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Windows 10's Privacy Policy: the New Normal?
An anonymous reader writes: The launch of Windows 10 brought a lot of users kicking and screaming to the "connected desktop." Its benefits come with tradeoffs: "the online service providers can track which devices are making which requests, which devices are near which Wi-Fi networks, and feasibly might be able to track how devices move around. The service providers will all claim that the data is anonymized, and that no persistent tracking is performed... but it almost certainly could be." There are non-trivial privacy concerns, particularly for default settings.
According to Peter Bright, for better or worse this is the new normal for mainstream operating systems. We're going to have to either get used to it, or get used to fighting with settings to turn it all off. "The days of mainstream operating systems that don't integrate cloud services, that don't exploit machine learning and big data, that don't let developers know which features are used and what problems occur, are behind us, and they're not coming back. This may cost us some amount of privacy, but we'll tend to get something in return: software that can do more things and that works better."
According to Peter Bright, for better or worse this is the new normal for mainstream operating systems. We're going to have to either get used to it, or get used to fighting with settings to turn it all off. "The days of mainstream operating systems that don't integrate cloud services, that don't exploit machine learning and big data, that don't let developers know which features are used and what problems occur, are behind us, and they're not coming back. This may cost us some amount of privacy, but we'll tend to get something in return: software that can do more things and that works better."
Blocking these domains will make your version of Windows 10 "Unconnected". To Microsoft at least.
dns.msftncsi.com
ipv6.msftncsi.com
win10.ipv6.microsoft.com
ipv6.msftncsi.com.edgesuite.net
a978.i6g1.akamai.net
win10.ipv6.microsoft.com.nsatc.net
en-us.appex-rf.msn.com
v10.vortex-win.data.microsoft.com
client.wns.windows.com
wildcard.appex-rf.msn.com.edgesuite.net
v10.vortex-win.data.metron.life.com.nsatc.net
wns.notify.windows.com.akadns.net
americas2.notify.windows.com.akadns.net
travel.tile.appex.bing.com
www.bing.com
any.edge.bing.com
fe3.delivery.mp.microsoft.com
fe3.delivery.dsp.mp.microsoft.com.nsatc.net
ssw.live.com
ssw.live.com.nsatc.net
login.live.com
login.live.com.nsatc.net
directory.services.live.com
directory.services.live.com.akadns.net
bl3302.storage.live.com
skyapi.live.net
bl3302geo.storage.dkyprod.akadns.net
skyapi.skyprod.akadns.net
skydrive.wns.windows.com
register.mesh.com
BN1WNS2011508.wns.windows.com
settings-win.data.microsoft.com
settings.data.glbdns2.microsoft.com
OneSettings-bn2.metron.live.com.nsatc.net
watson.telemetry.microsoft.com
watson.telemetry.microsoft.com.nsatc.net
http://init.sh/?p=236
"Freedom in the USA is not the ability to do what you want. It is the ability to stop others from doing what THEY want"
For a start, block these in your router, or hosts file:
http://pastebin.com/ULJjVM7w
vortex.data.microsoft.com
vortex-win.data.microsoft.com
telecommand.telemetry.microsoft.com
telecommand.telemetry.microsoft.com.nsatc.net
oca.telemetry.microsoft.com
oca.telemetry.microsoft.com.nsatc.net
sqm.telemetry.microsoft.com
sqm.telemetry.microsoft.com.nsatc.net
watson.telemetry.microsoft.com
watson.telemetry.microsoft.com.nsatc.net
redir.metaservices.microsoft.com
choice.microsoft.com
choice.microsoft.com.nsatc.net
df.telemetry.microsoft.com
reports.wes.df.telemetry.microsoft.com
wes.df.telemetry.microsoft.com
services.wes.df.telemetry.microsoft.com
sqm.df.telemetry.microsoft.com
telemetry.microsoft.com
watson.ppe.telemetry.microsoft.com
telemetry.appex.bing.net
telemetry.urs.microsoft.com
telemetry.appex.bing.net:443
settings-sandbox.data.microsoft.com
vortex-sandbox.data.microsoft.com
survey.watson.microsoft.com
watson.live.com
watson.microsoft.com
statsfe2.ws.microsoft.com
corpext.msitadfs.glbdns2.microsoft.com
compatexchange.cloudapp.net
cs1.wpc.v0cdn.net
a-0001.a-msedge.net
statsfe2.update.microsoft.com.akadns.net
sls.update.microsoft.com.akadns.net
fe2.update.microsoft.com.akadns.net
diagnostics.support.microsoft.com
corp.sts.microsoft.com
statsfe1.ws.microsoft.com
pre.footprintpredict.com
i1.services.social.microsoft.com
i1.services.social.microsoft.com.nsatc.net
feedback.windows.com
feedback.microsoft-hohm.com
feedback.search.microsoft.com
rad.msn.com
preview.msn.com
ad.doubleclick.net
ads.msn.com
ads1.msads.net
ads1.msn.com
a.ads1.msn.com
a.ads2.msn.com
adnexus.net
adnxs.com
az361816.vo.msecnd.net
az512334.vo.msecnd.net
I want my OS to do the work
That's why I run Linux. For years and years it's enabled me to be productive.
I've heard the "LibreOffice is lacking x,y,z" and "I can't live without feature x,y,z in Photoshop" many, many times now. If you truly can't live without x,y,z then go ahead and use Windows. Even if it's a simple matter of you like Windows better, go ahead and use it. I don't care. But don't tell me Linux is inferior because it doesn't have some obscure feature not used by 99% of users.
I know Linux on the desktop will forever remain a small percentage of market share. It's simply never going to catch up with the big boys. I'm okay with that, too. The reason, though, is not inferiority. It's entrenchment and market muscle.
If Microsoft started pushing Linux as Windows 12, even if they made zero changes to it, it would take off quickly.
This is not about quality and merit. Not at all.
Not your home PC that came with Windows already on it. Cyberspace. The servers, search engines, websites, name it.
I am a Linux server admin by trade :). And yes, Linux is great for servers. With one exception - I have not seen a proper alternative to MS Exchange server. Exchange is great for when users have tons of rules and many gigabytes of emails. Also, the way Exchange handles sharing mailboxes between users is better than the standard IMAP setup.
If more games were compiled already to run on Linux, Microsoft would already be archive.org.
Yes, is most new games ran on Linux, Microsoft would have harder time selling Windows.
However, as it currently is, most new PCs come with Windows, so for a user, Windows is kinda-free - I mean he already paid for it and probably did not have the option of buying the same exact PC without Windows for $100 less. Also, stuff like compiling the kernel is way above the head of an average user, even installing drivers on Windows is above his head.
What you don't to is to say oh, since Microsoft had us in a proprietary headlock for decades that now we just have to buy proprietary headlock edition PC's.
A lot of times the choice is limited. I wanted a small UMPC that could fit in my pocket and yet have a relatively normal keyboard and x86 CPU (essentially a Psion Series 5 with modern hardware). There were two options at the time - Viliv N5 and Umid BZ. They both most likely have some hardware that is difficult to make work in Linux. Similar is buying a bigger laptop.
If this is ever a case for anybody, simply install it into a Virtual Machine.
Wouldn't installing Linux inside a VM inside Windows defeat the point of not having Windows? Also, good luck playing games or even HD video from inside the VM.
Windows has no sell points other than forced updates, get spied on, share your WiFi password with outlook contacts, then decide who hacked your shit.
Now, yes. However, old versions were good - XP and now 7, this is why people still use the old versions. XP because the hardware they have may not be fast enough for anything newer and 7 because the later versions are crap. After Windows 7 MS found out that it essentially was "good enough", could not find anything to improve and started to muck around with the interface and later spying.