One of the factors that most concerns us users when we use our computer with the Internet is our security. Windows 10 has always had quite a few complaints from many users regarding security and privacy. Although over the years different options have been established related to sending and collecting data, there are applications such as Ashampoo AntiSpy that simplify all our work.
Windows 10 collects by default a large amount of data for the different applications it incorporates. Likewise, it is also in charge of analyzing the profiles of its users to show us advertisements, supposedly related to our interests. The problem is that Microsoft‘s operating system incorporates by default to collect more data than users would surely be willing to give it. Therefore, it is interesting to install a program such as Ashampoo AntiSpy, which allows us to group all these options in a single window so that we can deactivate all those that do not interest us.
Ashampoo AntiSpy
Ashampoo AntiSpy is an application that will allow us to adjust, to our liking, all the settings that are pre-configured in Windows 10. In this way, we will be able to comfortably and easily decide what information we want to share , since we will have access to all the settings quickly. Thus we can block Windows so that it does not have access to our calendar, email, location among other settings.
Main features
- Possibility to configure all the security options available in Windows 10.
- We can disable our Windows 10 location service.
- It prevents Windows 10 from sending diagnostics and data usage without our consent.
- It helps us protect our privacy.
Ashampoo AntiSpy
Once we run the application, its main menu will appear in a window. Its interface can not be simpler and also in Spanish (although not 100% since there are parts without translation) so that we can perfectly understand everything that we can activate or deactivate.
In this window we find the complete list of configurations, organized by categories (General, Location, Camera, Microphone, Advertising, Windows and Cortana, Account Information, Calendar, Messages, Radio signals and Others). Within each category, we will have the different configuration options, which we can activate (blue color) or deactivate (white color).
general
As its name suggests, from here we can configure general options that can compromise our privacy, such as allowing apps to use my advertising ID about experience with apps or activating the SmartScreen filter to check web content.
Location
From here we can manage all the options related to location, such as the location for this device or global location functions.
Camera
Here we find all the accesses to our camera, such as letting our camera use the apps, or allowing Microsoft Edge or One Note to use it.
Microphone
From this group we can activate or deactivate all access to our microphone from applications such as the Voice Recorder, the Xbox app or Microsoft Edge.
Advertising
From here we can configure all the options that have to do with advertising, such as displaying advertising in Windows Explorer or receiving announcements via Bluetooth.
Windows and Cortana
From this group we can activate or deactivate everything related to Windows and Cortana services, such as voice input or Telemetry services.
Account info
As its name indicates, here we can stop or prevent apps from accessing our name, image or other information from our account.
Contacts
Here we can configure the privacy of our contacts, to access or prevent apps or Windows Shell from accessing our contacts.
Calendar
We can configure the privacy of the Windows calendar preventing other applications from accessing our Mail and Calendar.
Messages
From this category we can allow or block applications to read or send text messages
Radio signals
It allows us to enable or disable the use of radio frequency devices such as Bluetooth.
Others
From here we have access to other privacy options that are not in the other categories, such as letting apps use Cruzer Force or blocking the camera screen, among others.
Presets in the Action tab
At the top of the window, we find a tab that says Action. If we click, a list will be displayed with three possible actions:
- Activate all recommended settings : if we do not want to complicate our lives we can let the program activate the recommended settings.
- Deactivate all settings : from this option the program will take care of deactivating all the settings that appear on the screen.
- Activate all the default settings : this is the opposite case to the previous one, all the settings shown on the screen will be activated.
Download Ashampoo AntiSpy
Ashampoo AntiSpy is a 100% free tool for Windows that we can download from its website . It is a portable program that weighs just 411 kbs so we can run it from the computer’s own hard drive without the need for installation or from any external storage medium such as a portable hard drive, a USB key or a memory card. To run it, it will only be necessary to run the downloaded file with administrator permissions . The first time we run it, a message will appear asking us if we want to make a backup before starting. This is optional, but it is highly recommended.
Alternatives to Ashampoo AntiSpy
Ashampoo AntiSpy is a good option to protect our privacy in Windows, but not the only one. Therefore we leave you a couple of alternatives to consider:
WPD
It is a tool that includes many options to configure privacy and block telemetry in Windows. In addition, it allows us to easily remove pre-installed applications from the Microsoft Store or any other application. WPD is a portable and free application that we can download from the developer’s page .
Spydish
We are facing an application that allows us to configure the privacy of Windows 10 very easily. It integrates more than 50 privacy policies, which we can activate or deactivate to our liking. Spydish is a free and open source program, which we can download from GitHub .