World War Privacy Part 6: is about some ‘one-click’ free, tested, and proven Windows tools that can instantly increase privacy and anonymity.
The first two are from Wise Cleaner, and I have been using them since 2012 without incident. They are free, require no account signup, and have no Spyware (you can run them without an Internet Connection). There are Pro versions as well (at a cost) and an extensive range of Windows tools that you may find useful.
Frankly, Wise Disk Cleaner and Wise Registry Cleaner are the first two programs that I use when I encounter a constipated or sick Windows PC. Both get regular updates to ensure they cover all new Windows features.
Wise Disk Cleaner 10/10, no risk, and it’s free
- Deletes temporary files, outdated updates, log files, and other useless files. Just press Clean.
- Erases Windows tracks and Browser tracks.
- It can defrag the disks, but SSDs don’t need that
- You can set it to AutoClean daily, weekly or monthly at a specified time and day
- It is quick and safe – I have never had an issue.
I recommend you tick all boxes except Taskbar Jump Lists (allows you to add shortcuts to Explorer).
You may get emails from Banks et al that store cookies on your system, saying that the PC is not recognised. That just means Disk Cleaner is doing its job.
Advanced Cleaner just clears temporary, useless files.
System Slimming clears Windows Update files and useless language files.
Wise Registry Cleaner 10/10, no risk, and it’s free
The Registry is like a roadmap to Windows’ inner workings. Over time, it gets bloated, with lots of redundant entries and even errors. WRC will not remove unsafe errors.
- Automatically backs up the registry and restore point if you need to recover from an issue.
- Scans and fixes registry errors – just press scan
- Windows System TuneUp is a one-button system tweaker that tweaks all the tested Windows tips and tricks to optimise your system performance. It is totally safe to optimise all.
- Registry Defrag can compress the registry size and reorganise it logically for faster performance. Frankly, I have never used it.
Stop Windows Snooping with O&O ShutUp10+ 10/10, no risk, and it’s free
We have mentioned O&O ShutUp10+ before because it is an incredibly powerful tool that is constantly updated (latest version 2.1.1015, 28/10/2025) as Microsoft finds more sneaky ways to hoover up your data.
It is free for Windows Intel/AMD x86, older Intel/Windows x32 and now Windows on ARM. Being free, you should check for a later version each time you use it – click the ‘Find New Version’ URL.
Now, the first time you open O&O, you are faced with a huge list of things you can disable (Ref or Green). Most users baulked at this as they did not know whether it would break the PC or the Laptop. O&O has a right side column that shows green for safe, yellow for optional but safe and red for don’t disable unless you know what you are doing. And you can click on each item, and it tells you what it does.
Under Actions, you can back up your old settings (for a quick restore) and then select green, yellow or red options. There is also a handy undo all changes (Factory Settings) that does not affect your data or operations.
Now here is the ‘excellent’ bit
Even though you have manually and arduously locked down MS Edge, Read World War Privacy Part 5: Stop MS Edge snooping, there are still some hidden cookies. This now has specific settings for:
- MS Edge
- MS Office
- Cortana
- Copilot (also a new Copilot tab to turn it off)
- AI
I have tried all of the green/yellow settings, and I am impressed—no issues, and more memory and CPU power. I had a minor issue with video conference and Windows Hello apps needing access to the camera and microphone, so I re-enabled them.
Once you exit the app and reboot, it’s all done.
Ghostery Free browser anti-tracking tool
A little Blue Ghost icon sits in my Browser Toolbar silently monitoring each webpage to block hidden trackers, hide intrusive ads and prevent cookie popups. I had almost forgotten it until I set up a new PC and wondered why I was seeing so much junk on webpages.
It is a browser extension for (including most forks)
- Chrome
- Edge
- Android
- Opera
- Safari (Apple)
- Firefox (which is recommended as the safest browser).
Of course, advertisers hate it, and if you are blocked from a site, you can pause on that page for an hour, a day or always.
For example, CyberShack has 5 trackers. Two are mandatory: Google Analytics, but the other three have come from nowhere without our consent – probably as part of transparent GIF trackers in some images on the home page, and we will track these down and kill them. We do not want to know who you are!
Our main Aussie competitors have 38, 22, and 14 trackers, reflecting the desperation they have to sell your data and earn money from AdWords, affiliate sales links, do-follow links, and paid link insertions. They also use trackers to see which web page you have come from and where you go after their site.
CyberShack’s view: World War Privacy Part 6: Essential, free, easy-to-use, anti-snooping, Windows tools you should use now
These tools should have been part of Windows in the first place, but Microsoft, like Google and Apple, want to make money from your data.
I was pleasantly surprised that O&O now has Edge, Office and Copilot options.
To be blunt: No matter if you are tech-savvy or a 90-year-old young at heart, you can use these three ‘one-click’ tools without risk.
Remember that all come with backup just in case!
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