There is an API monitor included in the appendix of the report. From the looks of it, it seems to be designed to hook into the API for the ETW sources and log the data that they record. But I can't tell what script language it is written in, so I cannot be entirely sure. Can someone have a closer look and tell me what this does exactly and how to run it? Seems interesting for those who want to get the complete pictur…
German federal office publishes Windows 10 telemetry analysis
71–80 of 239 posts
Re: German federal office publishes Windows 10 telemetry analysis
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
Great let me know when Linux can run the apps I need for work and I can reliably install it on any hardware and expect it to work without issue. I like Linux as anyone else around here, but to claim it can replace Win10 for the average user is a stretch.
>let me know when [...] I can reliably install it on any hardware and expect it to work without issue. Consider yourself told, then. Linux works OOTB on pretty much all hardware, often better than Windows since it ships with all of the necessary drivers. >to claim it can replace Win10 for the average user is a stretch The average user can handle KDE Plasma just fine.
> Consider yourself told, then.
Nowadays I run mostly Ubuntu but before this attitude used to be a big turn off for me. When things manifestly don't work but the partisan chorus is acting like Linux is the most perfect thing ever then it is really easy to walk back out of spite. I run Linux because it's the least bad OS _for me_, it's still pretty bad in so many ways.
> often better than Windows
And often not. My experience with Linux drivers has always been only "tolerable".
> KDE Plasma
It's functional. But its design language (if it has any) is by far my least favorite one. I'd rather use Windows than use KDE.
Re: German federal office publishes Windows 10 telemetry analysis
#73Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why would they use the short names in URLs? I thought they make sense only for file names.
I'm mostly joking. However, I've been observing Microsoft since the Windows 2.0 era, and I can't completely discard the possibility that Microsoft actually would use 8.3 domain names. Using 8.3 names "for legacy compatibility" in unusual places is something they've done before.
That does sound like some kind of rational explanation.
p.s. Further proof that history's written by the victors, from that 8.3 wiki page:
"An 8.3 filename...is a filename convention used by old versions of DOS and versions of Microsoft Windows...Similar 8.3 file naming schemes have also existed on earlier CP/M, TRS-80, Atari, and some Data General and [DEC] minicomputer operating systems."
"Similar naming schemes also existed"! A strange way of saying "DOS copied CP/M's drive letter + colon + 8.3 filename exactly". ..and everything else.
(Disclosure: I grew up on CP/M)
Re: German federal office publishes Windows 10 telemetry analysis
#74I am surprised that they using server names like "alpha.telemetry.microsft.com". when I see something like "microsft" in an E-mail or link I immediately suspect that somebody is trying to fake being from Microsoft. Or are these spelling errors in the article? Edit: these domain names are in the report too. Very strange. I would get very nervous if I saw "microsft" in a firewall log.
Because some malwares block microsoft.com.
Re: German federal office publishes Windows 10 telemetry analysis
#75I wish all governments did audits like this. Either the software would get less invasive, or we'd see Linux everywhere, wins all around. How bad is it that not even governments can use windows without the data vacuum being turned on? And they need to commission these investigations to even figure out what that means?
> Either the software would get less invasive, or we'd see Linux everywhere, wins all around.
The unfortunate part is that this is just one department in our government that sort of independently does these investigations. Whether anything politically is going to come out of this result, like a law or even just a directive for other departments, is questionable at best.
Other departments will readily ignore this report, if it's convenient for them to use Windows 10. Heck, there's been a warning before from a federal data protection department that even Windows 10 Enterprise sends encrypted, undisclosed packets off to Redmond, and shortly after that the self-proclaimed Microsoft fan and Lord Mayor of Munich signed off on migrating back to Windows from their perfectly working Linux solution.
Re: German federal office publishes Windows 10 telemetry analysis
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
Great let me know when Linux can run the apps I need for work and I can reliably install it on any hardware and expect it to work without issue. I like Linux as anyone else around here, but to claim it can replace Win10 for the average user is a stretch.
>let me know when [...] I can reliably install it on any hardware and expect it to work without issue. Consider yourself told, then. Linux works OOTB on pretty much all hardware, often better than Windows since it ships with all of the necessary drivers. >to claim it can replace Win10 for the average user is a stretch The average user can handle KDE Plasma just fine.
It’s definitely not full OOTB on any machine using Broadcom wifi/Bluetooth, and sometimes not even Ubuntu’s additional drivers tool is of no help — if you have no reasonable access to alternate network connections (hardwire, tethering, etc) you’re stuck ferrying around .deb files on thumb drives and such.
There are other less than ideal aspects of taking up Linux as well, but that one is on the top of my head because I’ve encountered it so frequently.
Re: German federal office publishes Windows 10 telemetry analysis
#77I wish all governments did audits like this. Either the software would get less invasive, or we'd see Linux everywhere, wins all around. How bad is it that not even governments can use windows without the data vacuum being turned on? And they need to commission these investigations to even figure out what that means?
Well there's other issues with Linux on the desktop that doesn't let anybody except developers use it productively. You always have to weight your priorities, and getting stuff done is often number one priority.
The use in government would mean running it in centrally administered form. The end user would just as well just click on the icon on their desktop and the application opens where they do their work.
There may obviously be other problems, like the application not being available on Linux, or needing administrators with Linux knowledge, but that's nothing the end user has to deal with.
Re: German federal office publishes Windows 10 telemetry analysis
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
Great let me know when Linux can run the apps I need for work and I can reliably install it on any hardware and expect it to work without issue. I like Linux as anyone else around here, but to claim it can replace Win10 for the average user is a stretch.
>let me know when [...] I can reliably install it on any hardware and expect it to work without issue. Consider yourself told, then. Linux works OOTB on pretty much all hardware, often better than Windows since it ships with all of the necessary drivers. >to claim it can replace Win10 for the average user is a stretch The average user can handle KDE Plasma just fine.
> Consider yourself told, then.
Oh, please enlighten me, Drew.
> Linux works OOTB on pretty much all hardware, often better than Windows
Are device manufacturers supporting Linux?
> since it ships with all of the necessary drivers.
No it doesn't, last time I checked to even get the recommended usb wifi module to work on Arch required downloading additional packages and compiling a kernel module.
> The average user can handle KDE Plasma just fine.
Cool let me know how you handle explaining why they can't run some exe they downloaded on your GNU/Linux setup, and when they complain that they're used to Microsoft Word not this LibreOffice stuff.
Re: German federal office publishes Windows 10 telemetry analysis
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yep, which is why you disable Windows Update too. The people who work on Windows these days should probably all be fired. Out of a cannon. Into the sun.
Telling users to disable updates it's not a good recommendation.
Neither was turning a security update service into a marketing channel. But Microsoft did it anyway.
Re: German federal office publishes Windows 10 telemetry analysis
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
Windows 10, spying on its user, is malware.
A domain like 'microsft.com' is used to trick users into thinking the communication is legitimate and to Microsoft. But why would the actual Microsoft need to engage in this?
I think the grandparent was being a bit tongue-in-cheek.