Show HN: DidMySettingsChange – A tool that checks changed windows settings (github.com)

51 points by nolesapex ↗ HN
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. Features

    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.

6 comments

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

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.
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.