Windows 10 represents three decades of evolution, and as an operating system by far, it’s pretty slick. However, that does not mean that when you boot a fresh copy of this operating system, it is perfect in every way.
Windows 10 still needs some tweaking to really offer a good level of security. On top of that, Windows 10 is now also a cloud service, which means that Microsoft now also wants to collect and sell your information.
Unless you do something about it, you’ll be sending loads of personal information to Redmond. Depending on your personal comfort level, that can be a significant security and privacy issue. This brings us to our first tip.
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Use Windows 10 Security Tools
Microsoft has not easily disabled some of its information collection features. There’s a lot to play in privacy settings, but most users don’t even know all the different ways Windows 10 can track users or what happens to that information.
The good news is that now there’s a whole list of specialized tools that exist solely to help you tweak privacy settings in the world’s most widely used operating system. Most of them are free and also let you edit things that Microsoft might not want you to mess with.
A great example is an interesting name O&O ShutUp 10, This tool claims to be an “anti-spy” tool for Windows 10. Whether you consider every switch it causes problems or not, it is certainly a convenient way to control the experience. Windows 10 experience.
Ditch Windows Defender
The included antivirus package for Windows 10 is a welcome feature that helps millions of users who don’t know better stay free from all kinds of viruses. However, if you want to take a more active role in your security and If you want to catch more types of malware, then a third-party program is the best choice for you.
There are both free and paid options. Some tackle everything, and others only catch specific types of malware. If you’re happy with Windows Defender but just want to add it, then something like Malwarebytes is a good choice.
Encrypt your hard drive
Hard drive encryption is one of the best security improvements you can make to a Windows 10 PC. Meaning that if someone touches your hard drive, they won’t have a way to actually see the data. because it’s heavily encrypted.
In some cases, your hard drive will automatically be encrypted after installing Windows 10, but if not, you can enable it manually. BitLocker, Microsoft’s native encryption solution. It’s pretty powerful, but you need a motherboard with TPM . Module for it to work. If your computer doesn’t have one, you’ll need to use a USB drive to store the decryption key.
If that doesn’t suit your needs, a third-party solution such as VeraCrypt will also do the job in a nice way. Once encrypted, you will sleep much better at night.
Push UAC to the max
Windows UAC or User Account Control is an operating system feature that alerts you whenever changes are made to your computer. For example, when you try to install a new program, UAC will dim the screen and ask you to OK the installation before it runs the software.
By default, UAC will only give you an error when you do something major or when an installed application wants to make an important change to your PC. However, there is a higher level of security than the default, which will alert you to a series of changes. This means you will catch hackers and malicious web software trying to get into your machine.
For most people, the default settings are fine, but if you are the adventurous type who visit all kinds of weird websites and download software to try just for fun, here is a way Quick to protect yourself. All you need to do to access UAC settings is press the Windows key and search for “UAC”.
Defeat the pawns
As it is today, Windows 10 is a great operating system with great security support from Microsoft. However, it’s good to know that you can still control the product you paid for when the developer can pay attention to your system.
Polishing some of the more rudimentary security features against outside threats also never hurts. So this is a safer computing experience for everyone!
