Tuesday Tip: Microsoft, You’re Being Creepy!

By Tony Coughlin

We’ve all experienced it – that eerie feeling that we are not alone or that someone is watching us. Unfortunately, in today’s world it is not always an irrational feeling. I’m not talking about a creepy neighbor, or worse, a ghost (scary ghost noise). I am talking about Microsoft.

When Microsoft released the beta version of Windows 10, they embedded a recording feature. The rationale behind it was that making it easy to identify what exactly a user was doing when an issue occurred would allow Microsoft to quickly isolate and fix it. Microsoft found these tools very useful so they decided to keep the recording feature in the final release of Windows 10.

By default, this recording feature is activated when Windows 10 is installed. This allows Microsoft to record the following:

  • Keystroke (every button you touch)
  • Your voice (this is recorded through your computer’s microphone)
  • Your signature/handwriting (if you use a stylus or enter handwritten data)

Here is how you check to see if this creepy nonsense is happening in the background of your computer:

Click Start Menu and select Settings. Select Privacy then select Speech, inking, & typing.

Microsoft, You're Being Creepy | Network 1 Consulting

Under the “Getting to know you” section in the center you will see a selection that can read either “Get to know me” or “Turn off speech services and typing suggestions.” This means the setting is turned on. To turn this setting off, click the selection so that it reads either “Stop getting to know me” or “Turn on speech services and typing suggestions.”

Now you can officially check Microsoft off your list of stalkers. Good luck with the creepy neighbor and/or ghost!

Tony Coughlin | Network 1 ConsultingTony Coughlin

With multiple years of experience in customer service across many industries, Tony brings his upbeat and positive attitude to the Network 1 team. He is committed to delivering the right solutions and services for clients and business partners.

tcoughlin@network1consulting.com or 404.997.7655

Network 1 Consulting is an 19-year-oldIT Support company in Atlanta, GA. We become – or augment – the IT department for law firms and medical practices. Our IT experts can fix computers, – but what our clients value most are the industry-specific best practices we bring to their firms. This is especially important with technology, along with regulations and cyber threats, changing so rapidly. We take a proactive approach to helping our clients use technology to gain and keep their competitive advantage.

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Tony Rushin: In his role as VP of sales & marketing, he is responsible for hiring, managing and coaching the sales team and always staying on top of (and meeting) the needs of clients. Under his leadership, the company has steadily grown each year.

Network 1 designs, builds and supports the IT you need to run your business more securely, productively and successfully. Whether you want to outsource all of your IT needs to a reliable, responsive, service-oriented company, or need to supplement the work of your internal IT staff, we will carefully evaluate where you are now, discuss where you want to go and implement and support a plan to get you there with as little interruption as possible.

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