GDID Windows – Cut the tracker that follows you even under VPN
Summary
The article investigates the GDID (a 64-bit PUID) used by Windows, explaining how it persists across VPNs and is linked to a Microsoft account. It describes how the GDID is stored and reported, why simply deleting registry entries or disabling telemetry does not block it, and provides a GitHub-based mitigation (no-gdid) to audit and temporarily disable reporting, while noting limitations and the option of using Linux for true anonymity.