Windows 10

This page is for information about upgrading from older versions of Windows to Windows 10.

Creating a local “offline” account

Microsoft is using dark patterns to trick people into giving them their e-mail and phone number while also harvesting their personal information. To avoid this create a local or offline account. The main way to achieve this is to make sure not to connect to the Internet when installing Windows 10, if connected by ethernet unplug the cable or disable networking in the BIOS, With a wireless connection simply say “I don’t have Internet” at the choose network screen. With Windows 10 pro you can select “Domain Join” to create a local account. If you are forced to connect to the internet create a fake account with random characters in the address and a fake recovery email and then convert to a local account in the control panel or enter “000000000000000” as a “phone number”.

Running Windows XP in a virtual machine

As modern hardware does not have Windows XP drivers the recommended modern way to run Windows XP is in a virtual machine. VirtualBox is free and comes with “guest additions” which provide suitible drivers for running Windows XP with.