feature of Windows 10 is Virtual Secure Mode.
David Hepkin of the Windows engineering team has a video that describes how Virtual Secure Mode works.
Microsoft partners with HP for security tools
Microsoft has partnered with http://www.hp.com/ to make the software security tools available to users. The following links describe the suite of security tools.
http://h20331.www2.hp.com/hpsub/cache/281822-0-0-225-121.html? jumpid=ex_2845_vanitysecur/productssecurity/ka011106
Microsoft partners with Bromium
http://www.bromium.com/ will enhance Windows 10 security with micro-virtualization which is best described in the following link.
Windows 10 has Device Guard and Credential Guard
Device Guard and Credential Guard will only allow computers to run trusted applications.
A good description of these features is provided by Microsoft’s
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/ link below.
To Learn more about Windows 10 and your online services
Using your device
Communicating with people Keeping your kids safer Buying apps
Getting you where you want to go Cortana
Making personalized dictionaries Giving you help when you ask Showing you stuff you might like Syncing across devices
Storing files and creating content Keeping your system up-to-date Making your system safer
Fixing problems Fighting malware Improving Windows
Learn how to configure telemetry
You can control the settings that send data to Microsoft with the option of not sending any data to Microsoft.
Setting your preferences for Windows 10 services
When installing Windows 10 for the first time you will learn what options express settings give versus how you can choose custom settings.
Help shape the Windows experience for users
Work with Windows Internet of Things - IoT
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_of_Things Core Insider Preview
Help shape the future of Windows Be a part of the community
Get early access to releases Build great hardware
Build great devices
Contact Microsoft with your questions
Microsoft accounts Technical issues Reporting a scan
Reporting viruses and malware Email hacks
Privacy and Windows 10
By
Terry Myerson
, Executive Vice President, Windows and Devices Group.
Microsoft designed Windows 10 with these two privacy principles:Recommended Initial Windows 10 Privacy Settings
Wireless Settings
This screen shows the available wireless networks.
The network this computer is connected to is named 2WIRE600.
By clicking on the corresponding SSID (in this case 2WIRE600), Windows 10 will display the option to disconnect. It is a good idea to disconnect from you WIFI access point while you are away from your computer more than a few minutes.
Windows Updates and any background processes which require an Internet connection (for instance, if any downloads are in progress) will be interrupted.
Once disconnected you are invisible and can no longer be a target for hackers.
General Privacy Options
Initially turn these options off but turning on use of your Advertising ID will help Microsoft select more specific ads for you.
You can visit the MSDN site located at
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/windows.system.userprofile.advertisingmanager.advertisingid for a technical explanation of Advertising ID.
Turning on SmartScreen Filter to check web content (URLs) that Windows Store apps use checks any of the URLs you visit in the Window 10 app store and sends the list on to Microsoft.
SmartScreen Filter helps detect phishing websites and websites which may contain
malicious software. See http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/smartscreen-filter-frequently-asked-questions-ie9 for more details.
Location Service
Initially turn Location Service Off but Microsoft and their advertising companies would like to know your location so they can direct more specific information to you like a list of local restaurants or auto dealers in your immediate area.
Allowing your location to be available is especially useful for portable devices like cell phone. However, if your computer is just sitting at home or in your office you can just enter your city in your Internet searches. In the latter case, or if you would not like your location to be tracked, you can simply turn Location Off.
You may also select which applications you wish to allow location tracking and disable any you may feel are inappropriately tracking your location.
For more information regarding Location, please see Windows 10 location service and privacy.
Camera Access
In most cases, you would only want your camera to be accessible to specific applications that require a camera, such as Skype or Yahoo Messenger. However, you probably want to have your camera turned off for any other application so no one can spy on you.
So for personal security reasons you would probably want Windows 10 to have the camera turned off for most applications requesting its use, unless you are certain you understand how such an application is using the camera.
You may simply turn off your camera altogether if you do not wish for it to be accessible at all.
For more information regarding the camera privacy settings, please see
Microphone Access
As with camera access, in most cases you would only want your microphone to be accessible to specific applications that require a microphone, such as Skype or Yahoo Messenger.
However, you probably want to have your microphone turned off for any other application so no one can spy on you. So for personal security reasons you would probably want Windows 10 to have the microphone turned off for most applications requesting its use, unless you are certain you understand how such an application is using the microphone.
You may simply turn off your microphone altogether if you do not wish for it to be accessible at all.
Speech, inking & typing
Cortana is a powerful personal assistant you will want to use.
You should review Microsoft’s privacy statement and trust Microsoft.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/preview-privacy-statement
But by allowing Windows and Cortana to get to know you, you are revealing details about your speech, inking (handwriting) and typing as well as your contacts, calendar, location, internet history to Microsoft.
If you are not comfortable with the collection of this information, you may simply click “Stop getting to know me”. This removes personal information from your computer but does not remove what is stored on the Microsoft Cloud.
Clicking “Stop getting to know me” is also the simplest way to disable Cortana without disabling other services.
Should you decide to disable Cortana you should review the guide below.
Account Info
Should you use a local or a Microsoft account in Windows 10?
You can use a local account and a handful of known and trusted applications. However, to access certain Microsoft services connected with Windows 10 like The Store, Cortana, and OneDrive you are required to connect to a Microsoft account.
A Microsoft account adds the ability to synchronize your devices, allowing you to forego the initial setup on any new or additional devices. Also a potential security problem with a local account is the possibility of allowing a password less login.
A Microsoft account requires one to use a secure and universal password across all devices with the option of adding a two-factor authentication measure.
To understand the differences between local and Microsoft accounts review.
http://www.digitalcitizen.life/should-you-use-local-or-microsoft-account-windows-10.
Contacts
You might initially select all options off but certain applications will need to access your contacts in order to work as intended.
For instance, Messaging, Skype and Mail will need access to your contacts to list them in their interfaces. Calendar will need to be able to display contacts if you are planning a meeting with a specific contact.
If the device is a phone, your phone application will require access as well in order to retrieve your contacts. As with other privacy settings, you may enable or disable which applications are allowed to access this information. You may disable all access to your contacts.
Calendar
Like contacts, certain applications may need to access your calendar to work as intended. Mail and Calendar would need access to your calendar in order to synchronize your calendar with your cloud-based calendar.
Other applications may need to access it to help you schedule events, such as meeting and timekeeping. As with other privacy settings, you may enable or disable which applications are allowed to access this information.
Call History
Certain applications need access to record or retrieve information to and from your call history, for instance Messaging and Skype may make voice calls and record this
information in your call history.
If the device is a phone, your phone application will require access as well in order to record your call history. As with other privacy settings, you may enable or disable which applications are allowed to access this information.
Certain applications may need to access your email to work as intended. Mail and
Calendar would need access to your email in order to download messages from your web-based email to the local email client.
As with other privacy settings, you may enable or disable which applications are allowed to access this information.
Messaging
Certain applications may need to access your messaging service in order to function
properly. For instance, in order for your Windows device to receive or send Text (SMS) or Multimedia (MMS) messages the Messaging app needs access.
Skype needs access this if Skype is set up to use Text and Multimedia messaging.
As with other privacy settings, you may enable or disable which applications are allowed to access this information.
Radios
Some applications use the radios on your device (such as Bluetooth and Wireless USB) to send and receive information from and to peripherals or other devices.
This option allows these applications to enable or disable your radio at their own leisure.
Sync with devices
Some devices, like your phone, game console, television or projector may have the ability to share or sync with your device.
This option allows applications to facilitate this functionality.
Feedback and Diagnostic Data
Microsoft requests that you tell them what you think about the services surrounding Windows on a periodic basis.
The valid options for this are “Automatically (Recommended)”, “Always”, “Once a day”, “Once a week”, and you may also opt out completely by selecting “Never”.
Microsoft also collects diagnostic and usage data from your device.
Background Apps
You may choose which apps you would like to run in the background.
Microsoft Wi-Fi Sense
Wi‑Fi Sense is a new feature that will automatically connect your computer to Wi‑Fi or open hotspots your friends have shared with you.
For security reasons it is recommended that you turn off all the settings.
Select this Microsoft link for more information.
