telemetrywindows 10windows firewall
I am running Windows 10 pro. I deleted all the telemetric services and all the scheduled tasks (except defragment). With some digging I make a list of telemetric executable files and blocked them in firewall.
Is Windows firewall sufficient to block Windows telemetry fully and forever ??
You should be able to see this in Event Viewer. First you'll need to tweak the logging options in the Advanced Settings Console:
In the Event Viewer's left pane, expand to Applications and Services Log -> Microsoft -> Windows -> Windows Firewall with Advanced Security:
There, you can create a custom view and filter the log to only outbound connection attempts.
It seems that a 3rd party software was interfering with firewalling. In my case it was Avast Antivirus which has some modules for Internet. I turned off "Network" and "Web" "Shields" in it, and the rule is now applied correctly. So the moral seems to be that a 3rd party software may interfere in such a way that Windows Firewall is not able to block (or maybe apply any rules) in application-specific way.
Best Answer
The actual answer to your question is "Yes". See this widely mentioned article:
Stop Windows 10 spying on you using just Windows Firewall.
But I would like to throw some light of sanity on this question. The big hype of "Windows is spying on you" is sensational enough to make good headlines, but the truth is much less interesting.
First, telemetry data is not used for commercial purposes. Most of it is even deleted within 30 days of its transmission.
Second, Microsoft has become quite transparent about telemetry, and its latest versions have exposed most of the functions through PC Settings so they have become optional and controllable by the user.
Third, some parts of this telemetry data are even essential to the correct functioning of Windows. Without these parts, for example Windows Update may install incorrect patches with very bad results for the health of your computer. It is impossible to tell which "telemetric executable files" are essential for the correct functioning of your computer.
My best advice for you is to turn off telemetry via PC Settings. Do not give in to the hype.
As a remark: Microsoft is not the only one that is "spying" on you. For example see Disable NVIDIA Telemetry. I really think that stopping it all is Cutting off the nose to spite the face.
See also :