Is Win10 designed to collect lots of meta-data?

[ImpulsE69]

What exactly does a company like MS (or whoever they outsource to) do with all the data they collect on INDIVIDUALS? Or do they only collect it for more general reports on tendencies and likes, etc. for MS users in general?

I mean, would I have to worry about what they know specifically about ME and that I visit thisstore.com for purchases twice a month or that I watched Chicago.Fire.xvid.s04e02? I don't get the big deal if I'm just one in 10 million and they know about "us". Unless they do something to me specifically (and I'm not talking about targeted ads), why would I want to be worried? Would they collect CC info I input into websites (they won't use it anyway and this would be a huge legal issue for them)?

So, I would say at the moment, none of that is an issue...NOW, but the potential is there. The problem with companies is many will do whatever they can get away with. Let's say today, they aren't collecting CC info. 2 years down the road when they've assimilated everyone into Win 10, they make some seemingly benign change to their collection strategy and let's say by 'accident' it collects CC data and a bunch of additional data that it never did before. THEN, someone hacks their database (which, sorry, WILL happen..more than once I am sure). Now, you need to be worried. If nothing else has been proven it is that external companies cannot be trusted to keep data private. There is no denying that. The only reason it isn't a bigger deal is that up to this point the fallout of getting said data stolen has been small at a consumer level.

This is just an example, and it isn't a matter of 'how or what if'. THIS SCENARIO WILL HAPPEN in some form.

The truth is, everyone should be worried about automated background collection of data. It just simply shouldn't happen. Unfortunately we've been slowly weened to be OK with it. Smartphones are pretty bad about it, but on a personal level, I don't really use smartphones in the same manner as I use my PC, and don't have any intention to. MS's goal is to do both. They can do this WITHOUT collecting any data, so why are they collecting data at all? Money. And when money is involved, things will eventually go bad.

Inputting "midget donkey porn" into google is NOT the same as an OS constantly sending automated data to a database.

But of course, the "hai guys I does nothing wrong" group will brush it off like conspiracy theory.

 

[dainthomas]

I laugh so hard at this. Unless you're living in a cave trading beaver pelts for canned bacon and powdered milk, all your data is out there. Everyone's.

Wanna turn off security updates so Bill Gates can't find out when your kids' soccer practice is? Enjoy getting your ID stolen by Chinese hackers.

 

[ImpulsE69]

I laugh so hard at this. Unless you're living in a cave trading beaver pelts for canned bacon and powdered milk, all your data is out there. Everyone's.

Wanna turn off security updates so Bill Gates can't find out when your kids' soccer practice is? Enjoy getting your ID stolen by Chinese hackers.

But then you miss the point completely. You and I know this, but it doesn't mean yet another company should have it, it only makes the problem worse. Not only that, security is a joke in general and by the time patches come out, your data was probably already stolen. They aren't keeping ahead of anyone actually making an effort.

 

[quikah]

Google does history syncing forever now, and it is not a big deal for any of their users... Still you can opt to not use their browser, even on their OS. Here as others have stated there's lack of transparency of what is being shared, and feeling that you're not much in control of your PC anymore...

You can opt out of syncing in Windows also. There is plenty of transparency (https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2015/09/28/privacy-and-windows-10/), people just don't believe what MS says for some reason (a company that derives its profit from selling software), yet they are willing to believe whatever Google says (a company that derives its profit by selling ads based on your data).

 

[ImpulsE69]

You can opt out of syncing in Windows also. There is plenty of transparency (https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2015/09/28/privacy-and-windows-10/), people just don't believe what MS says for some reason (a company that derives its profit from selling software), yet they are willing to believe whatever Google says (a company that derives its profit by selling ads based on your data).

Not to get political, but for the same reason people like Clinton, but don't like Bush. We all know what they do, but some are just more likable when they bend you over.

 

[Dude111]

Because they can't be bothered to turn off the data collection in Win 10, and they'd rather have the drama?

I dont think you can really disable it do you?? THEY WOULDNT BE TRYING TO FORCE IT ON PEOPLE LIKE THEY ARE IF THIER SPYING WAS SO EASILY DISABLED!!

Think about it.... JUST CAUSE IT SAYS ITS DISABLED DOESNT MEAN IT IS!!

 

[Charmonium]

This looks like a good article from lifehacker on how to set up w10 for privacy.

Personally, I think the best thing to do is create aliases. Call or login to your account online for your credit card. Set up 2 or 3 "authorized" users. You will then get cards in these names in a couple of weeks. Now do all of your transactions online using these fake users.

The only way for anyone to know that you're the primary card holder is if you use your real name on the card. And in case you're worried that datamining will expose your ruse, use dynamically generated numbers for all of your transactions. Most major card issuers give you this option. Citibank's seems to be the most flexible and robust.

Of course your cable bill is still going to be in your or your family's name and it's hard to get a fake id with your ISP but it can be done. I managed to get mine set up in with a bogus id but that was years ago. It's probably harder to do now, at least w/o running afoul of one or more legal restrictions.

 

[lxskllr]

I laugh so hard at this. Unless you're living in a cave trading beaver pelts for canned bacon and powdered milk, all your data is out there. Everyone's.

Wanna turn off security updates so Bill Gates can't find out when your kids' soccer practice is? Enjoy getting your ID stolen by Chinese hackers.

No your data isn't out there; not the way you're talking about. Putting things into tidy databases, ready for exploit is the problem, not having 10k bits of data spread across the web.

 

[escrow4]

No your data isn't out there; not the way you're talking about. Putting things into tidy databases, ready for exploit is the problem, not having 10k bits of data spread across the web.

Of course it is. Use a phone and email? NSA has your details. The government has all your info from tax returns and can correlate your spending patterns with credit/debit cards. You think the government has decent security? And how about your smartphone? Or social media? Get over yourself already. Most people have no privacy anymore.

 

[lxskllr]

Of course it is. Use a phone and email? NSA has your details. The government has all your info from tax returns and can correlate your spending patterns with credit/debit cards. You think the government has decent security? And how about your smartphone? Or social media? Get over yourself already. Most people have no privacy anymore.

I don't use credit/debit, and I no longer use email that bends over for the government. My phone has been cleaned, and doesn't release much more than a standard wired net connection. I don't use social media.

How about you getting over yourself, and proactively improving your life, instead of taking everything your fed. Pretty much the only benefit of getting older is having the ability to see problems, and improve them. Only idiots coast.

 

[Zodiark1593]

The entire internet is built for data mining.

 

[lxskllr]

The entire internet is built for data mining.

The internet is built to be fault tolerant, and censorship resistant. It's individual users that choose to accept data mining by using spyware, and encompassing centralized services.

 

[SSSnail]

The entire internet is built for data mining.

Bullshit! The internet was built for one purpose and one purpose only - porn.

 

[escrow4]

I don't use credit/debit, and I no longer use email that bends over for the government. My phone has been cleaned, and doesn't release much more than a standard wired net connection. I don't use social media.

How about you getting over yourself, and proactively improving your life, instead of taking everything your fed. Pretty much the only benefit of getting older is having the ability to see problems, and improve them. Only idiots coast.

Which email is that? You think Hushmail will protect you? They all have sold out. And I'd like to see a "clean" modern smartphone.

 

[lxskllr]

hushmail. LoL!

 

[Rhonda the Sly]

Personal info? No, but it may depend on your definition of "personal." Certainly nothing identifying.

Other stuff, yes.

Depending on your Privacy settings, Windows 10 sends information about crashes and software/hardware installed back home and information on how you use your computer (whether you use certain built in apps, entry point to the app, how and how long you use them, etc.).

Again depending on your settings, some information is sent back home to enable certain features. As an example, many browsers send queries you type into their address bar to the home base for instant search results or address completion. When you enter an actual address, browsers may send the address back to home base to search for typos or other issues in order to prevent people from navigating to a fake site.

All of this can be controlled in the Privacy settings ('cept the crash logs... the most you can do is ensure they won't send memory snapshots by setting the lowest setting).

 

[bononos]

Browsing history, personal info, etc?
Why are people feeling like Win10 is a trojan horse OS, so to speak?

Because Win10 still chatters from apps you disabled even after you disable all the options in the windows privacy settings. If the info has (inadvertent?) user identifiable data, that could be a problem.

There are utilities like shutup10 which may not be enough but at least its all in one step.

 

[bononos]

I laugh so hard at this. Unless you're living in a cave trading beaver pelts for canned bacon and powdered milk, all your data is out there. Everyone's.

Wanna turn off security updates so Bill Gates can't find out when your kids' soccer practice is? Enjoy getting your ID stolen by Chinese hackers.

I don't think so unless you're real sloppy about privacy settings and reveal everything about yourself in popular social websites.

 

[thewhat]

Browsing history, personal info, etc?
Why are people feeling like Win10 is a trojan horse OS, so to speak?

Because it's at least partly true (even though some people exaggerate and use scary words to draw attention).

By default, Windows 10 does collect a bunch of data and it even shows ads in some places. This is made worse if you use a Microsoft account instead of a local one.
Through settings, you can disable some data collection, but not all. You can't disable telemetry, for example.

So yes, by design, Windows 10 is made to collect a lot more data than Windows 7 or Windows 8. You can reduce the data it collects to a certain extent, but not like in previous Windows versions.

In addition to that the updates are forced on you and you have to install all of them. Some of those updates have also reset privacy settings.

 

[Executioner]

I know that Forbes has been critical about windows 10, including this article:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonk...mpaign=yahootix&partner=yahootix#121b48ed538d

Some of the points they make though makes you think about the future of windows and what may be ahead.

Core Contradictions

Windows 10 is supposed to be “the last version of Windows”. That after this there will be no ‘Windows 11’, just a slew of ongoing updates as the platform evolves forever. The contradiction being its (Windows 8) core is deemed so strong that Windows 10 should never expire. Except it does. Support for the six month old OS actually lasts just two years longer than the three year old now sidelined and discredited Windows 8.

Again I asked Microsoft to answer some obvious questions:

Why does a never ending OS have a support expiry date?
Will the Windows 10 support date change with new updates?
What guarantees do customers have that the support date cannot be negatively impacted using tactics like the hardware restrictions placed on Windows 8?
The response came via the Microsoft’s public relations team: “We have looked into this for you and wanted to let you know that Microsoft is declining to comment on this at this time.”

 

[adamantine.me]

Because they can't be bothered to turn off the data collection in Win 10, and they'd rather have the drama?

And even if you do turn it off, it might just accidentally get turned back on.
:\

 

[blackangst1]

Bullshit! The internet was built for one purpose and one purpose only - porn.

And videos of cats.

 

[Red Squirrel]

You seem smart enough that I think if you spent another day googling what you're talking about, you'd come to a less paranoid conclusion. It's meta data at best being 'shared' and you can turn everything off.

The fact that it's there in first place is enough to not trust it. How do I know that turning it off is really helping? I can use a packet sniffer, but if I need to use a packet sniffer to help me decide if I can feel safe using a piece of software, then I rather just not use that piece of software in first place.

Turning all that stuff off is also quite a task, and you have to go back and do it after updates. Though there are some automated tools now that help.

Also your information is not "out there" just because you use the internet, as long as you use it properly. Personally I consider the internet a completely separate entity of my own private network. I go in it to get information, bring it on my network, and use that information. I don't use cloud services or any service that requires a 3rd party service. Yeah I suppose the NSA and CSIS can still spy on my outside traffic but what I do inside is completely out of their reach unless they hack my network. I can still make it hard for them by using Tor, VPNs etc or both at same time, or just generating lot of weird searches in the middle of legit ones. I don't think at this point they're into hacking individuals when people willingly use gmail and stuff that is much easier to access. They go after the low hanging fruit.

Basically you may not be able to 100% be private but you can at least take steps to hide as much as you possibly can from the spies. Every step you take helps. Simply submitting to it and thinking "they spy on you anyway" is not a good approach. It's what they want.

 

[Red Squirrel]

And videos of cats.

Kitty porn. D:

 

[GoodEnough]

Except for certain corporate niche markets like Excel heavy finance, the days of Microsoft OS dominance on the desktop may finally be coming to an end. I have not installed a desktop Linux since the 1990s, but I am sure it's come a long way from having to configure printer drivers on the command line. With Android phones, the way you can switch devices without having to copy over files and profiles is nothing short of revolutionary. We have finally reached device independence in our lifetimes.