Are there any open-source tools that allow me to disable telemetry for Adobe, Windows, Microsoft, NVIDIA, AMD, GitHub Desktop, Docker Desktop, VS Code, and other applications? How can I disable telemetry and enhance my overall Windows experience?
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I use this - https://github.com/ChrisTitusTech/winutil
But obviously get opinions from other sources first.
It claims to disable most Windows telemetry. Some Adobe. But I haven’t actually done any testing to prove it’s the case. It’s a pretty useful tool. Just use the restore point option first.
Last time I tried this method of disabling Adobe telemetry, photoshop stopped opening after a few days.
For nvidia/amd, just install the drivers, not their tool suite.
As the other posters mention, try to find alternatives.
Other than that, you can try and block at a firewall level. But few companies make it obvious like: http://nerferoustelemetry.pleasedontblockthis.adobe.com/
Thank you. This tool is great for some windows tweak.
I use the official website to download drivers, but it seems they only provide packages like AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition or NVIDIA App for installing the drivers. How can I install only the drivers without the additional bundled software?
Yeah they are sneaky. You are forced to download everything.
Do a “manual search” on the Nvidia driver page.
Once the “Game Ready” drivers are downloaded. Uninstall the nvidia app (if it’s installed already.)
Now to install.
Basically for any windows software, always choose “Custom (Advanced)” installation, instead of “Express (Recommended)”.
For nvidia, the next page will show you 3-4 options. Untick everything accept “Graphics driver”.
Definitely ignore “HD audio”. It tends to mess up your sound (at least that’s my experience.)
and “PhysX System Software” unless this out of date or missing. Then you can tick this.
Then just your graphics drivers will be installed.
Obviously you will miss out on the various additional features the nvidia app provides, like auto tweaking game settings. But it’s always a tradeoff.
As I said above. Always do “Custom” installs on ANY software. 75% of the time you end up automatically opting into to various forms of telemetry, and at worst find your browers have new plugins, your search engine changed, and antivirus installed. It can be time-consuming to uninstall.
Hope that helps. Let me know if you have more questions. I tried to add screenshots but the Lemmy app wasn’t having it.
Thank you. I have also found choco package for installing nvidia driver only