Show HN: DidMySettingsChange – A tool that checks changed windows settings

51 pointsposted a month ago
by nolesapex
(github.com)

14 Comments

jlund-molfese

a month ago

This is cool! Might be less of a problem on MacOS, but I'd love a script that automatically turned off sending analytics to Apple every time I do a beta OS update.

LiamPowell

a month ago

Is sending analytics not most of the reason to opt in to beta updates?

I can't think of any upside to installing a release that's likely to have bugs or regressions if you're not going to send the analytics required to find the bugs that impact your software.

erenst

a month ago

Heads up: when you get a new Mac and use the transfer process, your disk ends up unencrypted on the new device.

tonyedgecombe

a month ago

Just checked mine and it was encrypted after the transfer process.

ThePowerOfFuet

a month ago

The disk is encrypted by default on Apple Silicon.

majorchord

a month ago

Is there a similar facility for Linux distro system packages? Like the Windows DISM command, I want to be able to know if e.g. some malware or other software has changed a system file... I can't believe this is not a standard thing in Linux distros already.

add-sub-mul-div

a month ago

I've read so much FUD about Windows undoing settings with updates but in 3+ years it hasn't happened to me. The one thing they do revert with updates and have now removed completely is the registry hack to enable the old alt-tab menu. When they got rid of that I found Alt-Tab Terminator as a replacement and I'm happy with it.

But I see no trace of AI/Copilot, no ads, no suggestions, telemetry is still off, I disabled that stuff a long time ago and I didn't see them come back when I updated to 24H2 a few months ago.

More transparency is still good, though.

alsetmusic

a month ago

I'm responsible for building and deploying our Win11 cloud images and checking for Copilot, WinStore, OneDrive, and other bs is part of the checklist because the person from whom I inherited the task warned me that it's happened multiple times to him. Of course, that was Cortana before Copilot, but they're still pushy.

wakawaka28

a month ago

If you aren't checking, then it probably has happened to you. If it was trivial to monitor the settings, we wouldn't need a tool for it.

add-sub-mul-div

a month ago

I've double checked after installing updates because the FUD worried me too. It just confuses me now because it doesn't happen. Maybe it's a legends that's grown as it's been passed on by people who don't use or understand Windows because they already hate it.

wakawaka28

a month ago

It's not FUD. Windows has legitimate issues with dark patterns. I think it's safe to say from the proliferation of tools just to play wack-a-mole with the settings alone that there is a problem. Even if you turn some off, they will add new ones. I understand Windows and Microsoft's history and that is precisely why I hate it. I should not need to hunt all over the settings to find a dozen different telemetry options that I want to turn off. It should be one button to turn it all off, on the first page of settings.

Microsoft is trying to make it more difficult to use Windows 11 with no Microsoft account all the time. If you think they won't try to screw you on privacy, you're very wrong.