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Moving from Windows 7 to windows 10 - testing 1-2-3
sorveltaja:
--- Quote from: pycoed on February 11, 2023, 04:20:17 AM ---I know that Virtualbox is also available for Windows, though I've never used it. Why not install that in your W10 partition then install W7 in Virtualbox? You can continue to boot into W10 as usual & run W7 from there quite seamlessly.
--- End quote ---
Yeah, that's one way to use W7, but I'm not sure if free versions of virtual machines offer possibility to use hardware drivers. For example Oracle VM seems to have a limit of 128Mb Ram for video card. For simple tasks, that may well be enough.
sorveltaja:
--- Quote from: Muzzerboy on February 11, 2023, 10:16:26 AM ---Perhaps you should consider Ghost Spectre W10 or W11 Superlight. This is so stripped back there isn't even a browser, firewall or anything much beyond the core installation and drivers.
https://tech-latest.com/ghost-spectre-windows-10-superlite-version/
There's a slightly less basic version (non-Superlight) that is perhaps a bit more usable but still very light. More info here:
https://www.facebook.com/GHOSTMODS/
--- End quote ---
I tried 2009.superlite+compact ghost spectre, and it seems to work just fine, but it has some telemetry and xbox related services or components, which I tried to remove using msmg toolkit, but it gave errors when reading install.wim file.
Although the idea of such modified, thin isos is no doubt welcome, one can never be sure, what exactly is done to modify the iso image.
That's why I prefer to stick to official W10 iso, and mod it myself following instructions by guys like Chris Titus, who also gives some general info, of how removing certain components may affect other windows functions.
sorveltaja:
There's odd thing, that I noticed after installing W10 to my pc, after several hours of fiddling with settings, my eyes began to feel like they were bleeding.
I have a monitor with max resolution 2560x1440. With W7, I've used 125% scaling, so text and other stuff are easier to see, and it has worked very well and display is 'crisp'.
But with W10, when using same resolution, same 125% scaling, there is certain 'blurriness' in some programs. And I'm not the only one, who has noted that. There are plenty of pages on the net, of how to "fix" that.
However, there is a simple a solution:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/make-older-apps-or-programs-compatible-with-windows-783d6dd7-b439-bdb0-0490-54eea0f45938
There it says:
- - - -
Change the application's high-DPI scaling mode
In the High DPI scaling override area, select Override high DPI scaling behavior, and then try one of the following options:
Application – Disable all Windows scaling settings and only use the app developer's setting. This option was called Disable display scaling on high DPI settings in previous versions of Windows.
System – Overrides the program’s DPI settings and makes it run like it would on a low-DPI display. On a high-DPI display, this will make the program appear blurry.
System (Enhanced) – Windows will try to use enhanced DPI scaling for this program. As a result, some programs will display with crisp text on high-DPI displays. This won't work for all programs.
- - - -
So, by going to programs compatibility settings --> Change high DPI settings, and selecting 'Override high DPI scaling behavior' with 'Application' option seems to do the trick.
Comparison:
I guess this has to be done separately to each program that has this issue.
sorveltaja:
I've been looking for a ways to block certain network traffic, that W10 uses to send out information of what the user does, obviously without users consent.
As windows firewall is far too cryptic for me to figure out, I've tried other things like Tinywall and Simplewall, which may not be firewalls per se, but rather ways to interact with windows firewall.
So far, I'm not quite sure if they are able to totally block that kind of traffic. Or maybe I just haven't yet fully grasped how they work.
Just an example: In W10, when clicking the network icon on the taskbar, and opening network settings, SystemSettings.exe sends every time query to www.bing.com, trafficmanager.net, edgekey.net and so on.
That can be seen by using Wireshark, or simpler one, DNSLookupView.
I know this is nitpicking, but I just don't like that kind of hidden activity at all. Some say that microsoft uses such data to improve window's features. Really? They don't have enough hired brains to do that?
Anyways, there are at least some tools to try out, that I've found so far: Powershell based program from Chris Titus website, and Blackbird.
I've tried CT's program to strip some bloat (using its 'desktop' -option), and yes, it seems to lower the number of services. But then again, the video, where he explains how to use it, is mostly about gaming performance.
Another one, Blackbird shows (perhaps at least some) elements that are used for telemetry/spying. Disabling all of them actually breaks some of the windows features.
W10 version 1903 has things like:
InputApp
CloudExperienceHost
StartMenuExperienceHost
ShellExperienceHost
All of them are located in Windows/SystemApps -folder. "Experience" this and that, as long as you give us your data.
End of the rant.
sorveltaja:
It seems that W10 requires quite a lot of tweaks and tricks to minimize telemetry and all that unnecessary crap.
If that wasn't enough, from what I've read, windows updates may(and probably do) nullify plenty of such tweaks, and therefore they need to be re-applied after each feature update.
But spyware telemetry is obviously one of the things, that microsoft is pushing really hard to windows users, to get "diagnostic data". It's like from the movie 'The Little Shop of Horrors', where carnivore plant cries: "feed me!"
Fortunately there are guys, who have observed such things, and offer possible workarounds, in reasonably understandable language/terms. Still most stuff in page like that just makes my head spin:
https://medium.com/@securitystreak/the-2017-pentester-guide-to-windows-10-privacy-security-cf734c510b8d
In its 'Security & privacy tools' portion, there is a suggested list of tools to use.
So far I've tried following ones in that order:
- Debloat and tweak your base system with /r/tronscript.
- Saved WindowsSpyBlocker hosts as HOSTS.TXT in Blackbird folder and applied it.
- 'Windows 10 Privacy' tweaks
- Destroy Windows 10 Spying (DWS)
- Windows Privacy Dashboard
Some of the things that possibly break after doing that:
Functions which normally use systemsettings.exe to work (like some control panel items, personalization function which is used to select themes).
So is it worth all the hassle? Maybe, maybe not.
That excess telemetry traffic has disappeared or decreased dramatically, though. Or so it seems at this moment.
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