In theory, this story sounds legit; however, knowing that such behavior is also adopted by social media, browsers, search engines, etc., it makes you wonder if everything is as they are telling you, or there is more to the story. Whatever the reason, and no matter if their intents are good, or bad, the positive thing is that this type of data collection can be prevented on Windows 10 machines, and it can be managed fast.

How to Disable Telemetry and Data Collection on Windows 10

If the disabling of telemetry and data collection is what you need, this guide will help you with that, and all you need to do is follow the guidelines:

How to Disable Telemetry and Data Collection on Windows 10 by Changing Settings

One of the easiest and most adopted ways of turning off telemetry and data collection is managed through the Windows 10 Settings:

1. To manage that, you first need to enter Settings, by left-clicking on the Start

   

   and selecting Settings from the drop-down menu.



2. After that, go to Privacy

   

   and then to Diagnostics & Feedback, located on the left side pane.



3. Here, change the Diagnostic data to Basic and the majority of your work is done.



4. If you want to make things even safer, go to Activity history

   

   and make sure that the squares next to “Store my activity history on this device” and “Send my activity history to Microsoft” are unmarked.



5. Also, enter Inking & Typing personalization

   

   and make sure that the toggle under “Getting to know you” is off.



6. After that, enter Speech

   

   and move the toggle under “Online speech recognition” to off.



7. In the end, enter the General tab

   

   and move every toggle under “Change the privacy options” to off, and there you go.

How to Disable Telemetry and Data Collection on Windows 10 with the Registry Editor

If stopping the data collection and telemetry in the Windows 10 settings doesn’t satisfy you and you want a more secure way to do it, disabling these functions in the Registry Editor is the thing for you:

1. First, press Windows key + R on your keyboard, type “regedit”, in the newly opened window, and then click on OK.



2. Once the Registry Editor opens, follow this path: Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\DataCollection, in the sideboard pane.



3. When the DataCollection folder opens, right-click the empty space and select new.



4. In the drop-down menu select DWORD value (32-bit)

   

   and name the newly made file AllowTelemetry.



5. Now, double-click the newly made file, or left-click on it and select Modify.



6. Set the Value data to 0, press OK, and your job is finished.

How to Disable Telemetry and Data Collection on Windows 10 using Group Policy

Another way of disabling telemetry and data collection is with the help of Group Policy, and it includes the following steps:

1. To begin with, call in the Run command, by holding Windows key + R on your keyboard.
2. Once it opens, type “gpedit.msc” and press OK.



3. Follow this path: Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\ Windows Components\Data collection and Preview Builds, in the sideboard pane.



4. When the Data Collection and Preview Builds folder is opened,

   

   go to “Allow Telemetry” and double-click on it.



5. Select “Disabled” in the newly opened window,

   

   press Apply and that is it.

How to Print Text Messages from Android

Printing your text messages from the Android device isn’t that much a straightforward process, yet, it can be managed in multiple ways, and here, you are going to be introduced to a couple of them.

How to Print Text Messages from Android with Print Screen Function

If you want to print your Android device text messages and want to manage that as fast as possible, without installing additional apps, printing messages with the help of the Print Screen Function and already installed Google Cloud Print is the thing for you, and it demands the following:

1. First, make a screenshot of the messages that you want to save (this is usually done by simultaneous pressing of volume-down and overview button on your phone).



2. Find it in your folders

   

   and go to the Share icon.



3. Once you open it, find your shared printer, and tap it when you see it.



4. Do the setup in the newly opened cloud printer window,

   

   go to print, and your job is done.

How to Print Text Messages from Android with Your Phone Companion app

In the case you own a Windows 10 based computer and want to try out another easy way to print your Android device messages, these are the steps that you should follow.

1. To begin with, you need to install Your Phone Companion for Android, on your Android,

   

   and Your Phone Windows app on your PC.



2. After that, open the app on both devices and follow the instructions on them in order to sync them.



3. Once you do that, enter the Messages section on your PC app

   

   and find the messages that should be printed.



4. Make screenshots of them and then, print them in an old-fashioned way with the help of the PC’s installed printer.

However, there are also occasions when you need to turn it on or off, for example, when you are installing some other firewall, or if the firewall is blocking an app and you want a fast way to allow its use, without going through settings and allowing its pass through the Firewall.

How to Disable/Enable Windows 10 Defender Firewall

Whatever the reason, you should know that there are multiple ways to handle this and turn it off or on, and the following lines will explain the most common ones.

How to Disable/Enable Windows 10 Defender Firewall with the help of Windows Settings

The easiest and the most used way for turning on/off your Windows 10 Defender Firewall is with the help of Windows Settings and this process requires the following steps:

1. First, go to Start, right-click on it and select “Settings”.



2. After that, enter “Update & Security”,

   

   go to “Windows Security”,

   

   and left-click “Open Windows Security”.



3. Go to “Firewall & network protection”

   

   and select what networks Firewall you want to turn off or on (There are three network types: Domain network, Private network, and Public network), and left-click it.



4. Depending on your needs, move the slider under the “Microsoft Defender Firewall” to the right, if you want to turn it on, or to the left if you want to turn it off,

   

   confirm that by pressing “Yes” in the confirmation window and there you go. Your Windows 10 Defender Firewall is now set in the way you want it.

How to Disable/Enable Windows 10 Defender Firewall through the Control Panel

Another way you can Disable/Enable Windows 10 Defender Firewall is through the Control Panel, and this approach demands the following steps:

1. To begin with, you need to enter the Control Panel by typing “Control Panel” in the Search Box

   

   and left-clicking it when it appears in the results.



2. Once the Control Panel opens, go to “System and Security”

   

   and after that, go to “Windows Defender Firewall”.



3. Select “Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off”, from the left-side menu and wait for the new window to open.



4. Once it does, choose what firewall you want to turn on or off, press “OK”, and that is it. Your Firewall will be turned on or off, depending on your needs.

How to Disable/Enable Windows 10 Defender Firewall through the Command Prompt

After these two, let us show you how to disable/enable Windows 10 Defender Firewall through the Command Prompt:

1. This approach requires that you first, open Command Prompt by typing “Command Prompt” in the Search box,

   

   right-click it when it appears in the results, and select “Run as Administrator”.



2. Confirm that you allow this app to make changes on your computer by pressing Yes, and go to the next step.
3. Once the “Command Prompt” opens, type: “Netsh advfirewall set allprofile state off”, if you want to turn off the Firewall for every network type.

   

   “Netsh advfirewall set privateprofile state off” if you want to turn it off for a Private network.

   

   “Netsh advfirewall set publicprofile state off” if you want to turn it off for Public network.



4. To disable the Domain network Firewall, you need to type “Netsh advfirewall set domain profile state off”



5. After you have selected what Firewall networks you want to turn off, and have typed the proper command, press “Enter” and that is it. The Windows 10 Defender Firewall will now be turned off.



6. If you want to turn on the Windows 10 Defender Firewall, instead of disabling it, type the same commands, with the difference that you type “state on”, instead of “state off”, and there you go.

How to Disable/Enable Windows 10 Defender Firewall with the help of “Windows Power Shell (Admin)”

The fourth and the last way to disable/enable Windows 10 Defender Firewall on your computer is with the help of “Windows Power Shell (Admin)”:

1. This option demands that you first right-click on Start

   

   and select “Windows Power Shell (Admin)”, from the drop-down menu.



2. After that, type “Set-NetFirewallProfile -Enabled False” inside the “Windows PowerShell (Admin)” and press “Enter”, if you want to turn off the Windows 10 Defender Firewall for every Profile and Network Type.



3. In the case you want to turn it off for Private Network, type “Set-NetFirewallProfile -Profile Private -Enabled False” and then go to “Enter”.



4. If you want to turn it off for Public Network, use the “Set-NetFirewallProfile -Profile Public -Enabled False” command and press “Enter”,

   

   while in the case of Domain Network, the phrase to type is “Set-NetFirewallProfile -Profile Domain -Enabled False”.



5. If you want to turn on the Windows 10 Defender Firewall, the procedure is pretty similar and requires the same, with the exception that you type “Enabled True” instead of “Enabled False”, and your Windows 10 will again be fully protected.

However, all the memories, data, preferences, contacts, and others can easily be lost if you are left without your device, either by your fault, or somebody else’s or because of the theft. In other words, all this information and memories are pretty volatile and can be lost in a matter of moments. For that reason, backup all your precious data, and you will have access to them in the case of device loss.
Depending on your mobile device type and the operating system used, the process of backup can vary, and here, you are going to be introduced to this process in the case of an Android device.

How to Backup Android

As you may guess, making a backup of your Android device is no hard task, and can be done pretty easily. Everything you need is a bit of time for all the data to transfer to backup locations, and everything else should go pretty quickly, so let’s get down to business.

1. The first thing you have to do when making a backup of your Android device is to check your backup settings. Google’s backup services are turned on by default; however, you should check and prevent unpleasant future surprises. To do that you first need to enter your phone’s Settings.



2. After that, type “Backup”, in the Search box

   

   and select “Back up and restore”, when they show up in the results. Have in mind that there are many search results, so you may need to scroll down to find them.



3. Once you do that, check what your backup account is

   

   and change it if it isn’t right.



4. After that, go one step back and check if your Backup turned on, by going to Back up my data,

   

   and checking that the toggle next to Turn on backups is turned on and blue.



5. When that is finished, go one step back and enter Google Account,

   

   where you should make sure that “Back up to Google Drive” is turned on (the toggle should be moved to the right and it should be blue).



6. Once that is done, enter Google Photos

   

   and see if the Back up & Sync is turned on, and if it isn’t, turn it on by moving the toggle.

   

   Also, check the other settings on this page, such as photo quality,

   

   and decide whether you need an additional Google Drive space and if you do, you can make the purchase right there.



7. Have in mind that Google’s backup services, when turned on, save Contacts, Google Calendar, Wallpapers, Gmail settings, installed Apps, Wi-Fi networks and passwords, Display settings, Language and input settings, Date and time. Also, with the Google Photos Back up & Sync turned on, your photos and videos are also being saved on Google Photos.

Therefore, most of your data will be saved this way; however, if there are also some other pieces of data you want to save, such as SMS messages, Viber messages, documents, downloads, music, or similar you will have to save them manually. To do that you will have to connect your phone to the computer, and copy/paste all the data that you want to save.

Another option is to save your data to the cloud service of your choice. Of course, this includes additional costs for acquiring a data plan, but other than that, it only requires that you install the appropriate app on your phone and back up all your data.

The most important thing is that you are careful and systematic in backup, in order not to stay without the needed data. Therefore, follow the instructions, think about everything in detail, and that is pretty much it.

This is an item that can be easily managed, used, and, equally importantly, transferred to other devices, and here, you are going to be introduced to the ways you can manage that.

How to Transfer Contacts from Android to Android

Transferring your Contact list from an Android to an Android is easy to do and can be achieved in multiple ways, and you will be presented with the two most common ones.

How to Transfer Contacts from Android to Android by Syncing your Google Account

The first approach to transferring your precious contacts to another Android device is with the help of Google Account syncing. To do that, you will have to do the following:

1. First, enter your phone’s Settings.



2. After that, go to Accounts & sync

   

   and then Google.



3. Choose the account that you want to sync with (if there isn’t any, add it) and tap on it.



4. Make sure that the Contact syncing is turned on (the toggle, or circle next to Contacts needs to be blue)

   

   and that is it. Your Contacts syncing is now turned on and everything needed is to sign in with the same account on the new device and the contacts will be there.

How to Transfer Contacts from Android to Android Manually

Another way you can transfer your Contacts from one Android device to another is, of course, manually. This approach also doesn’t bring anything too demanding and requires the following:

1. To begin with, enter Contacts

   

   and go to the menu.



2. Select Settings,

   

   and scroll down until you see the Export option. Once you do, tap on it.



3. Choose the account by marking the square next to it,

   

   and select “export to .vcf file”.



4. Decide where you want to save the file, as well as its name, and press Save.



5. Wait a bit and all your Contacts will now be exported to the desired location.
6. Now, transfer that file to another Android device (either through a cloud service, over your computer, or some other option) and enter its Contacts.



7. Go to Menu,

   

   select Settings,

   

   and go to Import.



8. Select to import your contacts from the .vcf file, by marking the circle next to it, and press OK.



9. Choose where you want to save the imported Contacts,

   

   find the desired .vcf file, tap on it wait for the device to do the work, and you’re settled.

Without further ado, if you have Google Chrome on your Android device and for whatever reason you want to change it, this is what you need to do.

How to Change Language in Google Chrome Android

Changing the language in your Google Chrome Android is a straightforward process and if you want to change it for whatever reason, this is what you need to do:

1. First, enter the Google Chrome app on your Android device.



2. Then, go to Menu (three dots in the top-right corner)

   

   and select “Settings”, from the newly opened menu.



3. Scroll down until you see the Languages section, and once you do, enter it.



4. If the language that you need isn’t listed among the active languages, go to Add language and choose it once you find it.



5. When the preferred language is listed in the active languages, drag it to the top of the list, by pressing the two lines next to it, and that is it. All your searches will now be displayed in the language that you like.

In the case you also want to change the UI language of your Google Chrome Android, unfortunately, you will be forced to change the default language of the entire phone, which isn’t something that many people are comfortable with. However, that is the only way.

If that is something that presents no issue for you and you are willing to do it, this what you need to do:

1. To begin with, you need to go to phone Settings

   

   and type “Languages” in the Search box.



2. Select “Languages & input”, among the search results,

   

   and go to Languages in the newly opened window.



3. Select the preferred language among the listed ones,

   

   confirm by pressing OK in the newly opened window, and there you go. Your job is finished successfully.

What is even better is that such change can be done in a few moments, and this is what needs to be done:

How to Turn on Windows 10 Dark Theme

Turning on Windows 10 Dark Theme won’t take too much of your time and can be done in the following way:

1. To begin with, you need to enter your Windows 10 Settings, by typing “Settings”,

   

   and left-clicking them when they appear in the results,

   

   or by right-clicking the Start and selecting Settings from the drop-down menu.



2. Once you open them, go to Personalization

   

   and enter Colors.



3. Choose Dark from the drop-down menu, under the “Choose your color” and there you go.



4. In the case that the default Dark Theme setup doesn’t satisfy you and want to add a bit of personal touch to the equation, instead of Dark Theme, choose Custom and set up the Dark Theme the way you like it. Decide for your own on the accent colors, transparency effects and make the Windows 10 suit you the best way possible.

How to Factory Reset Android

As you may guess, the correct way to do the Factory reset of your Android device doesn’t only include the reset itself. Relieving of something as private as your phone consists of more than just one step. Therefore, if you are willing to do it the way it should be done, you should be acting in accordance with these steps:

1. To begin with, you need to backup all your needed data, including photos, videos, music, passwords, and everything else that you may need in the future, or may present some sort of memory that you would be sad to stay without. For that reason, check a couple of times if you have saved everything that deserves saving and once you do, go to the next step.



2. After you have saved all your precious data, the next thing you need to do is to factory reset the Android device. That starts by going to phone Settings

   

   and entering About phone.



3. Once you do that, find Factory reset among the options and enter it.



4. Select to erase all data.



5. If needed, enter your phone’s PIN code/password and select OK.



6. Choose to Erase everything, wait for the phone to finish the job and that is it.