Killing Cortana: How to disable Windows 10's info-hungry digital assistant

Killing Cortana isn't as easy as it used to be. When Windows 10 first released, turning off Cortana was as simple as flipping a switch in the digital assistant's settings, but Microsoft removed the option in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. Now there's no obvious way to disable Cortana--but it is possible using not-so-obvious methods. Completely eradicating Cortana requires a quick and easy registry edit, which we'll detail here. If you don't want Cortana spying on you but also detest the idea of mucking with your PC's deepest software innards, PCWorld's guide to privacy-boosting Cortana tweaks can show you how to limit the personal information it sends Microsoft.