Aegis is a Windows CMD script which blocks, disables or removes assorted Microsoft telemetry technologies, along with the Windows 10 update prompts.
The author summarises its actions as:
- Disable ceip/gwx/skydrive(aka onedrive)/spynet/telemetry/wifisense
- Disable/hide windows 10 download directory
- Uninstall/hide 47 Windows updates (list available on the site)
- Disable 31 scheduled tasks (optional components that phone home to microsoft)
- Uninstall diagtrack
- Disable remote registry
- Block 163 microsoft-related hosts (248 ip's)
- Change windows update settings to check/notify but do not download/install.
(More information here.)
This is not for beginners, and probably not to be entirely trusted. The current changelog reports that it no longer has HOSTS files blocks for Bing, Hotmail, MSN, Outlook and Skype, for instance. Well, great, but it does leave us wondering what other bizarrely excessive steps Aegis might be taking to block Microsoft's "telemetry".
But, if you know what you're doing - you're happy to read, figure out and edit the script - then there's plenty to explore, as well as some useful bonus extras. Would you like to know how to create a restore point from a script, for instance? There's a VBS which does it here.
Verdict:
Aegis blocks more privacy, update and telemetry options than many other tools, but that's not necessarily a good thing. Worth a look if you'd like to see how this kind of program works, though, or need to build a custom version of your own.
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