That's not true. Install and run wireshark then dial all you want, there will always be traffic every other minute or so to one of Redmond's servers from just idling.
Did you actually try this or is this based on one of those articles about the open beta of Windows 10 that had a lot more telemetry you couldn't disable?
OneDrive is also disabled, and your claim about GPO policies is blatantly nonsense, since that's what you use for Enterprise deployments.
Also, if you had actually researched before publishing, you'd known that Microsoft removed the disable option from the Hamburger menu during the Anniversary Update.
This is not a conspiracy theory but Microsoft blatantly crossing the line, I personally don't care since I'm not interested in joining the arms race against Telemetry, but not being able to easily disable an annoying persistent connection certainly leaves you a bad taste in your mouth.
> your claim about GPO policies is blatantly nonsense, since that's what you use for Enterprise deployments.
It says right in the GPO policies which operating systems they apply to. For example in your screenshot you set "Do not allow web search" to quote the policy itself that only applies to:
> Microsoft Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003 with Windows Search version 3.01 or later
Doesn't do anything on Windows 10. So it isn't "blatantly nonsense." You are just playing with pro functionality you don't understand.
> Also, if you had actually researched before publishing, you'd known that Microsoft removed the disable option from the Hamburger menu during the Anniversary Update.
Your point about various GPO settings being version specific is absolutely correct.
I will say that I definitely do not want to manage options via clicky-click. Local policy editing (and domain group policies in the enterprise) have been a replicable, scalable way to manage settings in a Windows environment since at least XP/Server 2003 (the earliest Windows client + server environments I've admin'd IIRC).
Configuration outside of LP/GP doesn't scale particularly well beyond personal use, I'd say and as such I get what the other poster was driving at.
The only thing I didn't do is to block MS servers in System32\Drivers\etc\hosts file. This is useless in my opinion, MS can always change them or add new ones.
> That's not true. Install and run wireshark then dial all you want, there will always be traffic every other minute or so to one of Redmond's servers from just idling.
I literally did exactly what you said. Shutdown all third party applications on a Windows 10 Pro machine, loaded Wireshark 2.2.3, filtered out all LAN traffic/broadcast traffic/etc and watched. Didn't see any traffic at all going to Microsoft nor anyone else, it is still running now and not a peep.
Now I have no doubt that if I waited long enough I would, since I have Windows Update enabled, use Microsoft for time synchronisation, and a handful of other things. But it definitely isn't "every other minute." I cannot reproduce that.
Fair enough. From what I recall, the traffic was going to telemetry servers not time sync. Next time I play with Windows I'll holdon to the capture logs for proof.
I think the other side effect from all those regedit hacks was issues with Windows updates. In the end, my machine got stuck at installing October patches, rebooting then failing at 99% applying the patch, rebooting again, rolling back the patch, rebooting, trying to install the patch again. The non-stop CPU usage and reboots made me quit Windows for awhile.
