I had a computer go wheels-up-in-the-ditch recently and had to get a new one. Of course, it was a Win11 Home system. You are (correctly) worried about the Windows GUI changing. I've been looking at security issues.
I've been watching some videos on some the things already in Win 11 and some things that will be coming down the road. Among other "gotchas" is that Win 11 REALLY wants you to have a Microsoft account and a future patch is reputed to REQUIRE that you have an MS account before you can make a local account on your own machine. There the "copilot Recall" feature that, when it is downloaded in a coming patch and if you don't turn it off, it will take a snapshot of your screen every 3 seconds (and keep it for a couple of months). There is a thing (probably related to Windows Defender) where they want to "protect" your files by encrypting your disk with Bitlocker. The catch is that you had better take good notes on encryption keys because if you DO get Bitlockered by Microsoft, you will have to log in to your MS account to get the decryption key. Fortunately, there are ways to prevent the Recall and Bitlocker features. I saw one method for new Win 11 startups (like, take it home from the store and boot for the first time) that would allow you to say "NO" to the Microsoft account requirement, but MS won't like it. They are already plugging the holes.
I've so far had to "adjust" topics on Windows Update Delivery Optimization (which includes the ability to download updates from another PC); Disallowing On-Line sign-up for WiFi Hotspot 2.0; Inking Personalization (intrusive record-keeping possible); External manipulation of your Location options; Turning off Cortana; Turning off CoPilot... and the list goes on. The Win 11 OS is secure from almost everyone - including you but NOT including MS itself. That realization of how intrusive they have become REALLY ticked me off.
In the past month I must have seen over a dozen entries on how MS has chosen options that essentially bring into question whether they believe that the computer you bought really belongs to you. If it is Win 11, the doubt factors are significant. You have so many privacy options to consider that it is almost nauseating, but what is worse is that some personalizations in the Privacy section lead to interference with web sites that allow public commenting. So far sites like this one are not affected, but - as a simple example - Yahoo News comments are now dead to me because of their third-party co-hosting.
www.bing.com
