Microsoft has been under heavy scrutiny with how they manage Windows over the years, particularly concerning privacy and telemetry settings. Many users find that after disabling certain settings, these settings are mysteriously re-enabled after updates or without any apparent reason. DidMySettingsChange is a Python script designed to help users keep track of their Windows privacy and telemetry settings, ensuring that they stay in control of their privacy without the hassle of manually checking each setting.
- Comprehensive Checks: Automatically scans all known Windows privacy and telemetry settings.
- Change Detection: Alerts users if any settings have been changed from their preferred state.
- Customizable Configuration: Allows users to specify which settings to monitor.
- Easy to Use: Simple command-line interface that provides clear and concise output.
- Logs and Reports: Generates detailed logs and reports for auditing and troubleshooting.
- Download Release
- Unzip the Contents
- Run the .py Script
- Repeat Step 3 After Installing Windows Updates
The usage of tool is simple. You run the tool once. It will store all the current settings inside a txt file. Then you would run the tool again if say there was a windows update.
To run the script, navigate to the directory where you unzipped the release files and use the following command:
"python DidMySettingsChange.py" in command prompt. Make sure you have the latest version of python is installed on your system or it will NOT work.
The script will then check all relevant settings and provide a report on any changes detected after you run the script again.
To make the tool easier to use, simply run RunDMSC.bat file and the tool will run automatically!
You can customize which settings to monitor by editing the config.json file. This file contains a list of settings and their expected states. For example:
{
"Telemetry": {
"path": "HKLM:\\Software\\Policies\\Microsoft\\Windows\\DataCollection",
"name": "AllowTelemetry",
"expected_value": "0"
},
"AdvertisingID": {
"path": "HKCU:\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\AdvertisingInfo",
"name": "Enabled",
"expected_value": "0"
},
"Location": {
"path": "HKLM:\\System\\CurrentControlSet\\Services\\lfsvc\\Service\\Configuration",
"name": "Status",
"expected_value": "Disabled"
}
// Add more settings as needed
}Modify the values as per your preferences before running the script.
A UI mode has been introduced!
Here's a visual example of how DidMySettingsChange detects changes in your system settings:
The setting is in its expected state.
A change was detected! The tool flags this with both a report and a log entry so you can act accordingly.
Windows has recall enabled on some PCs now. This won't apply to most users so if the script does not find that Windows recall is installed on the users computer, it will be ignored :)
We welcome contributions from the community! If you'd like to contribute, please follow these steps:
- Fork the repository.
- Create a new branch for your feature or bugfix.
- Commit your changes with descriptive messages.
- Push your branch and create a pull request.
If you encounter any issues or have suggestions for improvements, please open an issue on GitHub. We appreciate your feedback and contributions to make "DidMySettingsChange" better!