Stop Windows from Spying, Collecting Data

Using a free network monitoring tool such as WireShark we can see that several discrete and background connections are made without our request when simply accessing our computers.

In this article I provide a few simple hosts file entries to help increase our privacy.

 

Block Windows from Collecting Data

Open Notepad as an administrator and click on File then Open. Next, navigate to the following path C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\

No files are visible, so you will have to select All files (*.*) from the bottom right drop down menu above the Open and Cancel buttons.

With all files now visible, open the hosts file and add the following entries at the end of the file and Save.

127.0.0.1 data.microsoft.com
127.0.0.1 edge.microsoft.com
127.0.0.1 msedge.net
127.0.0.1 azureedge.net
127.0.0.1 msftconnecttest.com
127.0.0.1 activity.windows.com
127.0.0.1 bingapis.com
127.0.0.1 scorecardresearch.com
127.0.0.1 assets.msn.com
127.0.0.1 data.msn.com

 

Conclusion

I hope my article on blocking Windows from spying and collecting data on you has helped increase your privacy. I welcome your thoughts, questions or suggestions regarding this article.

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Let me know if you found any errors within my article or if I may further assist you by answering any additional questions you may have.