Microsoft finally reveals what data Windows 10 collects from your PC [M$ spyware decloaked]

PC World ^ | 4/5/17 | Ian Paul

[markomalley]

There are all kinds of new features in the Windows 10 Creators Update rolling out on April 11, but one change really sticks out. Greater transparency about the data that Microsoft collects from your PC.

There are new dashboard screens that all Windows 10 users will see the first time they install or upgrade to the Creators Update. Perhaps more interestingly, for the first time Microsoft has detailed information about the user data it collects for diagnostics.

Diagnostics collection

Let’s start with the diagnostics collection, as Microsoft’s come under heavy fire from privacy advocates for refusing to allow users to disable it completely while simultaneously refusing to detail exactly what information Windows 10 collects from users.

[markomalley]

So I looked at the And that's just the "basic" level (as I understand it, M$ won't allow you to turn off "basic").

At the "full" level, the amount of information that is sent by your computer is positively scary, to include:

What software is installed.

What music you're listening to (and the URL of the source)

What movies you're watching (and the URL)

What electronic books you're reading (and how much time you're spending)

And so on.

---

Why ANYBODY would allow for this to be installed on their computers I will NEVER understand.

[Scrambler Bob]

Get a phone/camera running Windows.

Put it where the sun don’t shine.

Let MS view the video from that.

Eat beans, raise the activity level.

[dhs12345]

Damn. Crashed my Internet Exploder when I tried to view the web page.

[Swordmaker]

Windows 10 data mining revelations of what they are mining. PING.

[ducttape45]

I will never use W10 at home. It’s bad enough I’m forced to use it at work, but I will never use it here.

[musicman]

BFLR

[Chode]

as if i'm gonna believe M$...

[Concentrate]

I really wish that Mozilla or some such non-profit company or person would develop an OS that would be user friendly, reliable and private.

[TChad]

There are five privacy options that include: Location, Diagnostics, Relevant Ads, Speech recognition, and Tailored experiences with diagnostic data. That last item is a fancy way to say “tips and recommendations,” or as most Windows 10 users call it, “stuff I don’t want.”

Exactly.

Microsoft has decided that it is in the business of violating its customers' privacy in order to better target them with unwanted advertising. We don't know the other ways that Microsoft uses our personal data. However, after the forced Win 10 upgrade fiasco, we do know that Microsoft cannot be relied on to be ethical.

I just read that there are now more Android devices in the world than Windows devices. Such a shock.

If you use Windows 10 and are worried about its spying, it probably helps to install O&O Shut Up 10: https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10. Be very careful with the program's configuration, or you may accidentally shut off Windows updates entirely.

[Organic Panic]

It’s for your own good. Now shuttle along subject.

[wally_bert]

Thanks for the O&O link. First I’ve heard of it.

[dayglored]

Windows 10 telemetry / data mining info ... PING!

You can find all the Windows Ping list threads with FR search: just search on keyword "windowspinglist".

Thanks to Swordmaker for the ping!

[TChad]

Thanks for the O&O link. First I’ve heard of it.

I have been using it since last June without problems. Unlike Spybot Anti-Beacon, ShutUp 10 is not a CPU hog. I don't notice any performance hit at all. However, Windows updates may undo some of the changes it makes, so you have to re-run the program periodically.

[Still Thinking]

And that assumes they’re being truthful and not omitting anything. Probably a bad assumption.

[Still Thinking]

Paging Linus Torvalds.....

[TChad]

Paging Linus Torvalds.....

Well, the poster did say friendly, reliable and private.

Reminded me of the response from Torvalds when he was asked if the U.S. government had asked him to put a backdoor in Linux:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gRsgkdfYJ8

I'm not worried about Torvalds himself, but thousands of coders contribute to Linux. It would not be surprising if a few of them worked for the NSA.

[catnipman]

“I will never use W10 at home. It’s bad enough I’m forced to use it at work, but I will never use it here.”

smart. plenty of great W7 Pro x64 systems abound:

http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/optiplex-3040-desktop/pd?oc=s010o3040mtus&model_id=optiplex-3040-desktop&l=en&s=bsd

http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/latitude-e5570-laptop/pd

[Bob434]

[[I really wish that Mozilla or some such non-profit company or person would develop an OS that would be user friendly, reliable and private.]]

They did, it’s called linux mint cinnamon edition, or ubuntu- or any of several other flavors

used to be linux was only for geeks, today, it’s much much better and easier-

download linux mint 18- cinnamon edition .ISO, and burn it to a CD- you can try it out without installing it or making any changes to your PC- it runs entirely off the CD/DVD- (If you’re tech savvy, you can tweak it until you like it, then burn an ISO from that and have hte OS how youl ike it without havign to make hte changes you like each time you run the CD)

[Bob434]

[[Microsoft has decided that it is in the business of violating its customers’ privacy in order to better target them with unwanted advertising.]]

and that is it in a nutshell-

[[However, after the forced Win 10 upgrade fiasco, we do know that Microsoft cannot be relied on to be ethical.]]

Exactly, they have jumped the shark now, and there’s no turning back- They have made an executive decision to violate their user’s basic ‘rights to privacy’ as it were- and force more crap on us that we don’t want-

I hope this spurs a larger tech savvy organization to create an os like windows 7 used to be- I’m sure MS will try to crush them- but if they suceed, we will at least have control back and i think many people would switch from MS

[Bob434]

[[I’m not worried about Torvalds himself, but thousands of coders contribute to Linux.]]

on the flip side, there are enough tech savvy folks out htere that would sound hte alarm to all the linux users and communities if such back door stuff were included