Quote:
Originally Posted by Rockin Robbins
...But what if you are a bit paranoid? What if, in spite of your firewall, bad stuff gets on your computer? It can happen, because the greatest hazard to your computer is you, installing malware, and no firewall can keep you from doing that unless it just pulls the plug and your computer becomes a very bad and expensive boat anchor.
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The best alternative for Microsoft snooping is Spybot Anti-Beacon. This is a free program, updated regularly, whose sole task is to keep Microsoft malware from calling home. You have infinite control with tons of options. It's a very good program and I use it even for Windows 7.
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...and if you're really paranoid, you'll wonder what info Spybot Anti-Beacon is sending back to home base or if it might be a front for Microsoft...
Another series of tools, for the advanced users, is Microsoft's Sysinternls Suite:
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/.../bb842062.aspx
This is free from MS and here is the home site for more info:
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/.../bb545021.aspx
Particularly useful is the
Autoruns tool, which allows you to seek out and block software that launches on startup, some of which don"t even show up in the Task Manager's Startup list. If you are comfortable with getting into the nuts and bolts of machines, these tolls could be a help...
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