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Microsoft Responds To Allegations That Windows 10 Collects 'Excessive Personal Data' (betanews.com)
BetaNews's Mark Wilson writes: Yesterday France's National Data Protection Commission (CNIL) slapped a formal order on Microsoft to comply with data protection laws after it found Windows 10 was collecting "excessive data" about users. The company has been given three months to meet the demands or it will face fines. Microsoft has now responded, saying it is happy to work with the CNIL to work towards an acceptable solution. Interestingly, while not denying the allegations set against it, the company does nothing to defend the amount of data collected by Windows 10, and also fails to address the privacy concerns it raises. Microsoft does address concerns about the transfer of data between Europe and the US, saying that while the Safe Harbor agreement is no longer valid, the company still complied with it up until the adoption of Privacy Shield. It's interesting to see that Microsoft, in response to a series of complaints very clearly leveled at Windows 10, manages to mention the operating system only once. There is the promise of a statement about privacy next week, but for now we have Microsoft's response to the CNIL's order.
I'm not saying this tool will completely block all of the data collected but, it does block the vast majority of it and is simple to install and it's from a company I find reliable: Spybot Anti-Beacon.
"Be particularly skeptical when presented with evidence confirming what you already believe." -
And you can be sure Apple would do the same.
No. They learned their lesson with LocationGate. They are headed HARD in the OTHER direction at this point.
Whoosh
You don't have to be an expert to know that you can't control Windows from within Windows. We've already seen Windows 10 lie about its behavior.
You need an external device not running Windows to ensure you're not leaking. That means tracking every outbound connection from a Windows 10 host at the switch/router, investigating every IP, and blocking anything affiliated with Windows 10 "telemetry" or "updates". Then you'll need to manually download every actual security update, possibly from another system, and install them individually. Because yes, you still need security updates.
Windows 10 is a shitshow and a complete non-starter for anyone who cares at all about security or privacy.
Sorry but Spybot Anti-Beacon is frankly magic beans, as a big part of their "security" is using HOSTS files which has already been proven to be completely ineffective because MSFT hardcoded the IP addresses into the spyware programs themselves.
Hmmm...I've seen that behavior before at the shop, where did I see that? Oh yeah....malware.
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
I have never been required to sign a HIPAA waiver. I have, however, always been required to sign an acknowledgement that I have read the HIPAA fact sheet.