Hey, what’s up? In this opportunity, we are going to talk a little about privacy in Windows 10. It is well known that this is a fundamental aspect when connecting to the Internet. Indeed, every time we surf we expose our data to big companies like Google, Microsoft or Amazon. In the same way, the system itself also collects information related to us and our activities. On many occasions the handling of these data is anonymous, however, some users feel uncomfortable with this policy of the company. However, when Windows 10 is installed from scratch, it is possible to configure the privacy level of the system. In this way, the type of information you want to share with Microsoft is established. Under those circumstances, it is possible to embed privacy levels in Windows using a third-party tool. So, we’ll see how to increase privacy levels in Windows 10 with PrivateWin10.
How to download and install PrivateWin10
This program is free for personal use. Also, its development is open source, so its code can be reviewed and improved in GitHub. An additional advantage of this program is that it does not require installation, just unzip it and run it with admin privileges. Now, to download the latest version please click on this link. At the time of writing this article, the stable version is v0.60.1.
As mentioned above, just download and unzip it at any location. Next, run the executable file with administrator privileges:
Configuring PrivateWin10
When executing the program, the initial configuration window will be skipped. Please choose if you want the program to start with windows. Additionally, you can give it control over the firewall.
After the initial configuration, the program window will appear. If you gave it control of the Firewall then you will probably have to configure the input and output rules.
Then click on the shield located in the left panel. This will open the program’s configuration options. Consequently, you can see options related to telemetry, error reporting, office, drivers and more. According to your selection, it shows the actions taken by the tool to limit the sending of information by the user.
Then configure the Windows Firewall. You can enter this configuration by clicking on the icon in the form of a wall. In this section, you can see a list of all filters and firewall rules. In addition, you can configure the programs subject to the firewall. On the other hand, you can also create your own rules. In short, it’s an increase in security.
Enable DNS protection
In the fourth icon of the program, you can configure the DNS protection. This option is disabled by default. Consequently, in order to activate it, it is necessary to go to the configuration of the program by clicking on the toothed wheel. And then check the box corresponding to Enable DNS Proxy.
Once DNS protection is enabled, it can be configured. There are a number of options, in addition to a blacklist, a white list, and a block list. The main function of these rules is to protect our Internet browsing. Its operation is very simple. In essence, it works like any other DNS filter, it uses a DNS proxy to monitor all the connections that are made. And according to the lists, block or allow resolution
Finally, there are the general settings of the program. We have already seen how to enter them.
Finally, we have seen how to download and install this interesting tool. This way we can increase privacy levels in Windows 10 with PrivateWin10. This is all for now, before saying goodbye I want to invite you to review our post about SSH in Windows Server.
