Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Telemetry Collection, Explained (theregister.co.uk)
New submitter Poohsticks writes: There's a nice breakdown of the updated information from Microsoft about what they are doing with the telemetry data that Windows 10 is collecting (original Technet article here) by Chris Williams at The Register. Interesting finds that better explain what's happening with that data (and how to control it).
Very little is explained. And there's no OFF setting.
Fuck Microsoft, hard.
Most people here have been commenting with something like "Stop Using Windows", but I think this is the wrong message.
Considering the audience here on Slashdot, the true message to share and discuss is: "Stop Writing Software for Windows".
My software company has just ruled out all future Windows development. Yes, that means we'll lose some clients, and yes, that means we will have some customer training issues to resolve. But compared to the clusterfuck that is Windows10, it was actually a pretty easy decision for us to make. If Microsoft wants to be a part of the future of software development then they will need to continue to push .NET onto cross platform, and clean up that Mono license so that we can all use it with confidence. Otherwise, Microsoft software development is dead. Sure, not now, not in five years, but this is it: the beginning of the end.
So stop writing software for Windows and watch the world change...for the better.
We're still talking about a lot of basically untested internet aware services running on your background that have a microsoft tier of security, which means it is probably exploitable the hell and back, and basically identical on every single windows 10 box.
That sounds like a gros michel banana scenario here pretty much, where someone with evil intentions would be able to abuse one of those flaws and pretty much wipe out a large quantity of windows 10 machines if not all of em in a whim.
The founder of the company has sided with the DOJ against Apple. And Microsoft seems only to have gotten worse since Gates handed over the reins. That tells me all I need to know about Microsoft's trustworthiness as far as user privacy is concerned. Even if telemetry truly can be fully disabled, who's to say it won't be re-introduced without notice? Microsoft is sneaky that way.
I almost wish I was still a Windows user so I could quit in protest, but I moved to Linux almost 10 years ago and haven't looked back. I feel for those who are stuck with it, for whatever reason. I never thought I would say this, but if my only two choices were Apple and MS, I'd choose Apple.
'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
They're only equivalent if you're completely incapable of nuanced thought.
I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
Microsoft sure knows how to dig a big hole and fall in it. With Windows 8 it was the infamous Metro UI. Now with Windows 10 it's an all-out user spying program, one you can't really even turn off. Who the hell makes these decisions?! Anyone here could've told them it's a really bad idea and skilled security analysts would easily find out about all the semi-hidden "features".
It's as if they want to fail time after time, like a sadomasochistic hamster that enjoys electric shocks.
-SR
I run a windows boot for gaming only. Tried the *free win 10 upgrade* and after 20 minutes of unidentified net traffic and hideous I lag was reinstalling win 7.
Solution? Since Steam now has Mac ports for pretty much everything I play, the next gaming rig will be an incredibly over-priced Mac Pro.
I feel for the poor sods who are stuck with win 10 as a work platform or are too uninterested/uninformed to make a better choice for home use.
Scruting the inscrutable for over 50 years.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
You can turn off Windows Update by setting the following registry entries:
Add a REG_DWORD value called DoNotConnectToWindowsUpdateInternetLocations to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate and set the value to 1.
-and-
Add a REG_DWORD value called DisableWindowsUpdateAccess to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate and set the value to 1.
Even something as straightforward as changing a registry setting, is beyond the skillset (or willingness, or caring enough) of the majority of average PC users. That is: if PC is actually under users' direct control - in a corporate setting, it often won't be. Imho any OS should by default send out / retrieve as little as practical from network sources. Beyond that, network access should be user-triggered, enabled on an individual services / application level.
But what struck me while going through the TechNet article, is its length. Are you supposed to check that many settings all over the place, and then repeat to check or re-set those settings each time some update(s) are applied?
That could be a full-time job. Unless you bring in the help of 3rd party software, which -under the hood- may behave as nasty as Win10 itself. Given these facts, I'd say that if you control PC('s) you work on, you have basically 3 choices at this point:
Choose wisely, and know this: your time isn't "free".
I work in an enterprise and can tell you that Microsoft does provide the ability to disable all remote connectivity, including those connections used for its telemetry services. You just need to actually do the research on how to achieve the desired results. I have seen the Win 10 hate thread abound, and would just like to say that rather than childishly gripping about the company that produced the software, how about an intelligent conversation about what MS improved from a UI, usability, and security perspective? I am a firm believer in the right tool for the right job, and personally employ several flavors of Linux to achieve the technology goals I set. Blind hate only makes you uniformed, come to the light side.
The only job that Windows is the 'right tool' for is running programs that were written for Windows, where no Free alternative exists, and that can't be made to run via WINE or something similar.
Besides, this is not only a matter of being pragmatic. Using the right tool for the right job makes sense, but an operating system that contains telemetry with no easy way to turn it off (not all home users have access to Enterprise editions, and even fewer would know how to edit the registry, etc, without fouling something up) means that the Operating System now not only doesn't do what I tell it to do (disable all telemetry), but it now gives ads on the lock screen, reinstalls apps to "try Office" or "try Skype" after updates, and so on. That's the definition of malware, and, as such, has no place on any computer that I have control over.
> what they are doing with the telemetry data that Windows 10 is collecting ?
They're spying on you with no way to turn it off. That *IS* what they're doing. Windows 10 *IS* spyware. let's go through the questions... again...
1 Downloads itself to your machine without you specifically asking for it ? YES
2 Aggressively attempts to install itself taking over your computer in the process ? YES
3 Sends unknown and/or encrypted data to unknown third parties ? YES
4 Sends personally identifying information to unknown third parties ? YES
5 Easy to remove ? NO
Hmmm... Looks like spyware, smells like spyware, walks like spyware and talks like spyware. Windows 10 *IS* spyware.
Anyone willingly using it is a moron. Microsoft shills go f**** yourself.
Sky subscribers are morons. They pay to be advertised at !
A new record! The top post immediately invokes Godwin's Law. WTG!!!
All references to that aside, though, holy cow! Let's not make it easy for anyone, and make sure those running the cheapest versions have no choice...
No thanks.
Watch out! We got a badass over here!
Didn't MS test this OS? Telemetry collection seems like a universal beta test. "Let put this stuff out there then see what happens. Then fix that."