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Microsoft Admits Windows 10 Automatic Spying Cannot Be Stopped
Forbes ^ | NOV 2, 2015 @ 12:00 PM | By Gordon Kelly

Posted on 11/03/2015 12:12:19 PM PST by Swordmaker

Last week changes to the Windows 10 upgrade path mean it is going to become increasingly difficult for any non-techy users to avoid being pushed to Microsoft new operating system. But given Windows 10 is better than Windows 7 and Windows 8, why would that be a problem? Because of policies like this…

Speaking to PC World, Microsoft Corporate Vice President Joe Belfiore explained that Windows 10 is constantly tracking how it operates and how you are using it and sending that information back to Microsoft by default. More importantly he also confirmed that, despite offering some options to turn elements of tracking off, core data collection simply cannot be stopped:

“In the cases where we’ve not provided options, we feel that those things have to do with the health of the system,” he said. “In the case of knowing that our system that we’ve created is crashing, or is having serious performance problems, we view that as so helpful to the ecosystem and so not an issue of personal privacy, that today we collect that data so that we make that experience better for everyone.”

This backs up detailed data that some had chosen to dismiss as conspiracy theories.

(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet
KEYWORDS: billgates; gatesfoundation; microsoft; netneutrality; windows; windows10; windows10spying; windowspinglist
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To: catbertz

Rolling out an OS that spies on you and can’t be stopped from doing so, after the NSA spying scandal drove many international customers to Chinese hardware and software and ISPs over American tech firms was stupid.


21 posted on 11/03/2015 12:55:42 PM PST by tbw2
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To: Swordmaker

No more Windows 10+ machines for me. I also have a mac which I will use more and more.

For PC users, install Ubuntu and learn Linux.

God, I hate Microsoft. I want to to like them, but stuff like this makes me hate them so much...


22 posted on 11/03/2015 12:55:43 PM PST by doomtrooper99 (Mr Truman, you did not finish the job)
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To: wally_bert

What are some decent Linux compatible alternatives to Quicken that easily let you track expenses and investments? And not do so via a cloud?


23 posted on 11/03/2015 12:56:22 PM PST by tbw2
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To: Swordmaker

Can’t be stopped by the sheeple but it sure could be stopped by MS.


24 posted on 11/03/2015 1:00:01 PM PST by bgill ( CDC site, "we still do not know exactly how people are infected with Ebola")
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To: Swordmaker

LINUX? I heard Ubuntu is not bad, any advise?


25 posted on 11/03/2015 1:01:12 PM PST by nomad
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To: RinaseaofDs

I have a mint iso that I keep saying that I will try on a 4 year old Lenovo. Ubuntu live seems to work well on the fairly new Dell pc.


26 posted on 11/03/2015 1:01:17 PM PST by wally_bert (I didn't get where I am today by selling ice cream tasting of bookends, pumice stone & West Germany)
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To: Swordmaker

MS has been actively working (and getting funding) from the NSA for probably 10 years.


27 posted on 11/03/2015 1:02:16 PM PST by Zathras
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To: Swordmaker

Checked out 10. Didn’t like it. They removed the ‘classic’ theme from one of the early beta versions and never put it back.

The new themes are crap.

Menues are difficult to read, slide/scroll bars are not even present until the mouse pointer moves toward an edge and they are narrow, making them difficult use. The frame borders are so narrow that it is difficult to see where one frame/window ends and another begins.

MS can take Win10 and file it alongside VISTA and 8. Put back the ‘classic’ them (fully) and it might be worthwise. Until then, it isn’t.


28 posted on 11/03/2015 1:02:30 PM PST by TomGuy
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To: Swordmaker

http://www.linuxmint.com/


29 posted on 11/03/2015 1:06:05 PM PST by Ray76
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To: DiogenesLamp
Go back to XP or upgrade to Linux.

7 Pro 64 works fine with updates shut off.

30 posted on 11/03/2015 1:10:53 PM PST by doorgunner69
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To: catbertz

“dumb move”

They keep changing stuff and trying to cram ‘new’ down consumers’ throats whether we it or not.

If they ever do restore the ‘classic’ theme as an option, I might retry 10. DIDN’T THEY LEARN ANYTHING FROM 8? The 8.1 version was supposed to return it to a more usable OS.

It seems that they have intentionally sabotaged Win10.


31 posted on 11/03/2015 1:14:48 PM PST by TomGuy
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To: Dr. Sivana

“I blocked a bunch of stuff at the Netgear Router. “

What did you look for to block? Destination name, or port?

Did the OS complain that it never received anything back?


32 posted on 11/03/2015 1:17:41 PM PST by LaRueLaDue
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To: Swordmaker

Exactly what spying and transmitting back to Microsoft is going on with Windows Ten? If eveyone is so pissed off at then exactly what info is being beamed back to the Microsoft mother ship?

For example — Are your internet searches and websites you visit being sent back? I doubt it. Windows crashes info being sent back? Maybe. How much time each day you use your computer? Maybe


33 posted on 11/03/2015 1:24:23 PM PST by dennisw (The first principle is to find out who you are then you can achieve anything -- Buddhist monk)
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To: Swordmaker

Does anybody know if Win10 will stop working if you just block that Microsoft IP address at your router, so it can’t get to MS? (Except when you periodically re-enable it to occasionally get updates?)


34 posted on 11/03/2015 1:25:56 PM PST by PapaBear3625 (Big government is attractive to those who think that THEY will be in control of it.)
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To: Swordmaker

The gov’t will know all your files whenever say the democrats or corrupt republicans or you local gov’t or Barney Fife person wants to blackmail you say in the time of an election. If they can see they can download any files as well.


35 posted on 11/03/2015 1:29:38 PM PST by minnesota_bound
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To: wally_bert
I am not certain what version I have now. Maybe 9 or 10? I followed the software from Sonic Foundry to Sony.

I have only played with HD, ie, burning video to DVD. But I have used the AC3 stereo capability a lot with SD DVDs. It has some very powerful audio processing capabilities.

Slide shows are nice too with all of the blending, cropping and mixing! Haven't created a 5.1 surround sound video yet. That would be cool.

Anyway, I had a side business of converting media to DVDs — wedding videos, audio tapes, special occasions, religious shows, VHS, 8mm, hi8, min-DV. I also created video slide shows and then played them for family reunions, 50th anniversaries.

4K raw video — MPEG2? do you render it to an intermediate format first? That was a nice feature. Took a little extra time but it made it a heck a lot easier to edit.

The rendering time is probably still a killer. Especially with HD video. But being able to distribute the render across multiple computers and a network was very nice. I used that a few times. Follows the law of diminishing returns though because of network latency.

Anyway, I mostly use it now for family videos and rendering to HD wmv which plays very nicely on my HD TV via the USB port.

36 posted on 11/03/2015 1:30:53 PM PST by dhs12345
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To: Dr. Sivana

Have you tried daisy chaining routers? Multiple levels of NAT. Wonder how well that works?


37 posted on 11/03/2015 1:32:40 PM PST by dhs12345
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To: LaRueLaDue
What did you look for to block? Destination name, or port?

Names (web site addresses) that Microsoft is known to go to. No OS complaints, just an inability to you Microsoft update.
38 posted on 11/03/2015 1:33:26 PM PST by Dr. Sivana (There is no salvation in politics)
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To: dhs12345
Have you tried daisy chaining routers? Multiple levels of NAT. Wonder how well that works?

I'm not that good. I'd probably buy into an anonymizing proxy if I were that concerned.
39 posted on 11/03/2015 1:34:24 PM PST by Dr. Sivana (There is no salvation in politics)
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To: DiogenesLamp
Go back to XP or upgrade to Linux.

Sure. When they come up with decent knockoffs of FileMaker Pro, WordPerfect and Maptitude.
40 posted on 11/03/2015 1:35:56 PM PST by Dr. Sivana (There is no salvation in politics)
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