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Updates Make Windows 7 and 8 Spy on You Like Windows 10

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Re: Updates Make Windows 7 and 8 Spy on You Like Windows 10

#31

Post by ionised »

sschueller wrote: post #26
ionised wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Steam OS becomes a viable desktop gaming OS that plays most, if not all games, I'll drop Windows in a heartbeat.

Steam is owned by Valve and Valve is a US company. Using steam will not change anything since it is the US laws allowing/requiring companies to comply with the NSA.

The difference being that I want to use Windows only for games without all this other cloud integration crap that comes with it.

Steam OS is a Linux-based OS designed primarily for gaming. Any and all cloud-integration will be specifically gaming-focused.

Can you not see the difference between that and a general purpose OS like Windows harvesting data everything you do on your system?

I won't be using Steam OS to do anything very sensitive like sending or receiving personal e-mails, editing word documents or spreadsheets, or browsing the internet for whatever reason.

Unless you consider firing up a shooter or a city-building sim sensitive.

The two OS's have very different purposes and use-cases.

Re: Updates Make Windows 7 and 8 Spy on You Like Windows 10

#32

Post by Aoyagi »

Lendal wrote: post #10
Navarr wrote: post #2

2016 is the year of desktop linux. For the kind of people who care about this sort of thing. Also puts "Scroogle" into perspective.

1) Internet web sites have always been "lit up with speculation". 2) Microsoft's "spying" has been going on since Windows Vista was released, and speculation has gone along with it. 3) Since the 1990's, next year has always been "the year of desktop Linux."

People keep saying that there was spying going on from XP or Vista, but "spying" isn't a binary state. The amount of intended data-slurping has increased incomparably.

Re: Updates Make Windows 7 and 8 Spy on You Like Windows 10

#33

Post by acqq »

mintplant wrote: post #15

Article text, since the site seems to be down: Windows 10 has been launched and already installed on more than 50 million computers worldwide. It is now a known fact that Windows 10 user data is being sent back to Microsoft servers back in Redmond, Washington. Well, now new updates that are being deployed to all Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 machines will turn their computers into a big piece of spyware, just like their prede…

The links to the Microsoft's KB articles of the two updates:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/kb/3080149

"This package updates the Diagnostics and Telemetry tracking service to existing devices. This service provides benefits from the latest version of Windows to systems that have not yet upgraded. The update also supports applications that are subscribed to Visual Studio Application Insights."

https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/kb/3075249

"This article describes an update that adds telemetry points to consent.exe in Windows 8.1, Windows RT 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1), and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1."

Re: Updates Make Windows 7 and 8 Spy on You Like Windows 10

#34

Post by pjc50 »

sschueller wrote: post #26
ionised wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Steam OS becomes a viable desktop gaming OS that plays most, if not all games, I'll drop Windows in a heartbeat.

Steam is owned by Valve and Valve is a US company. Using steam will not change anything since it is the US laws allowing/requiring companies to comply with the NSA.

Telemetry is clearly not a legal requirement. It's only data stored on steam servers (including chat logs) which you have to worry about.

Re: Updates Make Windows 7 and 8 Spy on You Like Windows 10

#35

Post by FilterSweep »

mintplant wrote: post #15

Article text, since the site seems to be down: Windows 10 has been launched and already installed on more than 50 million computers worldwide. It is now a known fact that Windows 10 user data is being sent back to Microsoft servers back in Redmond, Washington. Well, now new updates that are being deployed to all Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 machines will turn their computers into a big piece of spyware, just like their prede…

Just the name "consent.exe" itself sounds malicious (although it's been around for a while).

Re: Updates Make Windows 7 and 8 Spy on You Like Windows 10

#36

Post by flurpitude »

thescrewdriver wrote: post #30
Navarr wrote: post #2

2016 is the year of desktop linux. For the kind of people who care about this sort of thing. Also puts "Scroogle" into perspective.

I doubt there are enough people who care. Google has already proved that seemingly benevolent spying is a highly profitable business model. Most people aren't bothered, or even know, that they are being "Scroogled". Microsoft is just following suite. Sadly it seems to be a sign of things to come.

The potential big difference here is that it affects people's work computers, where they do things for organizations that have a strong interest in keeping information from leaking out. Such companies probably were never happy with corporate data passing through Android smartphones, and might have forbidden it. Now they know they can't trust Windows workstations either.

Re: Updates Make Windows 7 and 8 Spy on You Like Windows 10

#37

Post by yuhong »

flurpitude wrote: post #36
thescrewdriver wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I doubt there are enough people who care. Google has already proved that seemingly benevolent spying is a highly profitable business model. Most people aren't bothered, or even know, that they are being "Scroogled". Microsoft is just following suite. Sadly it seems to be a sign of things to come.

The potential big difference here is that it affects people's work computers, where they do things for organizations that have a strong interest in keeping information from leaking out. Such companies probably were never happy with corporate data passing through Android smartphones, and might have forbidden it. Now they know they can't trust Windows workstations either.

Win10 enterprise has the no telemetry option for a reason.

Re: Updates Make Windows 7 and 8 Spy on You Like Windows 10

#38

Post by cartoonfoxes »

Navarr wrote: post #2

2016 is the year of desktop linux. For the kind of people who care about this sort of thing. Also puts "Scroogle" into perspective.

I'm inclined to agree, albeit begrudgingly. I am more-or-less happy with the usability of Win 8.1, but I'm not willing to have my machine turned into a permanent outpost of the NSA.

Re: Updates Make Windows 7 and 8 Spy on You Like Windows 10

#39

Post by DrNuke »

This news is another nail in the coffin. The pattern I can see among my peers and my small market is that people are more and more uneasy with using the web for sharing valuable info and data, both on public and private networks. They prefer face-to-face meetings and paper docs. Food for thought and some ground for new startups maybe.
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