Since Win8 shifted to all-in-one updates things have become more difficult.

What are the current best practices to avoid "telemetry" and similar updates or components?

Any cleaner/disabler programs?

 

Use Windows 8 fully updated (until the last January 2016 updates) or Windows 8.1 Update 1 with no other updates (except if you have the courage to check if they are related to telemetry and download one by one the past standalone updates from the Microsoft Update Catalog, you can do the same for Windows 8 and the updates for Windows Server 2012 - I don't know if there are any telemetry updates included in this case).

I too generally recommend installing no Windows 8 or 8.1 updates after January 2016. I also recommend running the remove-spyware-win batch file for cleaning up any telemetry updates that were subsequently installed inadvertently. In addition, Nvidia has started integrating telemetry updates into their video drivers. You can get rid of those by uncompressing the setup file and deleting the telemetry folder and the automatic update folder, which also phones in.

NVDIA telemetry is probably innocent (performance data) but Windows 10 telemetry surely isn't.

I mean while using the most updates possible on 8.1.

I did manually cull and skip updates on 8.1, but since Microsoft switched to combo-updates it's difficult or impossible to know what's included in each.

Nvidia's thing sounds annoying, but I assume it's a dedicated EXE which is easier to detect and disable, or at least to block completely from network access. With Microsoft, network access will likely be from svchost.exe, which is more difficult to block selectively.

Does there exist a list of all the protocols, destinations and ports that a Windows 10 system tries to communicate with?

Even if it exists Microsoft can always add more...

Here's a relevant article on this topic:

The truth about Windows 7 and 8.1 'spy patches' KB 3068708, 3022345, 3075249, 3080149

 

For security reasons, I dislike the idea of not installing updates (it's a bad practice). I've chosen to install updates (minus some optional ones), and to disable telemetry (CEIP).

 

Here's the method I used:

Quote

 

True old farts would use SC CONFIG ;-). I’m talking about this:

sc config DiagTrack start= disabled
sc config dmwappushservice start= disabled

It is shorter, doesn’t require PowerShell, and looks prettier.
Also, you might consider stopping the tracking immediately, not after the next reboot. Do the following:

sc stop DiagTrack
sc stop dmwappushservice

 

Source:  How to disable Telemetry and Data Collection in Windows 10

 

And here's another relevant article:
How to Turn Off Telemetry in Windows 7, 8

 

 

Are you sure that this is all? If yes, then you shouldn't... When you know that someone spies you then just don't trust him. Do what you can to prevent him from spying you but never be sure that this is all.

you can disable telemetry services.