Have you ever disabled IPv6 for privacy (to prevent IP leaks)?
Maria Sophia <[email protected]> Sat, 18 Jul 2026 12:47:22 -0400
| Newsgroups | alt.comp.os.windows-10,alt.comp.microsoft.windows,alt.comp.os.windows-11 |
|---|---|
| Organization | BWH Usenet Archive (https://usenet.blueworldhosting.com) |
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
Q: Have you ever disabled IPv6 for privacy (to prevent IP leaks)? What are your experiences? I disabled IPv6 too completely in an attempt to prevent privacy leaks. My killswitch toggle broke as a result of the resulting unpredictable routing table. Modern Windows is now IPv6-first, even if IPv6 is never used! If IPv6 is completely disabled, Windows loses its fallback path and NCSI panics. netsh interface ipv6 set teredo disabled netsh interface ipv6 set 6to4 disabled (deprecated on my Windows 10 Pro box) netsh interface ipv6 set isatap disabled (deprecated on my Windows 10 Pro box) reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip6\Parameters" /v DisabledComponents /t REG_DWORD /d 0xFF /f Disabling IPv6 caused my killswitch to stop working because after IPv6 was disabled: a. Windows lost its fallback path b. NCSI panics when the default route disappears c. VPN routing becomes unstable d. My killswitch toggle triggers route thrashing Restoring IPv6 was a long sequence of steps because settings had changed so I won't describe the restoral process unless someone wants to know it. Apparently the correct way to disable IPv6, for privacy, is this sequence. 1. Modify the registry reg add HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip6\Parameters /v DisabledComponents /t REG_DWORD /d 0x20 /f 2. Reset IPv4 and IPv6 stacks netsh int ip reset netsh int ipv6 reset 3. Reboot shutdown /r /t 0 4. Verify reg query HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip6\Parameters /v DisabledComponents Should show 0x20, which... a. Disables IPv6 on all non-tunnel interfaces b. Prevents IPv6 leaks c. Prevents IPv6 DNS d. Prevents IPv6 autoconfig e. Prevents IPv6 routing f. Keeps NCSI happy g. Keeps Windows routing stable h. And which keeps my recently modified killswitch toggle stable. :) As far as I know, IPv6 leaks will not be possible after this because with 0x20: a. IPv6 addresses will not be assigned b. IPv6 DNS will not be used c. IPv6 routes will not exist d. IPv6 traffic cannot leak e. IPv6 fallback remains internally available for NCSI For privacy, I'm about to run that sequence above, but in case others are ahead of me, I'd like to ask this question before I take the leap. Q: Have you ever disabled IPv6 for privacy (to prevent IP leaks)? What are your experiences? -- Usenet allows people with shared interests to discuss topics of import.