Windows 7 phones home to Microsoft quite often, also. Again, Evorem free firewall is the only solution I have found short of never connecting to the internet.
You could probably also get the same benefit by installing a hardware based firewall and only entering in valid IP addresses, or specifically blocking certain IP addresses. But Evorem is probably still easier, as you see the trojans and worms, real time, trying to squirm their way out. Start off with "Ask first" on everything and then switch to "Never" as you become clear what "services" you can do without. I do without effectively everything, except my brave browser. I open the port explicitly when I am seeking an update or something for tax software. I don't think Brave "phones" home on its own (although it may report in when I explicitly use it, I don't know for sure.)
I HATE Win10. Supposedly it is "safer" than Win7, but it sure isn't safer from Microsoft.
"If you would not give you body to any passerby, to do with as they wished, why do you give your mind?" -Epictitus, 2500 years ago.
| 
