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

If you're familiar with the command line, then the only OS I like personally is Arch Linux. You start with nothing more than a Bash shell (seriously, it doesn't even have an installer), install your OS onto a disk with a couple commands, and then install whatever software you want. I install the XFCE desktop environment and Firefox, and go from there. Arch doesn't try to babysit you or do things for you; you will be editing lots of plaintext config files from the shell. But it almost never breaks, because it only does what you explicitly tell it to. Very simple OS, great package management, cutting edge software, wonderful documentation.

To be clear, I do NOT recommend it for folks who don't want a learning curve. But once you've over that curve, it is a haven from shitty operating systems.

If you haven't stopped yet, this won't change anything.

Edit: bury me if you want, it doesn't make what I say any less true.

Consent is cemented 72 hours after a contract has been agreed-upon, unless fraud is involved. In this case, agreement to future contract amendments/changes is consent.

Your fault for clicking "Agree". Didn't anyone watch the Human Cent-iPad episode of South Park?

I think it's time that we don't ask of users to protect themselves by reading hundreds of pages of EULAs, and then ostracising themselves from mainstream electronics use (both at home, as well as at work) because they refuse to use software that's loaded with insane levels of spyware (record and transfer all voice and every keystroke). That's a large burden. It's perhaps time this becomes a legal matter rather than purely a user-choice matter.

In society we have all kinds of protections for people that make a lot of sense, that take away individual responsibility. For example, even if a person wanted, you're not allowed to become a slave, it's simply not allowed. Even if a person wanted in most of the developed world, you're not allowed to work for less than minimum wage, or in a toxic environment. Similarly even if a person says 'I don't mind if people are misogynistic towards me at work, or discriminatory, I just want this job no matter what because I need the money', that's not allowed, either.

Similarly, I think it's time we start to think of legal protections again this level of spyware. We shouldn't put the burden of acceptance on individuals when you'll have millions of people who'd prefer to live in a world where they don't have to use this software at home or at work, but have no choice (particularly at work), and thus accept spyware because the loss of their job works as a blackmailing force, just like in the above examples.

That doesn't mean I'm saying there is no legal place for software like this under any conditions. But the notion that it can't be turned off is insane. Even 'on by default' is a step too far, but now Windows is saying whether you use windows 7, 8 or 10, we're spying on you, and you can't turn it off, and if you tamper with our software manually you'll fail because we've hardcoded it. That's not acceptable and my point is, it shouldn't fall upon users to boycott such harmful parts of software they paid for (in the case of Windows 7, half a decade ago).

It should fall upon the rule of law to prevent this and allow at least an opt-in, a choice, a choice that isn't 'use any Windows product, or use no Windows product'

If OSs were more free like say, the automotive industry, I wouldn't mind as much. Like if Toyota one day decided to record audio in cars, that's one thing. You can switch to more than a dozen top-quality car manufacturers who don't do this, and it wouldn't affect your jobs or anything like that. But we're talking about a desktop/laptop market where <2% of marketshare is Linux and OS X is ~10%, the remainder is virtually all windows and its got hardcoded spyware features.

I remember some months ago where they only claimed fixing something minor (like, something that's not even an executable but some text-based or at least data file) in the patch and the list included also a huge amount of files including cryptwhatever.dll (not the actual name). "Backdoor time" thought I. As little as I checked however, it didn't look like a real smoking gun then.

It seems a common practice somehow that since some time their updates aren't "hand picked" but generated by the computer without too much human control or that the programmers don't have time, or simply nobody cares there anymore.

I'd be glad if somebody would sensibly explain all that. Including these recent "everything you type will be transferred" and "the list of all your files will be made" claims.