There's this Technet article, which also tells you how to dial it down or disable it: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/itpro/windows/manage/configure-windows

There's this Technet article, which also tells you how to dial it down or disable it: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/itpro/windows/manage/configure-windows-telemetry-in-your-organization https://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/itpro/windows/manage/con... I don't see the problem with ignoring the hosts file, if that is indeed what is happening. It's not really intended as a blocking mechanism.