Microsoft’s embedded “intelligent personal assistant and knowledge navigator”, also called Cortana, is a persistent agent running in Windows10. By default, it is always running in the background and can monitor a number of user activities and inputs. Microsoft needs to know about what the user is doing, going, and many other aspects to feed an intelligence engine which can act as an assistant to the user.

The problem is, I don’t like my computer spying on me or tracking what I do, no matter how noble some software company positions their intent. In the past, it was relatively easy to stop a Windows process or application which did surveillance, but Cortana is different. Even if you stop the service, it returns. There is no executable to remove. Basically, it is very difficult to shut down.

Killing Cortana

I recently came across a solution to kill Cortana on a Win10 system with a 3rd party utility. WARNING: modification of your system can have unpredictable results. Use at your own risk. I do not recommend or make any guarantees. I did not write this utility. This is for information purposes only and should only be attempted by users who have sufficient skill making file and permission modifications on their system. (if the following instructions don’t make sense to you, don’t attempt)

Steps to remove Cortana:

1. Download and run the Windows registry utility called “TakeOwn”. It will install a context menu (right-mouse click menu) to get ownership permissions

2. Navigate to C:\Windows

3. Create a back-up folder SystemApps.bak (just in case you want to restore Cortana)

4. Use TakeOwn to gain ownership of c:\windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy, by right-mouse clicking the folder and selecting “Take Ownership”

5. Move the folder (Cut/Paste) the folder(s) from SystemApps to SystemApps.bak

6. When the "Permissions" menu appears, switch to Task Manager

7. Kill the Cortana process (could also be called SearchUI.exe)

8. Quickly switch back to the popup and select ‘try again’ to move the folder

The result is Cortana will now reside safely in the backup folder “SystemApps.bak” you made and can be moved back later if you desire. Again, attempt only if you are comfortable with such actions. I am not recommending it, just providing some options for those who want to de-fang Cortana.

I found this little gem of a hack on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/killing-cortana-microsofts-built-in-spy-gary-miliefsky

Image Source: http://www.windowscentral.com/cortana