I know there are telemetry updates to avoid. Does Windows 8.1 still spy on user and local files, without the telemetry updates? I notice Windows 8.1 sends data through svchost, is this part of the spying? Has anyone analyzed the traffic of Windows 8.1 carefully? In the Windows 10 forum many people report evidence of Windows 10 spying. There is much scrutiny of the Windows 10 traffic. Conclusion is there is no way to avoid Windows 10 spying, no matter what tweak or firewall used. Nobody has scrutinized Windows 8.1 traffic for spying yet, I want to know the results.