Windows 7 and 8.1, Server 2008 R2, and Server 2012 R2 users and administrators who have already installed the updates Microsoft released today may have noticed that the updates include a patch that added a service diagnostics tracking service (Diagnostics Tracking Service) of the operating system.
Windows 10 users may already be aware of this service as it has been part of the operating system for some time.
The support article created by Microsoft for this service reveals little information about its true purpose.
“This update enables the Diagnostics Tracking Service on Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1), and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1. This monitoring service collects information about operational issues of Windows. "
The description does not disclose information about the purpose other than being a collection of data about its operation issues and the sending of information to Microsoft.
This service has been released for Window 7 with Service Pack 1, Window Server 2008 R2 with 1 Service Pack, Window 8.1, and Window Server 2012 R2. Basically, for the majority of supported Window versions, with the exception of Windows Vista, Window Server 2003 and Windows RT.
How to Disable Diagnostic Tracking Service
The service does not appear to be a critical system service that needs to always run. Given that it has just been added, it makes sense to say that disabling it can not affect the system or, at most, only marginally.
The service is not protected in any way, which means you can disable it using Service Management.
- Press the Windows key, and type the word services (or Services for Greek Windows) and press Enter.
- Locate the Diagnostic Tracking service and double-click on it,
- In the new window find "Startup Type" and set it to "Off". This disables the service from starting automatically.
- Then click the "Stop" button to stop the process. This stops the service for the current period.
The service will no longer start when Windows starts. To activate the service, repeat the steps but set the boot type to "Auto" to start automatically each time you turn on your computer, and then click "Start" to start for that moment.
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Windows users may have various issues with the tracking service. First, it was added via automatic updates so that it runs by defaultchoice in user systems.
Second, the description is unclear and Microsoft does not reveal any more details about the service's functionality on the support site.
There is no data collection information disclosed to Microsoft and this makes its use worrying, especially for the protection of your privacy.
