Microsoft have certainly done some things right as far as security is concerned. The new Edge browser is definitely a step in the right direction, since it has been built from the ground up and got rid of a lot of the insecure code that had built up in previous versions of Internet Explorer.
But there is one huge security gap in Windows 10, which Microsoft have introduced as a so-called ‘feature’. Called Wi-Fi Sense, it allows you to automatically share your Wi-Fi credentials with your contacts from Outlook, Facebook and Skype.
So, for example, if you have a Wi-Fi network in your home that your computer is configured to connect to, the password you need to join this network will be stored on your system.
Using the Wi-Fi Sense feature, if someone stored in your Outlook contacts, or a Skype or Facebook friend, comes within range of your Wi-Fi network, their computer will automatically be supplied with the Wi-Fi password. They won’t have to ask for the password and their computer will simply join the network.
The same is true of any Wi-Fi network you have access to – potentially, even Wi-Fi networks belonging to other people which you don’t have permission to share the credentials of.
This is undesirable to say the least, since you probably have people stored in your Outlook contacts that you barely even know. You’ve probably got no desire to have them connect to your Wi-Fi, or any other Wi-Fi network you have access to.
So it goes without saying, that one of the first steps when installing a new Windows 10 system is to turn off this feature.
To do so, click on Start, then click on Settings.
In the Settings App, click on Network and Internet, then scroll down and click on Manage Wi-Fi Settings. Under the For networks I select, share them with my, untick the options Outlook.com contacts Skype contacts and Facebook friends.
You should also turn off the feature that connects your PC to your friends’ Wi-Fi networks, since this could be used to connect you to hacker-controlled networks without you knowing. To do so, set Connect to networks shared by my contacts to Off.