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Why We Can No Longer Trust Microsoft

pcmag.com

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Re: Why We Can No Longer Trust Microsoft

#31

Post by mtgx »

yuhong wrote: post #10
mikevm wrote: post #7

Dvorak's article is a regurgitation of previous HN discussions on this topic. I have said in the previous HN post and I will say it again here: don't pile on Microsoft alone. These spying policies make every US-based services company untrustworthy to whomever privacy is important. Come to think of it, I'm not sure whether you can rely on European services either because it seems that gov't surveillance is widespread.…

Yea, remember that PRISM is designed to target foreign communications, so if you are an American, you might be actually safer.

That's kind of the same argument for European businesses and governments to not use Microsoft/American products. At least if they did it within EU, they would be accountable, and the laws prohibit most of it. But the US spying is unaccountable to Europeans, so they can do whatever they want.

The only proper answer to that is to stop using American products (at least until the US government can prove with extreme oversight from Europeans and Latin Americans and others, that they aren't abusing their spying power anymore).

Re: Why We Can No Longer Trust Microsoft

#32

Post by notimetorelax »

mtgx wrote: post #25
notimetorelax wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Medvedev was and is Putin's pawn, he acts the way Putin tells him.

I know that, I just meant "someone like him" (weak personality that does what others tell him to do, even if he's head of a state).

You're right, sorry I should have read your comment more carefully.

Re: Why We Can No Longer Trust Microsoft

#33

Post by ygra »

yuhong wrote: post #10
mikevm wrote: post #7

Dvorak's article is a regurgitation of previous HN discussions on this topic. I have said in the previous HN post and I will say it again here: don't pile on Microsoft alone. These spying policies make every US-based services company untrustworthy to whomever privacy is important. Come to think of it, I'm not sure whether you can rely on European services either because it seems that gov't surveillance is widespread.…

Yea, remember that PRISM is designed to target foreign communications, so if you are an American, you might be actually safer.

Or they don't have to go to those lengths to intercept national communications ;)

Re: Why We Can No Longer Trust Microsoft

#34

Post by Spearchucker »

sounds wrote: post #19

Any serious discussion of moving US businesses off Microsoft stalls when it reaches the "non technical" departments. I put "non technical" in quotes because many of the people in HR, Accounting, Marketing, etc. are very tech-savvy. Marketing folks, for example, would love an all-Mac office setup, but they generally have to have Windows PCs for Powerpoint, Visio, and CRMs, to name a few. HR needs their IE6 in-house ap…

Your problem isn't technical, it's financial. Moving away from Windows and Office means converting all the organisation's documents to another format, re-training users in the new OS and productivity suite, re-writing VBA scripts (which often doesn't work well).

Then you'd have to de-couple the entire organisation from Active Directory. And refactor (at best) or re-write (at worst) all custom in-house apps that rely on either Windows or Active Directory.

It's just too expensive.

Re: Why We Can No Longer Trust Microsoft

#35

Post by mtgx »

fatjokes wrote: post #23
acqq wrote: post #3

This is a financial disaster waiting to happen. Microsoft is oblivious if it is not doing something to divorce itself from the NSA. Apple, on the other hand, could have come out smelling like a rose, but following the death of Steve Jobs, who apparently refused to play ball with the NSA, it stupidly jumped on board to join the PRISM club. According to the Prism slides, it really looks so: "Dates when Prism collection…

I must admit, I'm no Apple fanboy but in this case, I can easily picture a NSA rep threatening Steve Jobs and Steve Jobs telling him to f * off.

I wonder what would a Tim Cook-made iMessage look like from a security standpoint (probably a lot more like Skype/Hangouts than how it works right now).

Re: Why We Can No Longer Trust Microsoft

#36

Post by kayoone »

LinaLauneBaer wrote: post #9

A couple of years ago at a Linux conference in Germany I had a discussion with a Microsoft employee at their booth. At that time I was a 'hardcore' linux user with no trust in Microsoft at all. The discussion with the employee went like this: Me: "Hello. Could you tell me what Microsoft is doing at this Linux conference? I honestly want to know that." Him: "We are here to show how our products can work well together…

A couple of years ago some microsoft sales employee probably didnt know about any of this. Also he is talking about mostly self-hosted MS services and i doubt the NSA really has access to that. Also found your conversation style to be quite cocky.

Re: Why We Can No Longer Trust Microsoft

#37

Post by bad_user »

yuhong wrote: post #10
mikevm wrote: post #7

Dvorak's article is a regurgitation of previous HN discussions on this topic. I have said in the previous HN post and I will say it again here: don't pile on Microsoft alone. These spying policies make every US-based services company untrustworthy to whomever privacy is important. Come to think of it, I'm not sure whether you can rely on European services either because it seems that gov't surveillance is widespread.…

Yea, remember that PRISM is designed to target foreign communications, so if you are an American, you might be actually safer.

That's bullshit.

The problem that people like you don't seem to understand is that online communications can be secure, unless the companies owning the servers themselves cooperate and companies have to cooperate if they have to do so by law.

It's only the US that has such a huge budget for spying on people's communications and the US is also part of a select handful of countries going to such great lengths to suppress the freedom of speech about it.

If I were to start a company in Romania (which is part of EU btw), the NSA can suck my dick as there's absolutely nothing they could do to make me cooperate and keep my mouth shut while doing it.

Re: Why We Can No Longer Trust Microsoft

#38

Post by [deleted] »

ygra wrote: post #6
polarix wrote: post #4

"Microsoft is oblivious if it is not doing something to divorce itself from the NSA" No John, unfortunately it is not really an option to move 57,000 employees and a headquarters out of the United States. That is what would need to be done. None of the people making statements for these large corporations are lying voluntarily.

I wonder how much pressure the NSA can and does exert on corporations that refuse to coöperate in this manner. And whether those on the list really had an actual choice in that manner. I guess a large government organisation has plenty of leverage if need be.

[deleted]

Re: Why We Can No Longer Trust Microsoft

#39

Post by twentyfourseven »

josteink wrote: post #22
mtgx wrote: post #2

> "With that said, do you really want to buy a Microsoft product? Do you want to buy anything that gives easy access to snoops poking around at their leisure? If you'd think twice about this, then why would a foreign government rely on Microsoft Office with any confidence? Personally, if I were any foreign government or corporation, I'd stop using all Microsoft products immediately for fear of America spying on me. N…

> "With that said, do you really want to buy a Microsoft product? Do you want to buy anything that gives easy access to snoops poking around at their leisure? You know... Up until this whole NSA/PRISM thing got uncovered, Microsoft had actually rather successfully started to rebuild the perception and image of its cloud-service Azure. It had shown the world that in less than a year, it was well on its way to catch up…

Exactly. Microsoft were making a comeback and I moved my email and online storage from Google to Microsoft. Now I feel back-stabbed.

I don't use the hate word often, but I HATE Microsoft now.

Just for the record, I think Dvorack is bang on with this article. Couldn't agree more.

Re: Why We Can No Longer Trust Microsoft

#40

Post by ksec »

To be honest I dont blame too much on Microsoft. Being a business they needed to survive. It is not like they have a choice and government could very well bring another antitrust trial. Microsoft refuse to play balls to US government at first and they were nearly spitted into 3 different companies. So like any big cooperation they have to pay money for lobbying to buy them safety.

And Microsoft is evil, I mean in Google's sense of evil and even Microsoft admit it.

But What about the one who claim them self do no evil and itself being so righteous. Joined Prism on 1/14/09?

And I would really love if the Movie could add bits on Prism agents coming in like some fucking retard, and Steve would tell him to Fk off.

NewsPaper and Media, intentionally or not trying to diversify the hate and focus on PRISM away from Government.

They are ultimately the one to be blamed.

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