O&O ShutUp10++ – Free anti-spy tool for Windows 10, 11 • Hacker News Board

Re: O&O ShutUp10++ – Free anti-spy tool for Windows 10, 11

#91

Post by GekkePrutser » Sat, Oct 09, 2021, 4:05 PM UTC

glenneroo wrote: post #87

Wurstmann wrote: post #86

I'd rather use group policies to disable telemetry etc.

Congratulations professional Windows administrator. You are definitely not their target audience. And using group policies to disable the 100 different things this tool disables would be a ton of work... and I'm not even sure you can disable everything this tool does via group policies?

> I'm not even sure you can disable everything this tool does via group policies?

Apparently you cannot:

> On May 2017 a security researcher named Mark Burnett demonstrated that disabling the default data collection toggles, found in Windows 10's settings app, are entirely useless. Furthermore he showed that even through using intensive group policy modifications, in a process heavily scrutinized and iterated upon over several days, he was not able to prevent Windows 10 from sending critical, personally identifiable information with certainty.

From: https://wiki.ameliorated.info/doku.php?id=faq

In my last job I had contact with Microsoft and I approached them about datamining issues several times. I noticed they simply don't understand the concerns at all. Microsoft is becoming a highly 'data driven' company and every time I approached them about data gathering the response was along the lines of "Oh but we only use this for improving your performance / our products / whatever". They think it matters what the purpose is, they don't understand (or they don't want to!) that some people are against telemetry whatever the reason.

Our own company is thinking along similar lines, with the exception of the German parts of the business, for whom we had to make some exceptions. I'm not German but I'm heavily aligned with their thinking on this.

Re: O&O ShutUp10++ – Free anti-spy tool for Windows 10, 11

#92

Post by npteljes » Sat, Oct 09, 2021, 4:07 PM UTC

Very nice that I turn off everything I want one time, but what about the next update that will randomly toggle some settings back? How about new settings for new features that are added?

I think it's foolish to go use software like this, and expect some privacy to happen. Windows and its user are just not on the same page.

What refreshed my hope in IT is the FOSS ecosystem. Where software is passively uncaring about me, the user, instead of working actively against me, which is the case in most of proprietary stuff nowadays.

Re: O&O ShutUp10++ – Free anti-spy tool for Windows 10, 11

#93

Post by nazgulsenpai » Sat, Oct 09, 2021, 4:07 PM UTC

> `Disable advertisements via Bluetooth`

A screenshot of the application on the website shows this option. I don't understand; are advertisements via Bluetooth some kind of Windows functionality and how does it work?

Re: O&O ShutUp10++ – Free anti-spy tool for Windows 10, 11

#94

Post by PaulKeeble » Sat, Oct 09, 2021, 4:07 PM UTC

GordonS wrote: post #45

Microsoft has faced so much criticism for their approach to telemetry - I don't really understand why they don't at least provide the option to opt out of all telemetry. If they left it enabled by default, but provided an option to opt-out, realistically only a small segment of users would do so, and most of them would likely be power users who are already taking other steps to try to prevent telemetry being collecte…

GDPR requires the opposite, data collection has to be opt in. I don't really see why the telemetry they capture doesn't count as peoples personal data honestly, it should given how much behavior information is available from it.

Re: O&O ShutUp10++ – Free anti-spy tool for Windows 10, 11

#95

Post by stinos » Sat, Oct 09, 2021, 4:09 PM UTC

npteljes wrote: post #92

Very nice that I turn off everything I want one time, but what about the next update that will randomly toggle some settings back? How about new settings for new features that are added? I think it's foolish to go use software like this, and expect some privacy to happen. Windows and its user are just not on the same page. What refreshed my hope in IT is the FOSS ecosystem. Where software is passively uncaring about…

what about the next update that will randomly toggle some settings back?

Well, you run the tool again. It even tells you to do that after making changes.

Re: O&O ShutUp10++ – Free anti-spy tool for Windows 10, 11

#96

Post by nix23 » Sat, Oct 09, 2021, 4:09 PM UTC

WithinReason wrote: post #9

O&O ShutUp10++ "Gold Microsoft Partner"

Gold competency:

To attain a competency, partner must:

    Pass required exams and skill validation.
    Meet performance requirements.
    Pay the annual fee.

$4,730

Re: O&O ShutUp10++ – Free anti-spy tool for Windows 10, 11

#97

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Oct 09, 2021, 4:10 PM UTC

GordonS wrote: post #45

Microsoft has faced so much criticism for their approach to telemetry - I don't really understand why they don't at least provide the option to opt out of all telemetry. If they left it enabled by default, but provided an option to opt-out, realistically only a small segment of users would do so, and most of them would likely be power users who are already taking other steps to try to prevent telemetry being collecte…

[deleted]

Re: O&O ShutUp10++ – Free anti-spy tool for Windows 10, 11

#98

Post by matthewfcarlson » Sat, Oct 09, 2021, 4:11 PM UTC

dannyw wrote: post #52

GordonS wrote: post #45

Microsoft has faced so much criticism for their approach to telemetry - I don't really understand why they don't at least provide the option to opt out of all telemetry. If they left it enabled by default, but provided an option to opt-out, realistically only a small segment of users would do so, and most of them would likely be power users who are already taking other steps to try to prevent telemetry being collecte…

Telemetry isn't just a tool for product managers, but it's also a goldmine for national security agencies (more than just the NSA; Bing is unblocked in China for a reason). Anti-government meme made with GIMP at a specific timestamp? One search through the telemetry logs to find who exported a file at that exact moment. Any data collection is also government surveillance unless proven otherwise.

Microsoft provides a tool that allows you to see all telemetry that’s captured

https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2018/01/24/micro...

I don’t work for microsoft anymore but I laugh at these sorts of suggestions. I don’t know much about bing but I do know a decent bit about the telemetry pipeline and the idea of an anti government meme detection is ludicrous at best.

Re: O&O ShutUp10++ – Free anti-spy tool for Windows 10, 11

#99

Post by npteljes » Sat, Oct 09, 2021, 4:12 PM UTC

christophilus wrote: post #23

Fedora is my preferred solution to this problem.

I agree. The winning move is not to play. To fiddle with Windows' privacy settings, and expecting them to respect the users privacy, is like asking an abusive partner nicely to not be abusive. Promises will always be broken, and in new and unexpected situations, the partner will act on their character, not on their promises. And Microsoft has a documented history of this behavior.

Re: O&O ShutUp10++ – Free anti-spy tool for Windows 10, 11

#100

Post by d3nj4l » Sat, Oct 09, 2021, 4:12 PM UTC

spacebear wrote: post #78

reayn wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The “closed source ecosystem” is not nearly as restrictive as people make it out to be and is something that you willingly sign up for when buying apple products. Not sure where you got the idea of “icloud syncing your every move” but literally every icloud implementation can be disabled at your discretion. I for one only have my reminders, wallet, calendar and drive synced. Even with that said, none of this implies…

Your every move is quite literally transmitted to Apple. That's how Find My works.

Find My data is end to end encrypted.