SmartScreen off; Microsoft tries to improve the security of Windows 10 and is constantly releasing new features and settings for its operating system system. Πολλές από αυτές υποτίθεται ότι παρέχουν στους users επιπρόσθετους ελέγχους για τον τρόπο managementof their data from Windows.
Recently, however, one security researcher discovered something that could worry many Windows 10 users.
Microsoft Edge that comes pre-installed on Windows 10 sends the full URLs of the websites you visit to Microsoft, according to a security researcher.
The data sent by browser include not only the information on each page you visit, but also the SID, which means security ID, according to a Publication by researcher Matt Weeks on Twitter.
When SmartScreen is turned on, the URL you are trying to load into the browser is sent to Microsoft for analysis, and other information, such as the security ID or SID, is "gone" along with it.
In Windows, SID is a unique identifier associated with your account, so by sending it to Microsoft, the company could know exactly which user is visiting which page through Microsoft Edge.
What exactly does SmartScreen do?
The feature analyzes the links you open with Microsoft Edge and compares them to a list of sites that have been identified as dangerous by the company. If you try to load a dangerous page, your browser will show you a warning to warn you of the dangers you may be exposed to if you continue on the site.
The security feature sounds great, but on the other hand it also uses the SID, which is unnecessary for her protection you.
How to turn off SmartScreen in Windows 10
The apactivation of SmartScreen in Windows 10 is simple.
In the Windows search box next to the menu Inceptionς πληκτρολογήστε Windows security and press enter. Open the internal application.
Next, you must follow the path:
Windows Security - Application & Browser Control - SmartScreen for Microsoft Edge
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Windows Security - App & browser control - SmartScreen for Microsoft Edge
By default, the function is set to the Warn level, so you must turn it off:
When turned off, SmartScreen will not send information to Microsoft, so the URLs that contain your SID will not be parsed.
Needless to say, disabling a security feature is not the best option, but on the other hand, if you are concerned about privacy you can use this little tweak until Microsoft explains what is happening.
Of course a different way is to change the browser.