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W10 and Privacy

toronto699
Level 13
4,555 Views
6 REPLIES 6

Korth
Level 14
lol, google (and the horde of advertisers it owns) has probably intruded on your "privacy" far more than Microsoft. I was initially concerned (very concerned!) about this potential Win10 privacy issue ... but I read up quite a bit on it ... and it's really nothing new, it's not much more personally-identifiable than a GUID anyhow, and it's already been in place for years on every machine with a TPM (let alone any machine stuffed full of unique serial numbers on a dozen hardware components). As a consumer, I'm not really offering Microsoft any more personal info to register Win10 than I did with WinXP. And I'm not at any more "risk" than before when Microsoft (eventually) gets hacked and suffers from embarassing loss/distribution of whatever they're caching away in their confidential databases. What would criminals do with my hardware IDs, they can't "pirate" my hardware without already owning equivalent hardware, they can't spoof my IDs to do anything more serious than prompt me to re-activate my copy of Windows. I think the hidden details of Microsoft's Win10 registration/privacy implementations will be of little concern for those of us disinterested in pirating the OS. I'm normally inclined to automatically side myself against the evil megacorporation, but in this instance it's a whole lot of overblown hype about something of trivial consequence that has already been practiced for years.
"All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated and well supported in logic and argument than others." - Douglas Adams

[/Korth]

Windows 10 Privacy should be a concern to everyone, specially since they make you accept a "No Class Action Suit can be filed against them" (Signing away your Constitutional Rites) in order to use Windows 10 in the first place. These "Privacy" concerns are more then just tracking. They include anything Microsoft wants, your accounts, passwords, history, Documents, Files, everything you type... The agreement alone should be a serious red flag to anyone that cares about their security, identity, financial information or anything else (such as anything in a NDA) as Microsoft can and does copy all of it. Even whats more alarming is the way Microsoft went about putting Windows 10 on every computer using win7 and up... I had Windows update set to "Security Updates only" but upon seeing the "check out Win 10 icon" on my task bar with no way to turn it off just hide it. I had to do some research to figure out how to uninstall it to find out the whole Win 10 OS was on my system (GWX.EXE I think) ready to be installed. So I not only found out that the updates weren't "Security updates" as I had Windows update configured but was a Recommended update and was a total lie about what the update was (said it was to improve performance or something but was the entire Win10 OS, pfft) So, I uninstalled these updates and turned Windows Update off only to have turn back on upon reboot and install the same updates again. So, I then had to uninstall them again, then hide them and turn Windows Updates off 3 different ways to stop it. Then I read and hear about Microsoft putting the same spy engine (so they call it) on Wind 7, 8 and 8.1 computers the same way they did the initial "check out Wiin10" update. I was so glad I turned that off when I did! Do a little research to find out how to clean up your system as I'm not posting links...

The first thing people usually say is, I don't have anything to hide, right? Well, that's not the point, the point is Microsoft is doing some very shady "Unconstitutional" stuff here, TOS agreed to or not. Yes, you can turn the Privacy settings off but the next reboot their turned back on and also some continue to run in the back ground anyway. If I remember correctly and I think I do, Windows 10 has already been ruled "Unconstitutional" by a Federal Judge...

Wake up people...

01_Wolverine
Level 12
I just eliminated the win10 folder with this article from Extreme Tech

Quote:

In Windows 7, you do this by clicking on “Tools,” then “Folder Options,” and finally “Show Hidden Files and Folders,” as shown below. In Windows 8/8.1, click on the View tab and then select the “Hidden items” check box.

Once this is done, check your Windows directory for a directory named $WINDOWS.~BT. The icon may be translucent, since the folder is normally hidden, so check carefully. You can delete this folder if you wish, but doing so won’t actually prevent Microsoft from downloading the setup program again. Once the OS has decided that you’re going to install Windows 10, it’s downright pushy about having the data locally. The only solution, according to various sources, is to actually remove a specific Windows Update: KB3035583.

KB3035583 is described by Microsoft as installing “the Get Windows 10 app, which helps users understand their Windows 10 upgrade options and device readiness.” It can be uninstalled by navigating to Windows Update from within the Control Panel, choosing “Programs and Features,” and then selecting the “View Installed Updates” option. Remove this update and then delete the folder, and you’ll reclaim your lost disk space.

KB 3035583 can then be blocked from installing again by hiding the update from within the Windows Update setting in Control Panel.

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/214070-how-to-delete-microsofts-unwanted-windows-10-download-fi...

I will give win10 a year and if i do not like what i see ,i will pass on win10

toronto699
Level 13
01 Wolverine thanks , I also installed "donotspy10" now with my mouse there is no little circle that some kind of activity is happening on my PC every few times a day . when I first had W10 the first few days that would happen till I installed donotspy10

Korth
Level 14
Well, there's always a ton of linux alternatives ... in fact, the truly paranoid can compile their own customized, hardened, monolithic linux core straight from sourcecode, if they prefer. Or you always fill your physical LAN connector with Krazy Glue and smash your WiFi antenna, no online hacker could defeat that. But we live in a world filled with Windows and not all of us wants to (or even can) live like that fellow in Enemy of the State. I'd rather understand what Microsoft knows (or admits to knowing), limit the damage by using common sense, not lose any sleep, and just get on with my life. Good luck to all you folks who wanna launch class action lawsuits, anyhow, most of the Windows-using world lives in countries where American Constitutional Rights don't apply.
"All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated and well supported in logic and argument than others." - Douglas Adams

[/Korth]

toronto699
Level 13