Microsoft Windows 10 looks pretty awesome, but unfortunately they put a security hole in here thinking it’s convenient for us. Unfortunately, people forget that the easier it is for you, the easier it is for hackers. In this case, they don’t need to be much of a hacker if you’re willingly giving them your Wi-Fi password.
That’s right, Wi-Fi Sense is a feature that allows you to automatically share your Wi-Fi password with all your Outlook contacts, Facebook friends, and Skype contacts. If you think about this for a minute, even though it maybe convenient, you are allowing Facebook which is normally friends, and Outlook which can be a combination of Friends and business contacts such as suppliers, customers and those which you may have legal proceedings with, and Skype Contacts. What’s worse, is Facebook friends of friends and who are all these people that now have your password for every Wi-Fi connection you’ve ever connected too.
This is another reason I don’t leave any of my clients connected to my Wi-Fi network, so my password is not in history for anything like this to happen. So most likely hearing all of this, you want to know how to disable this (what I call) “Problem” feature. Here’s how.
1. Click the icon by your date/time to show the list of Wi-Fi networks in your area, you may have to scroll down to see “Network Settings” in blue at the bottom. Click on “Network Settings” as per image below.
2. The network settings Window appears showing your list of WiFi networks in your area, but if you scroll down to the bottom of this window, you’ll see “Manage WiFi settings” (as per the image below). Click on that option.
3. Now the following Window appears giving you all the options for Wi-Fi Sense. Turn off everything you don’t want. You may want to connect to suggested hotspots and connections your contacts share (even though they may not know they are sharing it because they didn’t read this article.) Below that, uncheck Outlook.com, Skype, and Facebook Friends.
Remember, it’s not just your Facebook friends, it’s their friends too. Many mutual friends via Facebook are not mutual friends in real life. Trust me, I’ve helped many divorced couples block their spouses from watching what they do online because of “mutual friends” they still keep.
Now that your computer and entire network is more secure; If you found this help, please share with others to keep them safe.