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With Windows 10, Microsoft Disregards User Choice and Privacy

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Re: With Windows 10, Microsoft Disregards User Choice and Privacy

#191

Post by hendersoon »

dbg31415 wrote: post #89
jakebasile wrote: post #17

I upgraded willingly so the deceptive upgrade practices, while deplorable, didn't really affect me. What does affect me is that Microsoft refuses to let me control my computer. - If you turn off Windows Defender Real Time Protection it explicitly tells you "You can turn this off, but if it's off for a while we'll turn it back on". It turns itself on upon next reboot, it seems. - You can't turn off Windows Update. It…

With the latest update... many of my settings for existing features were changed. My desktop background was reset to default, my choice of browser was switched back to Edge, and my taskbar icons were reset... "Oh, cool, I was wondering where I put Edge... now I'm so happy it's back!" Wait, that's not what I said at all. I assume all the privacy settings I tried to change to be in my favor were reset as well, and ther…

Benefits of Win10 AU are:

1) Linux on windows runtime beta (commonly called bash shell, but it's much more)

2) dark theme

3) extensions in the Edge browser

4) Vastly improved stylus support

5) Slightly changed start menu

6) Improved action center, if you use UWP apps

Re: With Windows 10, Microsoft Disregards User Choice and Privacy

#192

Post by overgryphon »

ap22213 wrote: post #94

Does anyone know what MS does with this data? Is it just for ads?

It's for quality and personalization, not for ads. This is Terry Myerson's blog explanation of data usage.

https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2015/09/28/priva...

Re: With Windows 10, Microsoft Disregards User Choice and Privacy

#193

Post by hendersoon »

jrapdx3 wrote: post #46
jakebasile wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I completely understand why this is the default behavior, but there should be an "I'm not a normie" switch somewhere that allows me to control my experience. The Pro edition was originally that way, but as I understand it this is no longer the case and is similarly controlling.

Long story, but my Surface Pro 2 wound up with Win10 Pro. The Pro version is slightly more configurable for privacy than Home, but only the Enterprise version can completely turn off the telemetry and so on. Of course Enterprise is not easily available to end-users and it is expensive. There are some utilities available that are supposed to improve the privacy/security of Win10 installations, e.g., [0]. My wife kept…

I've seen some reports that DisableWinTracking is too aggressive and can cause problems. Personally, I use and recommend O&O Shutup10.

https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10

Re: With Windows 10, Microsoft Disregards User Choice and Privacy

#194

Post by tracker1 »

fdgdasfadsf wrote: post #166
tracker1 wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the flip side, I run Ubuntu on my htpc, and have for several years now... there have been a couple times where the updates broke audio, and the fix took on average 2 days, though I can imagine some people having worse experiences... Getting an MCE remote (arguably the most common PC remote type) working with Kodi (formerly xbmc and very popular full screen media player) took some cumbersome steps. On average one a…

Both are subpar (and osx or whatever Apple call their offering is no better). I've been stuck in an update hell with windows where security updates simply would not install the only solution I could find was a full re-install. I've been in a similar situation with Ubuntu and was able to fix it - but only because I understood it - otherwise I would have had to do a re-install. The key with Ubuntu updates is to stick t…

That reminds me of another one... (Ubuntu htpc) I can "shut-down" and the remote startup works, but if it actually goes into suspend, I have to hit the actual power button in the cabinet. And more often than not the audio is broken on resume from suspend and I have to completely shut down to fix it (reboot doesn't work)... this is with a core i3-5010u, which is a relatively common intel audio chipset.

I agree there are aspects of every OS that I don't like... I just wouldn't single out Windows (again other than privacy) as particularly bad on updates... updating my mbp to el capitan took a wipe as the upgrade broke half way through.

TIP: Never update when you're tethered to your phone on vacation, always update a week before leaving for vacation by the way. lol

Re: With Windows 10, Microsoft Disregards User Choice and Privacy

#195

Post by hendersoon »

cwyers wrote: post #54
oz wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>but there should be an "I'm not a normie" switch somewhere... Which will then summarily be used by malware authors and we're back we started.

I wish I could upvote this about 30 times. For every real Windows security expert slash power user in the wild, there's about 30 pimple-encrusted besotted teenagers out there who just want to run some warez on their parent's computer and will click whatever setting, run whatever software and make whatever Registry edits are necessary to get the game their parents won't buy them up and running. The typical home user i…

That's a spurious argument. What's important is that the OS forces updates _by default_.

Sure, some of the people that turn it off overestimate their own capabilities, and that will lead to infection. But that's a very small portion of the total population, the vast majority of which will leave everything set to default.

Re: With Windows 10, Microsoft Disregards User Choice and Privacy

#196

Post by cowkingdeluxe »

emodendroket wrote: post #70
jakebasile wrote: post #17

I upgraded willingly so the deceptive upgrade practices, while deplorable, didn't really affect me. What does affect me is that Microsoft refuses to let me control my computer. - If you turn off Windows Defender Real Time Protection it explicitly tells you "You can turn this off, but if it's off for a while we'll turn it back on". It turns itself on upon next reboot, it seems. - You can't turn off Windows Update. It…

> - They are continuing to try to weasel the Windows Store into my life by buying up or forcing exclusives (games), with all the drawbacks of UWP. A neat trick is if you download something from the Windows App store and sign in for the first time without using an MSN account to log into your PC, it will ask you something like "Do you want to use this login with all Microsoft services?" And if you say yes then your lo…

Learned that the hard way on my primary development machine. Have a crazy long randomly generated password for my Microsoft account. Had to reset password on a different machine.

Re: With Windows 10, Microsoft Disregards User Choice and Privacy

#197

Post by hendersoon »

blakeyrat wrote: post #123
jakebasile wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I completely understand why this is the default behavior, but there should be an "I'm not a normie" switch somewhere that allows me to control my experience. The Pro edition was originally that way, but as I understand it this is no longer the case and is similarly controlling.

What good would that do? Everybody thinks they're a pro. They'd just turn it on the instant they heard of it.

This really is not true. The vast majority of people have zero illusions about their own basic computing skills.

Re: With Windows 10, Microsoft Disregards User Choice and Privacy

#198

Post by hendersoon »

ColinDabritz wrote: post #185
randiantech wrote: post #158

Honest question here: Why tech community is so hard with Windows mandatory updates, and kind of flexible with other companies? Maybe its just me, but the ratio of posts and articles blaming Microsoft for this practice seems to be disproportional. I mean, my Mac asked me 875 times about accepting something about iTunes. No matter how many times i click on decline, it keeps appearing there all the time. Same thing with…

Your Mac updates are indefinitely truly avoidable despite the constant nagging. You declined 875 times, and you can decline 875 times more, and forever after that. Windows 10, in home edition, only lets you delay a limited time. There is a finite amount of possible total time before windows will no longer operate without applying the update. It will apply the updates on restart, or forcibly restart your computer to a…

Yes; also Chrome is a browser not an operating system.

(I know, ChromeOS. That's not what I meant!)

Re: With Windows 10, Microsoft Disregards User Choice and Privacy

#199

Post by cptskippy »

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #131
cptskippy wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not saying that they deserve a pass but if the practice is objectionable then why is everyone only complaining about MS? I don't here anyone saying it's time to address this industry problem, it's just "MS is evil, quick switch to Apple/Linux".

There's been any number of threads on HN about Google's data collection practices and how to avoid them.

I must have missed those. They sure didn't have the sticking power of this whole Windows 10 thing.

Re: With Windows 10, Microsoft Disregards User Choice and Privacy

#200

Post by hendersoon »

Aldo_MX wrote: post #164

I had to install Windows 8.1 from scratch recently, for the first time in my life I had to review update-per-update what the f%$k did they do, it is depressing that too many updates had something to do with Windows 10 or an increase in telemetry... - KB2976978 - KB3035583 - KB3058168 - KB3068708 - KB3080149 - KB3123862 - KB3173040

Win7, 8, and 8.1 updates are moving to cumulative patches next month. Assuming you still patch at all, you will be unable to avoid installing the telemetry on older MS operating systems too.

I assume that like Win10, there will be ways to hack around and disable the telemetry there. But you can't avoid installing it in the first place for long.

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