Slashdot Mirror


Underground Piracy Sites Want To Block Windows 10 Users

An anonymous reader writes: Some smaller pirate sites have become concerned about Windows 10 system phoning home too many hints regarding that the users are accessing their site. Therefore, the pirate administrators have started blocking Windows 10 users from accessing the BitTorrent trackers that the sites host. The first ones to hit the alarm button were iTS, which have posted a statement and started redirecting Windows 10 users to a YouTube video called Windows 10 is a Tool to Spy on Everything You Do. Additionally, according to TorrentFreak, two other similar dark web torrent trackers are also considering following suit. "As we all know, Microsoft recently released Windows 10. You as a member should know, that we as a site are thinking about banning the OS from FSC," said one of the FSC staff. Likewise, in a message to their users, a BB admin said something similar: "We have also found [Windows 10] will be gathering information on users' P2P use to be shared with anti piracy group."

26 of 394 comments (clear)

  1. Context by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Not in the summary:

    "The anti-piracy group the pirate site admins are referring to is MarkMonitor, a US company that specializes in online corporate identity protection, one that is known to have work with the MPAA in protecting its copyrighted materials, but one that has also worked with Microsoft in the past, to protect Windows users from online identity theft and scam campaigns."

  2. I knew it. by stongef · · Score: 5, Insightful

    When Microsoft offered Windows 10, I first thought it was an interesting move. Then I remembered who we are talking about here. Of course they will have back-door deals with the media industry. And of course once everyone who had a pirated version of the OS upgrades to the legit free version, they'll slowly move to a subscription model. The future of every business venture nowadays is recurring revenues. Water is wet, rocks are hard and Microsoft is Microsoft. The universe balances. And I'm staying with Xubuntu and VMWare ...

    1. Re: I knew it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      When Windows 8 came out, I said to myself: "I'll skip it, Widows 7 is running fine for me".

      When Windows 8.1 came out, I said to myself: "I'm glad I stayed on Windows 7, those MS jackoffs pulled another Windows ME".

      When Wine Windows 10 came out, I said to myself: "I'll skip it, Windows 7 is running fine for me"...

      Windows 7 EOS 2020.

    2. Re: I knew it. by PopeRatzo · · Score: 4, Funny

      When Wine Windows 10 came out

      I've heard of Beer Goggles, but never Wine Windows. I'm willing to learn.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    3. Re: I knew it. by FranTaylor · · Score: 4, Funny

      Wine is not an emulator.

      beer is not a simulation

  3. Re:Dear MS. You Really Don't Want To Spy On Users. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    > We WILL rise up and make Windows as worthless as fly shit

    And Mom? Bring more Doritos the next time you come down to the basement to get my laundry!

    (nom-nom-nom-nom)

  4. Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Windows 10 is malware in its default seutup. This phone home shit should be blacked so they suffer for being so anti-user.

  5. Firewalls? by Mister+Transistor · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I predict a strong market for a nice little generic Microsoft-filtering hardware firewall devices. Maybe even an intelligent one that will allow incoming updates and scrub or anonymize outgoing requests.

    Kickstarter, anyone?

    --
    -- You are in a maze of little, twisty passages, all different... --
    1. Re:Firewalls? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      The telemetry in Windows 10 bypasses the hosts file. You'd need an external firewall. The problem with that is that Windows (reportedly) throws a fit and stops working if you block off certain addresses.

  6. Re:Nothing is free by martin-boundary · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Uhm, no. Plenty of things in life are free. The reason MS is being despicable here is that they are choosing to offer free windows in exchange for installing spyware. It was wrong when people bundled spyware with freeware software installers, and it is wrong when people bundle spyware with an OS.

    Just switch to Debian or another Free OS that doesn't spy on you. It may be a little less convenient, but the inconvenience pays off in a bit more safety the next time you download something.

  7. What a brilliant way..... by Drakonblayde · · Score: 3, Interesting

    .... to get people to stop pirating Windows. Make it spy on the pirates!

  8. Microsoft will be stopped by aaaaaaargh! · · Score: 4, Interesting

    At least in the EU I see no long future for Windows 10's illegal built-in surveillance tools. The EULA violates local laws in many EU countries and probably also EU law, and it is only a matter of time until some EU commission will put an end to it.

    Or, at least I hope so, because at one point or another I'll be forced to upgrade to this pile of shit. :/

    1. Re:Microsoft will be stopped by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The EULA violates local laws in many EU countries and probably also EU law, and it is only a matter of time until some EU commission will put an end to it.

      The situation is much more dramatic than that.

      There is no feasible way that a Windows 10 system can be used on a machine that collects or processes credit-card data (think: PCI DSS security standards), stores medical data (think: HIPAA security requirements), holds confidential legal documents (think: any lawyer's office anywhere), contains NDA-protected or trade-secret documents, or holds documents that contain "insider information" as defined by the SEC.

      Remember that it's Microsoft itself that gets to decide what user information it collects from your Win10 PC, and, most crucially: Microsoft can force a silent system update that changes what user information is collected. This puts business users who run Win10 at significant legal risk, given that they knew (or should have known) that every Win10 machine contains a general-purpose mechanism pre-installed that allows a third-party attacker (Microsoft) to silently collect any information at will.

      Also remember that Microsoft is competing against Google, and one of Google's huge advantages is that it actually stores the documents, which gives Google the opportunity to scan those documents looking for consumer behavior and identity. In Microsoft's zeal to compete, it's easy to imagine them scanning all your documents in order to "improve the user's experience and offer more relevant services".

      This is a massive security hole embedded, by design, within the OS itself. Using a third-party app to close that security hole would not likely be an acceptable solution, because, again, Microsoft controls the OS, can silently update it on the fly, and thus can attack or circumvent any third-party security app of their choosing -- or else -- Microsoft may attack the effectiveness of any third-party security app by secretly funding the makers of that app, or by purchasing it outright.

      It looks like Microsoft is betting so much on the value of collecting user data for marketing purposes, that they're willing to lose a significant chunk of their business users who can't legally risk being the target of all that data mining.

  9. Re:These companies keep giving us reasons by ilsaloving · · Score: 5, Informative

    You may wanna check your list of updates. Microsoft has already added a bunch of telemetry tools in the guise of "important updates".

  10. Not just Windows 10 by ilsaloving · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://arstechnica.com/informa...

    The thing is, it's not just Windows 10. If you regularly update your machines, Microsoft has already added additional telemetry tools to Windows 7 and 8.

    http://www.infoworld.com/artic...

    What really sucks for me is that I *like* Windows 10. I run it in a VM on my Mac, and I've noticed an immediate performance improvement, especially with boot ups.

    But from all the media reports, it looks like Windows 10 is turning into a conspiracy theorists bukake dream. And unless there is very little backlash to this, I can see Microsoft easily porting the rest of their privacy invading tools to their previous OSes.

    1. Re:Not just Windows 10 by aNonnyMouseCowered · · Score: 3, Interesting

      "But from all the media reports, it looks like Windows 10 is turning into a conspiracy theorists bukake dream."

      Damn it. Now I had to look up the word in Wiki: "The word bukkake is often used in Japanese to describe pouring out water with sufficient momentum to cause splashing or spilling. Indeed, bukkake is used in Japan to describe a type of dish where hot broth is poured over noodles, as in bukkake udon and bukkake soba."

  11. Re:These companies keep giving us reasons by FranTaylor · · Score: 3

    No, you pirate because you want something for nothing. That's the start, and the end of it. If it really were about the DRM you'd buy the software, then pirate a DRM free version. You don't do that, because you're a hypocritical bottom feeder.

    I bought the damned album years ago and now it's scratched. I want a clean copy.

  12. Re: These companies keep giving us reasons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Like it or not, you pretty much have to use some version of windows. Whether it's at work or because of some windows-only software, there's really no way to avoid windows.

    please tell us all what indispensible apps run on windows that have no equivalents on any other operating system

    Management.

  13. Re: These companies keep giving us reasons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Svchost.exe

  14. Re: These companies keep giving us reasons by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Pretty much anything custom developed. Plus a ton of security related analysis software that makes little sense to run on Linux when you try to find problems in Windows software.

    Also it's hard to get a hold of really good DTP software. "Oh but there is $x". Yes. There is. And now please pay the month my DTP specialist needs to get used to the completely different way things are done in this software package.

    Same for PCB layouting. Is there even a Linux version of Altium?

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  15. Re: Dear MS. You Really Don't Want To Spy On Users by LVSlushdat · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I have a sneaking hunch that my small business I have upgrading systems still running XP, mostly older retired folks (like me) to Linux may get a BIG shot in the arm soon, once joe-six-pack finds out just how pervasive the spying is on Microsoft's new OS.. Expert opinion is that not only keylogging, but streaming both any microphone or webcam data goes out to Microsoft servers.. I guess they figure its all good because they couch it in oh-so-mealy terms in their massive EULA, but once Joe-six-pack catches on and has this blatant spying thrown in his face, I predict you're gonna see a MASSIVE increase in Linux's adoption rate... Just sayin..

    --
    THANK YOU, Edward Snowden!! Americans owe you a debt of gratitude (whether they know it or not..)
  16. Re:Dear MS. You Really Don't Want To Spy On Users. by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Sorry, no. If FB et al proved one thing, then that people don't give half a shit about their privacy as long as you give them the noose for their neck for free.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  17. Re: These companies keep giving us reasons by Langalf · · Score: 4, Informative

    In certain industries, you use what the vendors are willing to provide, or you don't stay in business. If the vendor only supports Windows, you use Windows. Period.

    As an example, the plant where I work relies heavily on Allen-Bradley Rockwell Software for automation and control. There is no viable alternative on a non-Windows platform, from either a practical or a regulatory perspective. Rockwell Software barely supports 64-bit Windows. They are not likely to make any effort to run on Linux, and sure as heck won't license there software for use under Wine.

  18. Remove KB 2952664 and what else? by emil · · Score: 5, Informative

    It appears these updates are usage trackers:

    KB 2952664
    KB 3022345

    This is the core Windows 10 update nagware:

    KB 3035583

    These updates should be permanently removed and ignored on well-run systems.

    What other updates should be removed and banned from Windows 7/8 in the interest of privacy?

    1. Re:Remove KB 2952664 and what else? by Jiro · · Score: 5, Informative

      3021917 (update for Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program
      3068708 (update for CEIP and telemetry)
      3080149 (update for CEIP and telemetry)
      3075249 (telemetry)
      2990214 (Windows 10 upgrade) (I suppose this isn't technically privacy. And Microsoft claims you actually need it; your choice whether to believe them. Also, 3044374 for Windows 8.1.

  19. Re:VMs? by yuhong · · Score: 3, Informative

    Win10 enterprise has the no telemetry option for a reason.