Ed Bott - Windows 10 Support Secrets

50 CHAPTER 3 | Staying secure identifiers isn't to tag an individual person; rather, that ID is essential to determine whether 100 identical problem reports are from a single device or from 100 different devices. Telemetry reports don't include any of your files, and there’s no personal information such as your name, email address or account ID. Windows 10 has three telemetry settings: Basic, Full, and Enhanced.  Basic This information includes information about security settings, quality-related info (such as crashes and hangs), and application compatibility.  Enhanced This level includes the Basic information and adds details about how Windows and Windows apps are used, how they perform, and advanced reliability information.  Full This setting, which is the default for Windows 10, includes all information from the previous levels, plus additional details necessary to identify and help to fix problems. On Windows 10 Home or Pro, you can change telemetry collection to the Basic level by going to Settings > Privacy > Feedback & Diagnostics, as shown in Figure 3-16. The setting is one of three under the Diagnostic & Usage Date heading. Figure 3-16: To limit telemetry data to just the bare minimum, including error reports, change this setting to Basic. Most other information that leaves your Windows 10 PC does so because you used a feature that requires that data. If you upload a file to OneDrive, for example, Microsoft makes a copy of that file and indexes it so that you can find its contents quickly. Cortana can provide reminders about upcoming meetings and appointments, but only if you grant permission to view the contents of your calendar. If you use the on-screen keyboard and its AutoComplete or AutoCorrect features, Windows dutifully notes those changes so that it will do a better job next time. If you sync settings, Favorites, and passwords between Windows 10 PCs, that information needs to be collected and stored. If you’re concerned about privacy, it’s certainly a good idea to go to Settings > Privacy and work your way through all of the categories you find there. Perhaps you don’t want Windows to track your