“A computer, by definition, cannot be held accountable for anything because there is no mechanism to hold it to account … Only humans can be accountable.” Mark Walpole.
You may not be able to hold your PC accountable, but you do need an account on your PC. They come in two varieties. When you install Windows for the first time, you choose between using a local or a Microsoft account. Unless you’re starting out with a new computer, you’ve already made that decision. Let’s talk about the difference between the two.
A local account is more private. It applies to one computer. A local account does not share any user settings or preferences with Microsoft. Your account settings are not synchronized across your Microsoft accounts that might include Outlook.com or other devices hosting Windows. You don’t have ready access to the Microsoft store. You don’t have access to free storage on OneDrive.
A Microsoft account offers the features above that a local account does not. In addition, it’s required to enable “Find my device,” which I discuss in a later post. You can store your Bitlocker recovery key with Microsoft in the cloud (although I would store it in my Password Manager instead). Microsoft also stores your license keys. So a Microsoft account is more convenient. It’s also less private. You’re sharing a lot of data with Microsoft. It’s also arguably less secure. If your account is hacked in one place, it’s hacked everywhere it’s used. If your account gets locked, it’s locked everywhere.
How can you tell what kind of account you have? In both Windows 10 and 11, go to “Settings > Account > Your info.” If you see “Sign in with a Microsoft account instead,” you’re using a local account. If you see “Sign in with a local account instead,” you’re using a Microsoft account. You can toggle between the two by clicking the link that you see. If you change to a local account and see a warning to backup your Bitlocker recovery key, don’t ignore it. Capture the recovery key and store it in your password manager if you have not already done so.
Which type of account you select is a choice between more convenience or more privacy. Choose the option that’s best for you. I would note, however, that if you’ve been using a Microsoft account, you’ve already shared a great deal of data. Switching to a local account will not put that horse back in the barn.
One other bit of computer hygiene before we address privacy permissions. PCs often come with applications you never plan to use. Applications they are trying to sell to you. People refer to these unasked for applications as “bloatware.” And over time, you may accumulate applications you installed to try out and then stopped using. I recommend you uninstall these applications. They’re clogging up your system and may pose a security risk. Briefly:
- Windows 10: Go to “Settings > Apps,” and you’ll see a list of all the apps installed on your computer. Click on any app you wish to remove, and select “Uninstall.”
- Windows 11: Go to “Settings > Apps > Installed Apps.” Click on the three dots to the right of any app you wish to remove, and select “Uninstall.”
Don’t go crazy here. If you don’t know what an app is for, research it before you remove it. Or perhaps leave it alone. If it’s obviously bloatware, uninstall it.
Information provided in this post is subject to the disclaimer in the first post of this series.