As we all know, Windows 10 has made downloading/installing drivers via internet obsolete. Now, it uses Windows Update functionality to download all the required software, for example, Nvidia/ATI video drivers, Realtek Sound and so on. But this doesn’t stop here.

Windows 10 has built-in support for Peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing network that automatically shares your Windows update files to Internet or Local Area Network unless you turn it off manually.

Sharing drivers and update files over LAN seems like a really good idea but over Internet it has a really huge side effect. This could be disastrous for people who are on limited internet (bandwidth caps). It will leech all your upload bandwidth and may cause high ping/latency while playing games or using applications. Also, on discussion boards, one user reported 100 GB bandwidth usage on PC idle state. So, you might want to that turn off.


How to prevent Windows 10 from Stealing your Bandwidth:

Go to Settings -> Update & Security -> Windows Update -> Advanced Options. From Advanced Options go to ‘Choose how updates are delivered’. From ‘Choose how updates are delivered’ you can do any of the following:

1. Turn off the p2p transfer entirely

2. Limit the p2p transfer to PCs on your local network.

Screenshot tutorial:

The idea of delivering Windows updates through P2P is genius. But on the other side, it can make PC’s vulnerable to hacking attempts as well as bandwidth problems. Microsoft should at notify user about background data sharing so they can decide whether they want to keep it or turn it off.