Got an inexpensive knockoff Win10pro laptop

[intrepidity]

and, after being away from Windows for the past few years, only using Android devices, I'm starting the process of reacquainting with it (ugh).

Back in the day, I had all the resources and tools I needed at my fingertips, but there's been a reboot--more like a disk crash and fresh install, but that's another story--and so I'm starting from scratch.

After unboxing this machine, I've started exploring its guts--offline, of course--and there are enough red flags that make me wonder whether I should attempt a Recovery fresh install, or if that would just produce the same result. It's Win10pro 64bit, but there are no instructions on how to do a Recovery, or how I would activate Win. I can see that there are 2 partitions that seem to be assigned for recovery, but no idea of the contents therein, yet.

The unfortunate conflict I'm facing is whether a machine compromised by a Chinese dealer is worse than a machine compromised by a fresh install of Windows!

I guess my question is: which way to go, either brute force checking every single setting (any good current resource for the security/privacy implications of *every* setting?), or try to start from a fresh install, hopefully from the recovery partition?

This whole issue is why I've only been using Androids lately.

[msongs]

1. knockoff? nt

[intrepidity]

2. No-name, generic, from a Chinese company nt

[marble falls]

3. Is it a conflict over beating everything an uncertainly compromised computer can throw at you ...

... and just letting Bill Gates take all the sturm und drang out of it? In the end, won't the results be about the same either way?

Let Bill have the honors. You'll at least be up sooner.

[intrepidity]

4. Well said

although, I'm not yet even certain that's an option--could the recovery version of windows be tampered with?

And, if they're selling machines with bootlegged Windows (and I don't know that to be the case), will a Recovery even result in a working machine?

[marble falls]

7. I'd figure out if my Windows was supported. If it's not, I'd get a supported version ...

... if you're my age, you'd know beating Gates out of a license fee is nowhere as much fun as it was.

[intrepidity]

10. I eventually let it get online after I adjusted most of the settings I'm familiar with

to let it do it's updates thing, which it seemed to do just fine. Presumably whatever it is running looks legit enough for it to get updated.

Or is that a faulty assumption?

[PoliticAverse]

5. Do you have a valid product key for the Windows installation? n/t

[intrepidity]

6. Not sure. No booklet, like you used to get (with recovery disks)

only a small sticker on the underside of the laptop, barcode with number, no logo, no words, no hologram.

[PoliticAverse]

9. Go to...

Settings
Update & Security
Activation


And see what it says about your windows installation.

[TwilightZone]

8. There's nothing compromised by a fresh, clean install of Windows.

Assuming that you change things like default passwords, ensure that the built-in protections are enabled, etc.

Of course, that doesn't apply if the copy of Windows being used for the install isn't legit and is corrupted or infected with malware, etc. Which, in this case, sounds like a possibility.

Unless there was software added after the installation, a recovery install would likely just produce what you're already seeing. It usually writes a factory image to the hard drive from the recovery partition.

There are tens of thousands (or more) of settings in Windows. Going through them one-by-one would be a waste of time. Find some good guides online for how Windows 10 security works and start there.

Example, which also includes network security suggestions: https://www.tomshardware.com/news/security-mistakes-to-avoid

Another (video): https://www.pcworld.com/article/3602672/what-you-need-to-know-about-windows-security-in-windows-10.html

One that's more in-depth, though it's a bit more targeted to business customers: https://www.zdnet.com/article/the-windows-10-security-guide-how-to-safeguard-your-business/

Lots of others out there.

[intrepidity]

11. Oh yeah, I know what's involved in going through the settings

I used to do it regularly on my WinXP boxes, back in the day. There was a site (black ice something?) that described each setting, in detail. That's the level of control I like having on my computers.

When I was looking at some of the obvious settings, like in Users and Groups, I noticed that "User" had admin privileges, and that got me wondering what the default settings were--I haven't yet looked any of this up. Also, some misc folders/settings were in Chinese characters, which was what initially alerted me. May be completely innocuous.

Is it even possible anymore to have a completely functional machine (and software) that doesn't need to phone home frequently, or go online to retrieve some essential component? ::sigh:: I'm not a fan of this cloud-computing model that seems to have infiltrated everywhere.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

12. I've never not reinstalled fresh Windows on any laptop I've ever bought ...

Do you have the activation code, like on a sticker? Conversely if it's a digital cert you should be able to associate the activation with your Microsoft account (which even if you don't want, is a good idea with W10) and activate that way after a fresh install.

The only trick, as I'm sure you're handy enough to know, is to make sure you can get the driver files for everything. Chipset, wifi, video, sound, camera, touchpad, etc. I'd grab all those first and put on thumb drive.

Then just D/L windows installer to a(nother) thumb drive and scorch the earth (format) and install a bone-stock W10.

Sure I'm not telling you stuff you don't know, but ... I'd never use the Windows that came on my lappie.