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Microsoft Shares Windows 10 Telemetry Data With Third Parties (betanews.com)

An anonymous reader shares a report: To help with the smooth running of Windows 10, and to get an idea of how users interact with the operating system, Microsoft collects telemetry data, which includes information on the device Windows 10 is running on, a list of installed apps, crash dumps, and more. Telemetry data recorded by Windows 10 is, in a nutshell, just technical information about the device the OS is on, and how Windows and any installed software is performing, but it can occasionally include personal information. If you're worried about that, the news that Microsoft is sharing telemetry data with third parties might concern you. Microsoft recently struck a deal with security firm FireEye to provide access to Windows 10 telemetry data, in exchange for having FireEye's iSIGHT Threat Intelligence technology included in its Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection service. WDATP is an enterprise security product that helps enterprises detect, investigate, and respond to advanced attacks on their networks and is different from the free version of Windows Defender. The upsides of the deal are obvious for both Microsoft and FireEye, and enterprise customers will certainly benefit from the partnership. It's not known exactly what data Microsoft has made available to FireEye, but in a detailed TechNet article on its telemetry gathering the software giant originally said: "Microsoft may share business reports with OEMs and third party partners that include aggregated and anonymized telemetry information. Data-sharing decisions are made by an internal team including privacy, legal, and data management."

175 comments

  1. Shocking turn of events by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ...not really, you buy their product and then they sell you as a product.

    1. Re:Shocking turn of events by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...not really, you buy their product and then they sell you as a product.

      But, but, I thought "if you're not the customer then you're the product" was revealing wisdom teaching me all about the reality of the modern world. You aren't telling me it's another lie disguised as cynicism? Tell me it ain't so.

    2. Re:Shocking turn of events by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Stop being surprised, its in the new privacy policy.
      Basically what it says is: We collect everything, we sell it to make money. the whole huge privacy policy is saying it in multiple ways.

      Stop acting surprised! read the f'ing contract!

  2. I bet Airbus use Windows 10 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    It's a trustworthy operating system.

    1. Re:I bet Airbus use Windows 10 by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      I bet Airbus already share critical information with FireEye. A lot of major multi-nationals do.

    2. Re:I bet Airbus use Windows 10 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, still running Windows 7 after XP and, for a loooong time, Windows 2000.

    3. Re: I bet Airbus use Windows 10 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No they don't.

  3. Although I would never trust them.. by ChodaBoyUSA · · Score: 2

    ...it is too bad they do not offer a paid version of the OS without the spyware. This behavior is the best thing to happen for Apple sales in a long time.

    1. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's what they should do. A free verson with spyware and ads, and a premium version. I would pay $$$ for Win 10 no spyware edition.

    2. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You might have a point, if Windows and Mac OS were two different operating system options on the same computers.
      To get Mac OS, you have to buy a heavily overpriced computer. That doesn't change just because Windows now sucks in yet another way.

    3. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You jest, surely? Microsoft is just applying the basics of Capitalism.

      They are a monopoly, they can do whatever they want. Since one of the basic tenets of capitalism is the pursuit of ever increasing profit, they will do whatever it takes to maximize it.

      So, not content with charging for the OS*, Microsoft will also extract money from you in the form of ads inside the OS and by selling that pile of information they have on you.

      I expect that they will introduce a subscription model next (they wanted to do this fore Windows 7, IIRC, but was axed because they Ballmer didn't have to cojones to pull it off), or an a la carte Windows licensing model, where you only pay for the features you want (which sounds great in theory, but only means that you'll end up paying 3x more for the feature you already have now).

      And what can you do? Your choices boil down to a) use an alternative (which is not viable if you depend on Windows applications) or b) bend over.

      So, uh, good luck with that Windows users. And, uh, try Vaseline. It helps.

      *Windows 10 was free, in the same sense that the drug dealer tells you that the first one is free... don't expect Windows 11 (or whatever they'll call it) to be free.

    4. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      To get Mac OS, you have to buy a heavily overpriced computer.

      You pay equivalent prices to get equivalent products from Apple's competitors, Hateboi. What Apple doesn't do is make $400 POS specials.

    5. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      2017, year of Linux?

    6. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by DogDude · · Score: 1

      They do. FTFA:
      "You can change the level under Diagnostic and usage data and also set the Feedback frequency to Never if you simply want to opt out."

      --
      I don't respond to AC's.
    7. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      To get Mac OS, you have to buy a heavily overpriced computer.

      My overpriced 2006 Black MacBook (yes, I paid the extra $200 for the black version) is still ticking along. Running Mint Linux instead of Mac OS X. If I wanted to, I can install Windows 10 and it run just fine.

    8. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That means they would have to loudly announce they have a spyware version.

      As it is, the vast majority of people don't know Windows is sharing their data. They just know Windows 10 forced itself on to their computer and kinda sucks.

    9. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      MS needs to die. It has been an evil company from day 1. The sad part is Google is even worse. Hopefully, one day, a bunch of execs from these companies die from painful cancer.

    10. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by fbobraga · · Score: 1

      Even low end machines run very well with Gnome3/Unity/Cinnamon (and there's XFCE, if needed...): no need to buy overpriced stuff to run real OSes

    11. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You jest, surely? Microsoft is just applying the basics of Capitalism.

      ...

      Yes. They should be good Socialists like Google.

      Or the government of Venezuela.

    12. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by fbobraga · · Score: 1

      My overpriced 2006 Black MacBook (yes, I paid the extra $200 for the black version) is still ticking along. Running Mint Linux instead of Mac OS X. If I wanted to, I can install Windows 10 and it run just fine.

      ... but MacOS, the SO the hardware was made for, bring your machine to it's knees, no?

    13. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by MyFirstNameIsPaul · · Score: 1

      Dollars to doughnuts that gets flipped after updates every 6 months or so.

      --

      I once took an excursion to Reddit, and later HN. Unlimited up/down voting sucks when dealing with a hive-mind.

    14. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by ilsaloving · · Score: 2

      They do. It's enterprise edition. Currently only available to companies with Software Assurance, but they are apparently planning on making it available to us plebes on a subscription basis ($8/month, I believe)

    15. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Basically every high end windows product blows an equivalently priced mac out of the water. Thats why everyone has spent the last few years complaining about apple, and why the latest refresh has been such a disappointment for people.

    16. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "You can change the level under Diagnostic and usage data and also set the Feedback frequency to Never if you simply want to opt out."

      To be frank, I don't believe you can actually "opt-out" of the monitoring and telelmetry, no matter what they claim.

      I bet you could turn off every single telemetry-related setting and disable all of the "Diagnostic and usage data" widgets, and Windows would still be found to be sending all sorts of info back to Microsoft.

      I just don't believe a word Microsoft says about monitoring or not monitoring users anymore, period.

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    17. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by ilsaloving · · Score: 1

      The lowest Microsoft will permit you to go is Basic unless you are using Enterprise Edition. If you are using Home or Pro, you cannot shut off Telemetry, nor can you shut off updates.

    18. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by JoeyRox · · Score: 2

      It's also available via an MSDN subscription.

    19. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by fbobraga · · Score: 2

      Yes. They should be good Socialists like Google. Or the government of Venezuela.

      Booth your examples are badly incorrect (government of Venezuela can be socialist only in the name, like in "Democratic Republic of North Korea" or the name of the nazi party in Germany before WWII)

    20. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 1, Insightful

      I expect that they will introduce a subscription model next (they wanted to do this fore Windows 7, IIRC, but was axed because they Ballmer didn't have to cojones to pull it off), or an a la carte Windows licensing model, where you only pay for the features you want (which sounds great in theory, but only means that you'll end up paying 3x more for the feature you already have now).

      Uh, no, Microsoft just realized that:

      a) PCs are a declining market
      b) PCs remain viable far longer than they used to
      c) Very few Windows users upgrade their OS - they "upgrade" when they buy a new computer
      d) The world is going mobile, multi-platform, and cloud-based

      All this means that it's better for MS to just sell (it's no longer free, in case you forgot) one perpetually-updating version of Windows to reduce long-term support commitments, and to encourage as many people as possible to get on board. Windows is now just another platform for their subscription services. But the subscription service is NOT Windows. Instead, you have Office 365, Azure cloud services, Xbox Gold, MSDN, Solitaire Games (seriously?), and so on, and of course, they make money with Windows Store purchases.

      The big danger with this, as people rightly point out, that Windows users stop being Microsoft's customers and are instead a captive marketing audience at best, and a product at worst. Thus, decisions like these.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    21. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by fbobraga · · Score: 1

      Google is even worse

      [citation needed]

    22. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      ... but MacOS, the SO the hardware was made for, bring your machine to it's knees, no?

      I still have a Snow Leopard OS X partition that works fine. However, since Apple stopped supporting 32-bit processors, third-party updates for 32-bit software stopped coming. Since the web browser is my primary tool, I installed an OS that supported 32-bit processors for security updates.

    23. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      *Windows 10 was free, in the same sense that the drug dealer tells you that the first one is free... don't expect Windows 11 (or whatever they'll call it) to be free.

      Nope, the drug dealer is just trying to get you hooked on drugs. Windows 10 is much worse than that. It's more like the drug dealer giving you free drugs to get samples of your blood to give to vampires.

      I think we should start calling it something like Windows X [Box] (*) to differentiate a games-only OS from from OSs which are safe to hold sensitive personal or business critical information on.

      (*) only.. something cleverer than that...

    24. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 2

      Correct. That's just "Feedback frequency". You can't opt-out of telemetry completely, according to their own settings. You can only set "Diagnostics and usage data" to "Full (recommended)", "Enhanced", or "Basic."

      This is the part that really bothers me. I'm completely fine with whatever default settings there are, but users should be able to turn it off. It wouldn't have even hurt Microsoft, since most people wouldn't have bothered, but instead they feel the need to force some minimal levels of data collection on everyone.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    25. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is in fact the case. There are multiple overlapping levels of telemetry data and only some of them are user-toggle-able in control panels. Others require specifically modifying your registry and most of what you do to achieve this will be subverted/reverted at your next patch Tuesday update rollups. There are probably low-level ones few even at M$ know about.

    26. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, they just call the pay version "Pro", "Gold", "Elite", "Premium" or whatever. I realise that they already have a Windows 10 Pro and that it is just as adware, spyware and malware infested as the poor man's version, but they could change that *if* they were smart.

      Then again, I don't think I could ever trust Microsoft again after all of this Windows 10 shit they've pulled. I could not trust that they wouldn't reintroduce all of the malware back into spyware-free versions after they suckered people into buying it.

    27. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Utter BS. My laptop is FAR superior to any Macbook and cost significantly less.

    28. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is US education really that lacking? Do Americans not realize that the US is a socialism too?

    29. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How about Google's acquisition of DoubleClick?

    30. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Yes. They should be good Socialists like Google.

      Or the government of Venezuela.

      Booth your examples are badly incorrect (government of Venezuela can be socialist only in the name, like in "Democratic Republic of North Korea" or the name of the nazi party in Germany before WWII)

      I hate to break your heart, but the Nazis were socialists. Never mind the official name: National Socialist German Workers' Party. "Naaah, that's not socialist, not at all" (Gawd, are you Thalidomide-brained?!?!)

      The National SOCIALIST German WORKERS' Party were proponents of:

      - Wage and price controls
      - Strict gun control
      - Belief in the power of the state
      - State-provided health care
      - State-provided pensions

      Naaah, they weren't "real Socialists" (that's your Thalidomide brain again...)

      And the National SOCIALIST German WORKERS' Party used these standard tropes of leftists/"progressives" to divide people and stay in power:

      - anti-Semitism
      - Racist assignment of people by the color of skin (similar to #BlackLivesMatter, "blacks can't be racist", "white privilege", and other leftist/"progressive" race-baiting/apportioning crap)

      Those last to are to better dehumanize the opponents of leftism/"progressivism".

      There's a reason the largest totalitarian "massacre states" in history are leftist/"progressive" - the same baseless smug superiority that "I'm right, and you're so wrong you're evil" that drives someone to label supporters of a political opponent as a "basket of deplorables" or "bitter clingers" is the same baseless smug superiority that leads to stuffing six million Jews into ovens.

      It's the LEFT that defines their opposition as less than human - and it's the LEFT that murders them by the millions.

      Joe Stalin
      Adolf Hitler
      Mao Zedong
      Pol Pot

      ALL LEFTIST/"PROGRESSIVE" mass-murderers who stood for the overweening power of the state while dehumanizing their opponents.

      How many movies did Hollywood make showing their wishful thinking that Obama get assassinated?

      How many did Hollywood make of Bush II getting assassinated?

      Which major party in the US engages in dehumanizing its opponents - just like the Nazis did?

      Every damn time you senselessly call someone a racist because they don't agree with your redistributionist policies, you engage in the same dehumanization your fellow LEFTIST Adolf Hitler did to Jews.

      It's the same. It's a smug "You're INFERIOR to me!" so it's OK to take your "fair share" from them. "Those rich WHITES didn't earn their wealth! They're RAAACISTS and we non-racists DESERVE it!"

      Or, it's OK to gas you by the millions and burn your body is mass ovens.

      Only a difference in degree. It's all the same logically - minimizing and dehumanizing someone.

    31. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      "It has been an evil company from day 1"
      Evil or not they were able to build MS into one of the most successful and influential companies in the world. Their dominance was achieved by building a platform that ran on commodity hardware instead of Apple's proprietary hardware model. Early non-MS application competitors willingly sold their technologies to MS instead of trying to compete. Word Perfect, Lotus 1-2-3, and the Borland application development stack are just a few examples. Netscape dominated the browser market and then they ruined their browser and ultimately created a bloated piece of shit which allowed MS the time needed to increase the IE adoption rate.
      It was easy for MS to achieve market dominance when they had no serious competitors. MS didn't begin life as a company worth billions and during that time of vulnerability no one stood up and tried to seriously compete with MS. MS had invest money in Apple to make sure they stayed a viable company just so MS could use them as an example of a competing company in court. And that investment gave Apple enough cash and the time to get their iPod product built and released. The rest is history as Apple started creating their i* product lines.

      MS has always been a corporation looking to maximize it's revenue. They have never been a charity or non-profit organization. Ask yourself a question. You start a company from scratch and then work tirelessly to grow the success of your company. When do you stop and tell yourself that you are successful enough and therefor you should quit trying to improve your company?

      There are plenty of non-MS products and platforms available today. It only took 25 years for someone to basically port the Unix OS onto a x86 platform. This new platform has been enormously extensible in some areas but the lack of quality desktop applications has kept the desktop adoption rate in the single digits while the adoption rate is hugely successful in the data center and mobile market. However the success has created a fragmented ecosystem with incompatible and unsupported applications. It took about the same amount of time for someone to resurrect the dead and buried Netscape browser, eliminating the bloat, and then renaming it Firefox.

      If the people complaining about MS shortfalls spent the same amount of time creating alternatives they could stop bitching. Competing with successful companies is not easy but it can be done with the right amount of determination.

    32. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As indicated by your wall of text, you're an idiot. Please go off line, preferably in a straight line to the nearest tree, and hang yourself so we don't have to suffer your arrogant, superficial "knowledge" any further.

    33. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by spire3661 · · Score: 1

      You cant even write to a TEXT FILE on Android without downloading an app from the store, with all its could features and telemetry...Android still doesnt have a file manager that Google is willing to show to users (its hidden). They tried removing the ability to read/write ext3/4 on Chrome...Google is the new MS.

      --
      Good-bye
    34. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      Standard-issue Hateboi selective comparison, more likely. Sure, your ASUS has a faster processor - and is two pounds heavier, or has a cheap display, or half the battery life, etc etc. SSDD.

    35. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      Basically ignoring the fact that Apple does not compete in every segment of the market, and then chugging Hatorade over it. I said equivalent products for equivalent prices for a reason. That Apple doesn't make a 6 lbs gaming laptop with SLI graphics cards does not mean their 15" laptop sucks. It means they don't have an equivalent product in that segment.

    36. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You forgot to call him a cuck. 6/10 shitpost.

    37. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's funny how you think they're not doing it.

      Wasn't there an app that you could install that showed you content you'd like on their TV platform?

      How do you think they get their information to recommend? How do you think they convince Content providers to waste their time with it?

    38. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      besides, it's macfags who call boys 'bois' and love being cucked..

    39. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      sounds like someone needs to justify paying for pointless exclusivity.

    40. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by malditaenvidia · · Score: 1

      Right, good old Google, with their selfless google analytics scripts all over the internet gathering harmless data for adsense opportu^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hthe good of the people. Surely we would be much better off with chromeOS on every desktop.

    41. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What, you don't trust half assed smelly towelheaded monkeys on H1B employed by Monkeyshit Corp, including their monkey CEO?
      How dare you

    42. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by theronb · · Score: 1

      Speaking from inside: Yes it is; no they don't. Look at our last election cycle.

    43. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Basically ignoring the fact that Apple does not compete in every segment of the market, and then chugging Hatorade over it.

      So just like I said originally, to get Mac OS, you have to buy a heavily overpriced computer. Since that's the only segment they compete in.
      Again, that doesn't change just because Windows now sucks in yet another way.

    44. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 1

      ...it is too bad they do not offer a paid version of the OS without the spyware. This behavior is the best thing to happen for Apple sales in a long time.

      I agree.

      Apple not only doesn't care to market user data, it has additionally found that PRIVACY is actually a marketable and DISTINGUISHABLE FEATURE.

    45. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by ilsaloving · · Score: 1

      True, but then you're promising to only use the licenses for development purposes. MSDN subscriptions are not permitted for production (ie: end user) user.

    46. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You cant even write to a TEXT FILE on Android without downloading an app from the store, with all its could features and telemetry.

      I've been using TextWarrior, downloaded from F-Droid (no telemetry or other anti-features), since I was on Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread.

      Android still doesnt have a file manager that Google is willing to show to users (its hidden)

      I suppose you're talking about a specific version of Android, on a specific device. I currently have 2 Android devices, both of them with built-in file managers that show up on the Apps screen.

    47. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 1

      Even low end machines run very well with Gnome3/Unity/Cinnamon (and there's XFCE, if needed...): no need to buy overpriced stuff to run real OSes

      Real OSes without real Application support, you mean...

    48. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 2

      Basically every high end windows product blows an equivalently priced mac out of the water. Thats why everyone has spent the last few years complaining about apple, and why the latest refresh has been such a disappointment for people.

      ...and that must by why the latest refresh of the MacBook Pro are breaking all Sales Records, right?

    49. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If the web browser is your primary tool, why do you post here?

    50. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually it's an Alienware and it shits all over your shiny new Macbook in every possible way.

    51. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      whatever you say, comrade.

    52. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by fbobraga · · Score: 1

      You still live in the early 2000's? It's 2016: even virtualization (if needed) runs well on low end hardware now

    53. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by fbobraga · · Score: 1

      I'm not American...

    54. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's what they should do. A free verson with spyware and ads, and a premium version. I would pay $$$ for Win 10 no spyware edition.

      Not sure if you and GP are trolls, or just misled, but this confusion is an intentional side-effect of Microsoft's strategy. Let us nip it at the bud here on Slashdot: Windows 10 was never really "free". You could still go out and buy it at stores. New computers included it via OEM so you can be sure it wasn't "free" for system builders. For existing Windows 7 and Windows 8 ones, the free-as-in-beer upgrade period ended after exactly one year.
      As proof, here is the $90+Amazon's listing by MS itself.

    55. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 1

      They do. FTFA: "You can change the level under Diagnostic and usage data and also set the Feedback frequency to Never if you simply want to opt out."

      Which you will have to remember to RE-SET Every single time there's an Update, Security Patch, or it's Tuesday.

    56. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 1

      You cant even write to a TEXT FILE on Android without downloading an app from the store, with all its could features and telemetry...Android still doesnt have a file manager that Google is willing to show to users (its hidden). They tried removing the ability to read/write ext3/4 on Chrome...Google is the new MS.

      Wait! I thought one of the Fandroids complaints about IOS was lack of access to the filesystem via a built-in file manager.

      Now you're telling me that Android doesn't have a user-accessible File Manager either???

    57. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Five bucks says you can't get Win 10 running on that hardware without resorting to a VM.

      Just sayin'.

    58. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      To get Mac OS, you have to buy a heavily overpriced computer.

      You pay equivalent prices to get equivalent products from Apple's competitors, Hateboi. What Apple doesn't do is make $400 POS specials.

      There is a special kind of PC user. For some reason he has to hate the competition. As you noted, if you are going to buy a comparable product, you will pay a comparable price.

      Unfortunately, these guys think that it is somehow appropriate to compare the cheapest Black Friday Windows machine as an exact equivalent of a Mac Pro. And tryinf to reason with them is like talking to post-truth acolytes.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    59. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Nazi party was pretty socialist. Protection of workers right. Paid holidays. Free education (never mind it was propaganda). Free health care (never mind it was euthanasia or becoming a guinea pig for horror doctors). Central planned economy (never mind it was only to support the total war). The Nazi were pretty socialist. Socialism doesn't mean peace. And you can't simply say that when a socialist country isn't a peaceful country then it is not socialism. USSR, Venezuela, Nazi, North Korea, ... they are all socialist countries. I know it hurts the feelings of some die hard socialists, but you should not ignore what horrors socialism can lead to.

    60. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      Utter BS. My laptop is FAR superior to any Macbook and cost significantly less.

      What is it?

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    61. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      If the web browser is your primary tool, why do you post here?

      Slashdot exists to keep me amuse while I'm waiting for a script to finish running at work. I loved trolling the trolls.

    62. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      Five bucks says you can't get Win 10 running on that hardware without resorting to a VM.

      Pay up! See 5:15 of the YouTube link.

      The 8-Bit Guy: Is it Obsolete - The Core Duo MacBook?
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJw8aSxEFwQ

    63. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 1

      You still live in the early 2000's? It's 2016: even virtualization (if needed) runs well on low end hardware now

      Oh, for example, has Adobe ported their apps to Linux, and if so, which Distro?

      And if you are talking about running stuff under WINE (since we all know the answer to the question regarding Adobe Creative Cloud running directly on Linux), the answer still appears to be "not so much"...

    64. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      VMware player...

    65. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      OK... Forgot your medicine again?

    66. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 1

      VMware player...

      That's no more "not running Windows" than it would be to use BootCamp, Parallels, or VMWare Fusion on a Mac.

      Being "Free from Windows" MEANS JUST EXACTLY THAT. WINE Counts (but it will never "catch up"); but Virtualization and dual-booting does NOT, regardless if you are dual-booting on a "Wintel" machine that you consider a "Linux machine", or a Mac that you consider a "macOS" machine.

    67. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by mea2214 · · Score: 1

      I'm worried about a keylogger that would reveal usernames and passwords. Because of this I can't trust this box for any sensitive sites like banking even when doing most all browsing in a Virtual Box Ubuntu VM. Is there any way to verify Microsoft isn't keylogging?

    68. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "I just don't believe a word Microsoft says about monitoring or not monitoring users anymore, period."

      Correct, the big reason is the rich fear the political awakening of the masses, so they are integrating spying into everything to defend themselves.

      Basically the rich are worried the average everyday joe will wake up to the fact governments never worked for the people, aka they don't work for us, hence the spying. They are afraid that one day the average person might get a clue politically.

      See here former national security advisor of the united states:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7ZyJw_cHJY

      The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy And Its Geostrategic Imperatives

      https://www.amazon.com/Grand-Chessboard-American-Geostrategic-Imperatives/dp/0465027261/

      The man in the video wrote the above book, once you read it you'll understand that it is the citizens they are worried about, which is why all states are secretly going into lockdown/military alert status and the rule of law is effectively over.

      See here on the american militaries assessment of our future dystopia:

      https://theintercept.com/2016/10/13/pentagon-video-warns-of-unavoidable-dystopian-future-for-worlds-biggest-cities/

      More reading:

      https://williamblum.org/

    69. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If this is their "get you hooked" version, they aren't doing too well. I'm not anti-MS, but damn Win 10 is quite the crap-shoot. Huge steps backward from Win 7 (IMO).

    70. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1

      Is there any way to verify Microsoft isn't keylogging?

      I doubt it. Perhaps by logging all the outbound traffic and inspecting it closely, but if they've encrypted it or obfuscated it in some way then you might not spot it. In short, I don't think you can trust MS with your sensitive info no matter what they say.

      I do think that what you're doing,using a VM in Ubuntu, is probably pretty secure,

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    71. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Low end new machines run these well. How can I buy an Intel graphics board for my nine-year-old PC? I can't. Or I don't want to deal with the CPU overhead and a wasted 500MB RAM thanks. Autist US and German developers don't understand a $300 hardware upgrade to do the same things you were already doing is too much. Virgins who earn $50,000 a year can spend the $300, but not everyone can. If it comes down to that, a Windows 10 license will be cheaper.

    72. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How can I buy an Intel graphics board for my nine-year-old PC?

      Nine-year-old machine? Even here in Brazil, a very poor country, this kind of thing is junk/trash...

    73. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So - basically - it's a dell

    74. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Funny, because Adobe products run fine under Wine. Even faster than "natively" on Windows. That's because Linux-based OSes aren't unstable spyware, adware, malware shit like Windows.

    75. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nope. Dell may own Alienware, but Alienware still operates as a separate entity and they still build their own PCs independent of Dell.

      As far as Dell manufactured laptops go, try a Latitude instead of their low-end, consumer level crap (ie. Inspiron).

    76. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Alienware 17 (2016)

      Core i7 6820HK @ 4.1GHz
      32GB DDR4 RAM
      GeForce GTX 1060 w/6GB GDDR5 VRAM
      17" 3840x2160 matte IPS display
      500GB SSD
      1TB 7200 RPM SATA HDD

      Total cost was about $2300.

    77. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      Alienware 17 (2016)

      Core i7 6820HK @ 4.1GHz 32GB DDR4 RAM GeForce GTX 1060 w/6GB GDDR5 VRAM 17" 3840x2160 matte IPS display 500GB SSD 1TB 7200 RPM SATA HDD

      Total cost was about $2300.

      I understand. Cheaper than a mac by a factor of 100. My bottom level ipad air cost me my entire life's savings,

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    78. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by spire3661 · · Score: 1

      They added one in the latest version, but its not something they really want to support. We are in an era now where features are actively held back because of the fear idiots might access them, raising support costs.

      --
      Good-bye
    79. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The highest end Macbook Pro, which is still vastly inferior, costs $500 more.

    80. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      Alienware 17 (2016)

      A desktop replacement that weights as much as two Macbook Pro's put together? So much for comparing comparable products.

    81. Re: Although I would never trust them.. by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      So just like I said originally, to get Mac OS, you have to buy a heavily overpriced computer.

      No, it means they don't compete in the $400 POS special or 8 lbs desktop replacements the way Dell does, Hateboi. Do you think that the Prius is an overpriced car and Toyota is a shit company because they don't compete in the dually diesel pickup truck market?

    82. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Then try the Alienware 15 or 13 if you aren't strong enough to carry a few pounds. The display on the Macbook Pro is far too small and too low resolution for me. Also the weak performance and not being able to upgrade a single component in the Macbook are pretty big turn offs.

    83. Re:Although I would never trust them.. by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      Then try the Alienware 15 or 13 if you aren't strong enough to carry a few pounds.

      Far be it from me to begrudge someone the occasional sarcastic remark, but that doesn't explain why you tried to bring a wildly different product when the subject is comparable products.

      Also the weak performance and not being able to upgrade a single component in the Macbook are pretty big turn offs.

      Then don't fucking buy one. Buy whatever it is you want that does what you want. Do you hang around car lots and sneer at anyone who's shopping for a 15 passenger van because it doesn't do what you want - have the gas milage and parkability of a Prius?

      For 99% of consumers, the processor in a Macbook Pro will become obsolete far earlier than the 16 gigs of memory. You want more than that? Then buy what you want that does what you want - Zombie Jobs isn't holding a gun to your head.

  4. Duh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Seriously who is surprised by this breaking news?

  5. Of course they do. by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Duh.

    /thread

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  6. More and more and more butt sore by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is how some have gotten almost pregnant.

  7. PunkBuster for Windows 10 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and I stopped enjoying games that use PunkBuster not because I'm anti-cheating but because they causes all sorts of BSD and slowdowns.

  8. Can we moderate front page stories now. by wjcofkc · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Can we please moderate front page stories? Enough down modding and they fall off forever. A certain amount of up modding and it sticks. This would get a -1 Redundant from me.

    --
    Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
    1. Re:Can we moderate front page stories now. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If it were up to me, stories about Windows spyware would be in the news constantly. Why shouldn't it be? Do you want people to forget that it's there?

  9. Flabberghasted! by scunc · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I for one am shocked--SHOCKED!--that a company that needlessly tracks everything I do would turn around and sell that data to a 3rd party just to increase their profits. I mean, it's almost like they have no respect for the privacy of their users ...
    ---
    Windows 10--the world's first Freemium OS!

    1. Re:Flabberghasted! by DogDude · · Score: 2

      RTFA:
      You can change the level under Diagnostic and usage data and also set the Feedback frequency to Never if you simply want to opt out.

      --
      I don't respond to AC's.
    2. Re:Flabberghasted! by MyFirstNameIsPaul · · Score: 0

      Dollars to doughnuts that gets flipped after updates every six months or so.

      --

      I once took an excursion to Reddit, and later HN. Unlimited up/down voting sucks when dealing with a hive-mind.

    3. Re:Flabberghasted! by ilsaloving · · Score: 4, Informative

      Except that's not true (unless Microsoft has changed their minds again).

      The lowest Microsoft will permit you to go is Basic unless you are using Enterprise Edition.

    4. Re: Flabberghasted! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      According to the summary, no money was traded. This was a service for service, which tbh, FireEye could have gotten anyway as an AV like program.

    5. Re:Flabberghasted! by zerocommazero · · Score: 1

      You CAN'T fully Opt-out! The options are basic, Full or Enchanced. There is no disable option. There is a registry key but it is ignored unless you are using the Enterprise version.

    6. Re:Flabberghasted! by MyFirstNameIsPaul · · Score: 1

      As expected. Fanboys will be out in force on a thread like this.

      --

      I once took an excursion to Reddit, and later HN. Unlimited up/down voting sucks when dealing with a hive-mind.

  10. Go figure... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    I found it funny that the Windows 10 Anniversary Update can't install on any of my systems at home because the updater thinks my SSD's are USB sticks and it won't install on USB sticks.

    1. Re:Go figure... by Dorianny · · Score: 5, Informative

      I found it funny that the Windows 10 Anniversary Update can't install on any of my systems at home because the updater thinks my SSD's are USB sticks and it won't install on USB sticks.

      That's a problem with the firmware on SSD's that were released to work with the Windows 7 broken SSD support. SP1 fixed SSD support unfortunately the workaround used by the SSD manufacturers for pre SP1 made them appear as removable devices. Most SSD manufacturers released firmware updates to address the issue. I would check to see if there are firmware updates for yours even if you don't intend to upgrade to windows 10.

    2. Re:Go figure... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My Win7 did install on an SSD, but I still have an option to safely remove my C drive.
      I did unplug the (empty) multi- card reader, or else Windows did end up on the SSD, but called it drive H, with broke most Adobe and Autodesk software, especially when transferring profiles between computers with C and H system drive letters. I have long switches to Ubuntu for anything serious. I do hope this telemetry thing works out, because Microsoft needs all the help they can get. :-)

    3. Re:Go figure... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      Most SSD manufacturers released firmware updates to address the issue.

      No firmware update available for my SSD model that came out last year. Windows 10 was already installed on the hard drive before I got the SSD drives. I had no trouble migrating from HDD to SSD.

    4. Re:Go figure... by Dorianny · · Score: 1

      Most SSD manufacturers released firmware updates to address the issue.

      No firmware update available for my SSD model that came out last year. Windows 10 was already installed on the hard drive before I got the SSD drives. I had no trouble migrating from HDD to SSD.

      Try switching the SSD from AHCI to legacy IDE mode in the BIOS and see if the installer will accept it. No chance that the installer will see it as removable if its in IDE mode. If it works, before switching back to AHCI set HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\storahci\StartOverride from 3 to 0, or the system might not boot

    5. Re:Go figure... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Try switching the SSD from AHCI to legacy IDE mode in the BIOS and see if the installer will accept it. No chance that the installer will see it as removable if its in IDE mode. If it works, before switching back to AHCI set HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\storahci\StartOverride
      from 3 to 0, or the system might not boot

      I'm not the GP with the SSD problem, but thank you for this kind of contribution.
      The level of technical awareness and willingness to assist (even if the main story wasn't on the topic of SSDs) is one of the things I've loved about slashdot. /. as a forum has a nice combination of not being such supreme jerks, rules lawyers and read-the-manual enforcers even despite our biases and changing readership since the late nineties.

      I wish my technical and non-technical acquaintances were willing to give us more of a chance when I mention news or discussions I've read here.

    6. Re:Go figure... by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 1

      Most SSD manufacturers released firmware updates to address the issue.

      No firmware update available for my SSD model that came out last year. Windows 10 was already installed on the hard drive before I got the SSD drives. I had no trouble migrating from HDD to SSD.

      Try switching the SSD from AHCI to legacy IDE mode in the BIOS and see if the installer will accept it. No chance that the installer will see it as removable if its in IDE mode. If it works, before switching back to AHCI set HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\storahci\StartOverride from 3 to 0, or the system might not boot

      Wow! Windows is making installing LINUX look easy!

    7. Re:Go figure... by Dorianny · · Score: 1

      Wow! Windows is making installing LINUX look easy!

      You obviously haven't attempted a Linux Distribution install in a long time. Now-day's even Debian has a pretty straight-forward "click Next a bunch of times" Installer.

      Rest In Peace Ian Murdock

  11. Microsoft does respect user privacy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    I was a software engineer in Windows Client, back in the good old Vista days. Microsoft's telemetry relies on Event Tracing for Windows (ETW), the lowest latency logging mechanism possible in the operating system, and the ETL files produced therein are usually post-processed by a performance analyst or software engineer to review timing, call stack, and memory utilization. Older OS tools like Dr. Watson were components of the Windows Customer Experience Program, and we would get crash dumps and other data from people who opted in.

    Once, I wanted to look directly at a willing customer's machine remotely so I could gather some more information and do a debugging session. Remember, this was a willing customer who volunteered for this in his crash report. To do this, I had to go to a special training class on privacy and get permission from my management chain, just to look at the crash dump info.

    This except is from Microsoft's current telemetry policy, found here: https://technet.microsoft.com/itpro/windows/manage/configure-windows-telemetry-in-your-organization

    These are the same policies we had to follow then. We really had to follow them, or be fired. It's real.

    However, before more data is gathered, Microsoft’s privacy governance team, including privacy and other subject matter experts, must approve the diagnostics request made by a Microsoft engineer. If the request is approved, Microsoft engineers can use the following capabilities to get the information:

            Ability to run a limited, pre-approved list of Microsoft certified diagnostic tools, such as msinfo32.exe, powercfg.exe, and dxdiag.exe.

            Ability to get registry keys.

            All crash dump types, including heap dumps and full dumps.

    1. Re:Microsoft does respect user privacy by phresno · · Score: 1

      How does this apply to them wholesale sending data to 3rd parties who are not subject to their internal policies?

    2. Re:Microsoft does respect user privacy by QuietLagoon · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If Microsoft did respect user privacy, then Microsoft would not collect the telemetry data in Windows 10 and subsequently sell that data to third parties.

    3. Re:Microsoft does respect user privacy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If Micro$haft really did respect user privacy, they would not collect so called "telemetry data" at all, or at least there would be a simple single click box to turn off ALL data collection! And they would not turn all of the data collection back on with each forced update, forcing users to go through 13 screens of crap to turn back off all of it that they can! And non-M$ software would not be un-installed without the user's consent. Oh, and they wouldnâ(TM)t have used Malware tactics and forced installs to get people to downgrade to 10 from 7 or 8! Windows 10 is spyware/malware masquerading as an Operating System!

    4. Re:Microsoft does respect user privacy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The bullshit floweth over. If MS is so concerned with privacy, then why can't I as a paying customer shut the fucking telemetry off?

      Privacy only works as a policy implemented from top to bottom with no holes in between. I don't give two flying fucks whether you had to go to a "special training class". That just enforces the fact that the wall you speak of was indeed the strongest link in the entire privacy chain.

      The weakest? Do I even need to say it? Constantly sending data over the public internet to the mothership's server with no way for the client to opt-out without being a $1mm+ enterprise customer. Duh.

      Oh, and let's not even talk about the misleading Win 10 upgrade box that forced millions of computers to buy into this constant spying bullshit with no way out. And sneakily turning the privacy option buttons back on after the user applied a (forced) update.

      Marketing drives your revenue so you guys are a marketing company first and foremost, a software company distant second. Don't try to make it sound like you guys are all "engineery" and shit when it comes to privacy in the customer's best interest.

      Windows 10 is all about adjusting the customer's privacy level to that which maximizes Microsoft's revenue.

    5. Re:Microsoft does respect user privacy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How does this apply to them wholesale sending data to 3rd parties who are not subject to their internal policies?

      In the same way as the NSA does not spy on American citizens because GCHQ does it for them?

    6. Re:Microsoft does respect user privacy by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      How does this apply to them wholesale sending data to 3rd parties who are not subject to their internal policies?

      Who said anything about wholesale data?

      From what anyone knows they are getting part of the telemetry data. What does that mean? No one knows, because we don't even know what's being collected in the first place.

    7. Re:Microsoft does respect user privacy by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      If Microsoft did respect user privacy, then Microsoft would not collect the telemetry data in Windows 10 and subsequently sell that data to third parties.

      Not all data is equal. You want to share crash reports of mine? Go ahead. You want to share what's currently on my screen? GTFO!

      All we know is that in the grand scheme of things we know nothing because we don't know what is collected, we don't know how it is anonymised, and we don't know what or how it's shared.

      They could be protecting your privacy very well. They could also be sharing videos of you naked at your computer along with your name and telephone number.

    8. Re:Microsoft does respect user privacy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I don't know how this got modded up as high as it has. Your statement is not much more than 'selective' ancient facts mixed with 'selective' current facts and blended into a nice little story that doesn't represent any of the real facts.

      I was a software engineer in Windows Client, back in the good old Vista days

      That doesn't qualify you to say squat about windows 10. That's no better than saying "I was a mechanic back in the good old Model T days" like it gives you any expertise to comment on a modern fuel-injected auto mobile when all you've ever worked on are carburetors and crank starts. Things have changed and your past experience here is irrelevant.

      These are the same policies we had to follow then. We really had to follow them, or be fired. It's real.

      Again, what YOU had to do back in the day does not make it real today. The internet, and businesses built around, change daily.

      The 'excerpt' you selectively quoted was from the FULL level of telemetry (there are four levels: Basic, Enhanced, Security and Full). BTW Enhanced level is:

      "This is the default level for Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows 10 Education editions, and the minimum level needed to quickly identify and address Windows, Windows Server, and System Center quality issues"

      So it's not even 4 levels of telemetry in reality. It's just two. Enhanced (and everything that comes with the preceding levels) and Full.

      The last level of telemetry (Full) clearly states (from your quote) "before MORE data is gathered". More than the previous three levels. In fact, all Full level telemetry allows you to do 'more' of, is to run pre-approved tools on the device, get registry keys and crash dumps. That's it. ALL the telemetry has already been given up by the previous three levels, without any " Microsoft’s privacy governance team" intervention at all. That's not 'more information by permission', it's manually handling the box 'after all information has been given without permission'. Not that it matters, because it only applies to 'client organizations', not Microsoft itself. You really had to dig deep into the document to come up with your misleading quote. Makes me wonder why.

      Here are some other quotes from the document, from the levels that don't require any additional permissions:

      General app data and app data for Internet Explorer add-ons. Includes a list of apps that are installed on a native or virtualized instance of the OS and whether these apps function correctly after an upgrade. This app data includes the app name, publisher, version, and basic details about which files have been blocked from usage.

      App usage data. Includes how an app is used, including how long an app is used, when the app has focus, and when the app is started

      Internet Explorer add-ons. Includes a list of Internet Explorer add-ons that are installed on a device and whether these apps will work after an upgrade.

      Windows Store. Provides information about how the Windows Store performs, including app downloads, installations, and updates. It also includes Windows Store launches, page views, suspend and resumes, and obtaining licenses.

      Some crash dump types. All crash dump types, except for heap dumps and full dumps.

      And my favourite:

      If the Connected User Experience and Telemetry component detects a problem on Windows 10 that requires gathering more detailed instrumentation, the Connected User Experience and Telemetry component at the Enhanced telemetry level will only gather data about the events associated with the specific issue.

      Which is a catch all to collect anything, because ... 'problem'.
      And all of this applies to enterprise windows ONLY. Consumer users have no choice in deciding what telemetry levels they wish to allow.

    9. Re:Microsoft does respect user privacy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If Microsoft really respected user privacy, I would have the option to keep my data private and not send it to Microsoft, particularly given that the same document you link indicates that the mandatory "basic" telemetry includes "app usage data" that is either incredibly poorly worded, or is activity tracking of everything the user does on the computer.

    10. Re:Microsoft does respect user privacy by yuhong · · Score: 1

      This is a good time to mention https://blogs.technet.microsof...
      MS at least does have an attempt to protect privacy in crash dumps (dating long before Win10 BTW): https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.c...

    11. Re:Microsoft does respect user privacy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >To do this, I had to go to a special training class on privacy and get permission from my management chain, just to look at the crash dump info.
          Yes, that's to Cover Their Ass legally if you decide to be an unscrupulous snooper. Not to 'train you' into becoming ethical, )which is easily feigned).

      >We really had to follow them, or be fired. It's real.
          Yes, to keep the company legal. The Sword of Damocles would not be hanging over one's head if there was no potential for them to misbehave. If there is a mass-class needed to teach people how to be nice with such powerful tools, the tools are too powerful. If the imminent and ever-present temptation to abuse one's position of power can only be dimmed with legislation, perhaps the tool need not exist to begin with. PS: this is not aimed at you but rather the systems that need & demand this data- which the world did fine in the past without. They tried with reading tea-leaves, etc. but hey things still worked OK without this level of lifestyle penetration. In any other parlance this is called SPYING. But in tech it's metrics? WTH

      >Microsoft’s privacy governance team,... must approve the diagnostics request... If the request is approved...
          Again, these gates are in place to keep the spotlights on and communication going about the use of an invasive tool. The use of an invasive tool. The use of an invasive tool.

      All this paperwork and policy is written to ALLOW the use of controversial or unfavorable tools. The oversight merely 'legitimizes' it by keeping it under watch. This is akin to a burglar coming into a home loudly and announcing one's intent. Even if invited over for a Christmas party, willingly by another, yet as long as one is honest about one's dishonesty- it's OK.

      Look, the reason 'people are nervous & don't like telemetry' is it involves too many players that can get their hands on the data. Death by committee if you will. Somewhere, someone will F up- and the data is out. Of course by following policy no one will be blamed.

      Again not riding you, as a policy following staffer. But the rise of this need to know all is beyond the pale. It's downright pervy, and no amount of policy is protecting us. It's protecting the gatherers.

      PPS: as Quiet Lagoon says:
      "If Microsoft did respect user privacy, then Microsoft would not collect the telemetry data in Windows 10 and subsequently sell that data to third parties."

    12. Re:Microsoft does respect user privacy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Halleluah!

    13. Re:Microsoft does respect user privacy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      FYI: Crash dump may contain system memory, including the webcam.

    14. Re:Microsoft does respect user privacy by WaffleMonster · · Score: 1

      I was a software engineer in Windows Client, back in the good old Vista days. Microsoft's telemetry relies on Event Tracing for Windows (ETW), the lowest latency logging mechanism possible in the operating system, and the ETL files produced therein are usually post-processed by a performance analyst or software engineer to review timing, call stack, and memory utilization. Older OS tools like Dr. Watson were components of the Windows Customer Experience Program, and we would get crash dumps and other data from people who opted in.

      Once, I wanted to look directly at a willing customer's machine remotely so I could gather some more information and do a debugging session. Remember, this was a willing customer who volunteered for this in his crash report. To do this, I had to go to a special training class on privacy and get permission from my management chain, just to look at the crash dump info.

      This except is from Microsoft's current telemetry policy, found here: https://technet.microsoft.com/...

      Ability to run a limited, pre-approved list of Microsoft certified diagnostic tools, such as msinfo32.exe, powercfg.exe, and dxdiag.exe.

      Ability to get registry keys.

      All crash dump types, including heap dumps and full dumps.

      Nice try Microsoft Shill - DEFAULT "privacy" settings for Windows 10 grants MS this access. There is no OPT-IN or people explicitly granting anything there is only an IMPLICIT reliance on IGNORANCE.... You know those foolish enough to buy a computer and just use it as-is. They "deserve" what they get right?

      There is no dialogue or prompt or message the user sees to control or approve of explicit data being EXFILTRATED from their systems WITHOUT THEIR KNOWLEDGE. You don't even obtain EXPLICIT CONSENT. What you rely on is legalese buried in a bunch of bullshit nobody reads or understands.

      These are the same policies we had to follow then. We really had to follow them, or be fired. It's real.

      I suspect you'll find people simply don't give a fuck what policies you have or how the data is or is not being used. They just don't want their data being sent anywhere for any reason. Simply NONE of Microsoft's or anyone else's business.

    15. Re:Microsoft does respect user privacy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      hey but what about "your last patch broke my gaming rig" ... ignored .. against a third party saying "we think your driver update policy its breaking gaming experience"

    16. Re:Microsoft does respect user privacy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh my God, yes! The data their selling is stuff like "User 54FB2A34C32D3242 has Irfanview and XMplay installed." This is a gross violation of my personal privacy!!!!!! Grab your pitchforks, you fucking faggots!

    17. Re:Microsoft does respect user privacy by theskipper · · Score: 1

      Is this 2.0 version of "security through obscurity"...now it's "security through anecdote"?

    18. Re:Microsoft does respect user privacy by enrique556 · · Score: 1

      A microsoft software engineer who can't spell excerpt? Anyway..
      For microsoft to force users to surrender telemetry data, and then have the audacity to claim that they respect user privacy, is beyond the pale. You are completely and utterly out of touch with reality. The very fact that you have the opportunity to access users' data without their express permission is the problem; what you do with that data once you've taken it is beside the point.

    19. Re:Microsoft does respect user privacy by Waccoon · · Score: 1

      Policies are for the little people... like you.

      If the EULA basically translates to, "We do what the fuck we want and we can change our minds at any time and you automatically agree to said changes without even seeing them", then I'm not dealing with such a company.

    20. Re:Microsoft does respect user privacy by strikethree · · Score: 1

      These are the same policies we had to follow then. We really had to follow them, or be fired. It's real.

      While I have no reason to believe the veracity of your story, I will take it at its face value and give you some advice: The reason you were made to go to the class about privacy and such is because you are an engineer. This data is not for you. If you had been in marketing, the same data would have been available to you but without all of those pesky controls.

      --
      "Someone needs to talk to the tree of liberty about its ghoulish drinking problem." by ohnocitizen
  12. Overblown comments on this story! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I don't see an issue here. This company is no different than AVG and Kaspersky when it comes to anti-virus services. Both AVG and Kaspersky collect info to better detect threats. The new anti-virus feature that will be implemented into DEFENDER will greatly help against cyber threats. I doubt MS is monetizing your personal data. Regardless of what the patriot act says It's illegal for any company to take what ever is on your hard drive(personal files) and sell it to third parties.

    1. Re:Overblown comments on this story! by fbobraga · · Score: 1

      DEFENDER

      any serious business had really used this shit? I think not...

    2. Re:Overblown comments on this story! by JohnFen · · Score: 1

      This company is no different than AVG and Kaspersky when it comes to anti-virus services.

      It's very different. With software from AVG or anyone else, you have a choice. If you object to their collection practices, you can simply not use their software. That's not really the case with Windows for most people. You're locked in, and you can't turn the collection off.

  13. I'm worried, but not concerned by ZipK · · Score: 1, Insightful

    If you're worried about that, the news that Microsoft is sharing telemetry data with third parties might concern you.

    I'm worried about this, but not concerned, because my worry motivated me to drop Microsoft entirely.

    1. Re: I'm worried, but not concerned by UltraZelda64 · · Score: 1

      You only just now decided to do that? I jumped off that sinking ship known as XP when the dark storm known as Vista started approaching and became too close for comfort. This was 2004-2006... there was a brief transition period during tht time when I was dual-booting but almost always using Linux, but since I blew away those NTFS partitions I never looked back. It's been great.

    2. Re: I'm worried, but not concerned by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are a large number of people, myself included, who like playing PC games. We are stuck with Windows unfortunately. I tried running Ubuntu for six months and put up with the poor games support and trying to bodge games through WINE. It just doesn't work, unless you like feeling like you wasted money on good hardware to run games that perform like they're running on a 6 year old Apple Mac.

      If I had any other choice, I would drop Windows like a stone, but there are no other choices currently. Console gaming is not for us.

    3. Re: I'm worried, but not concerned by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 1

      You only just now decided to do that? I jumped off that sinking ship known as XP when the dark storm known as Vista started approaching and became too close for comfort. This was 2004-2006... there was a brief transition period during tht time when I was dual-booting but almost always using Linux, but since I blew away those NTFS partitions I never looked back. It's been great.

      And I've never OWNED a Windows-based computer. My only experiences with them have been through employers, or others that asked me to troubleshoot their (many and varied) Windows issues.

      For that, I am forever grateful that I don't have to deal with that crap on my Apple gear. Because I am their Customer, not their Product.

    4. Re: I'm worried, but not concerned by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Honestly, I would either:

      1. Dual-boot; have your gaming OS (Windows) on one partition, and a "real work" OS on another. However, because games are massive disk space and other system resource hogs and repartitioning/resizing can be a pain in the ass, this is not optimal in many situations. Instead,

      2. Just have a "real work" machine and a "proper" souped-up gaming machine.

      Personally, I would pick two, but I know there's always going to be the complaint (probably from you yourself) that:

      3: I don't want to have to re-boot all the time and I don't want to spend the money on two machines, and I don't want to have two different user interfaces and [insert more of the dozens of possible arguments here]! In that case, just continue doing what you're doing... run Windows and only Windows on one machine. Because gaming is so important, and real work is not. Or something.

      In that case, just continue to do what you're doing. It's all up to you. No option is inherently wrong, but the third is certainly the last one I would consider.

  14. Spybot Anti Beacon by nospam007 · · Score: 1

    Just get Spybot anti beacon, and you're good to go, no more phoning home.

    1. Re:Spybot Anti Beacon by Rick+Schumann · · Score: 1

      Sure. Until Windows anti-malware starts identifying Spybot as malware and deletes it.

    2. Re:Spybot Anti Beacon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Anti-beacon stopped working for me on a Win7 VM. Not sure if it was the result of a "security" update or something else, but I ended up deleting that VM and copying in a backup. And now I quit doing updates on 7.

  15. NAWBO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    On the road to retardation, travel Apple and Microsoft:
    http://www.macrumors.com/2016/11/25/apple-ssd-data-recovery-macbook-pro/

    This kind of jackassery, asshattery, dumbassery, and all-out boneheaded fuckery are the results of the diabolical machinations of NAWBO (http://www.nawbo.org/).

    1. Re:NAWBO by fbobraga · · Score: 1

      totally unrelated things, Sexist Anonymous Coward...

  16. Senate Investigation of Microsoft by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Call your congressperson today and demand a Senate investigation of Microsoft business practices and the Windows invasion of U.S. citizens' privacy. If that doesn't work, then we can always go to Redmond with truck bombs and blow them the fuck up -- but let's try the LEGAL way first, k?

  17. You are the product. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Users are licensed, not sold.

  18. Re:Microsoft is just another Amway to me. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    More like... Microsoft is like Jehovah's Witnesses and keep knocking on your door until you submit to conversion.

  19. FireEye has a product called iSIGHT?? by haruchai · · Score: 1

    Hope they've put aside some money to defend against a lawsuit from Apple

    --
    Pain is merely failure leaving the body
  20. So Microsoft gets caught lying again. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nothing new there.

    But SOMETIME legal action will have to be taken.

  21. "Telemetry" Is More Than It Sounds... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Telemetry data recorded by Windows 10 is, in a nutshell, just technical information about the device the OS is on, and how Windows and any installed software is performing, but it can occasionally include personal information.

    That bit "about any installed software," includes per Microsoft's own documentation on the mandatory Basic telemetry level:
    App usage data. Includes how an app is used, including how long an app is used, when the app has focus, and when the app is started
    So basically a record of every program you run, when you ran it, when you were looking it, and how long you ran it for.

    1. Re:"Telemetry" Is More Than It Sounds... by q4Fry · · Score: 1

      Mod parent informative.

  22. Surprised there is so much to share by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    Microsoft Shares Windows 10 Telemetry Data

    Back when I used Windows there were many times I wanted to throw the computer across the room, but I never actually did it...

    Windows 10 must be one hell of an update.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  23. What prevents monetizing personal data? Nothing. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Microsoft is apparently slowly letting people know about the invasions to which they would least object. That doesn't mean there aren't more invasions about which everyone should object.

    Do you trust the 3rd party? How can you know?

  24. Re:What prevents monetizing personal data? Nothing by yuhong · · Score: 1

    For the most part, they do keep SQM and crash dumps etc separate from ad tracking though.

  25. Microsoft should move 100% to hardware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    People actually still use Windows? WTF?

    For decades I have enjoyed Microsoft hardware. It's all not all perfect but it's pretty damn good compared to the competition. Maybe they should just stop the whole software game and do something they're actually good at.

    And no, I don't use Apple shit either.

  26. Use Shut Up Windows 10 by Sarusa · · Score: 1

    If you're on Win 10 and you care, use Shut Up Windows 10 ( https://www.oo-software.com/en... ).

    You'll have less telemetry than Windows 7 or 8, MacOS, and probably Ubuntu (I forget, are they spying this month or not?).

    1. Re:Use Shut Up Windows 10 by Motherfucking+Shit · · Score: 1

      If you're on Win 10 and you care

      Those two are mutually exclusive. If you care about your privacy, you aren't on Windows 10.

      --
      "BSD: Free as in speech. Linux: Free as in beer. Windows 10: Free as in herpes." --Man On Pink Corner in #52607549.
    2. Re:Use Shut Up Windows 10 by Sarusa · · Score: 1

      You use what you need to. Sometimes I use Windows, sometimes I use BSD, sometimes I use MacOS, sometimes I use Debian, sometimes CentOS yadda yadda yadda. The craftsman skill is to know the strengths and weaknesses of each one and how to fix them. They're all sgreat in various ways and all shit in various ways and they can all be redeemed if you know how.

      Or you can just hold your nose and be RMS tootling his recorder while dancing in a tutu.

  27. It's what Microsoft will do to you tomorrow. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Telemetry collected today is only half the problem.

  28. Only use Microsoft for games by AHuxley · · Score: 1

    Every file could get realtime scans with networked checksums. So don't have any files of interest to any NGO, gov, charity, mil or the private sector on any Windows computer.

    --
    Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    1. Re:Only use Microsoft for games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      exactly, you are only supossed to use windows for games to begin with

      and you should be using the enterprise version, and if you arent a company then FOR FUCKS SAKE just pirate it and be done with this fighting with the home and pro versions, there is no need for you to do that, get the version you NEED, any means necessary, and fuck them

  29. US government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... Microsoft may share business reports with OEM ...

    Microsoft has your details so the US government has your details, and maybe other governments too. The problem here is selling the same data multiple times: The more times the information is shared, the more opportunity for your details to become public information. That's a problem for the buyers, because they paid for restricted information that is now free. It's a problem for you because you are exposed to identity thieves and scam-artists and any fanatic who disapproves of your lifestyle. Those businesses lose a little money so they will only make a token effort to secure your details: You lose your peace of mind and entitlement to privacy, a far worse outcome.

  30. Using normal user data to help enterprise. Strange by Streetlight · · Score: 1

    My question involves differences in the ways which the normal users use their Home editions of Windows 10 software and enterprise users use the various enterprise editions. How can the telemetry data from home users be used to help enterprise users? First, I'm guessing no enterprise is ever going to allow telemetry data to escape its premises. I would also expect any enterprise is going to try to make use of the strongest security measures possible, although we sometimes read about incredible stupidity when enterprise data is compromised. Enterprises want to protect their proprietary secrets. Anyway, I'm not sure the telemetry data from home users would be too much value in solving enterprise problems particularly if they involve security considering the kinds of attacks that enterprises suffer compared to that of home users. Discovering other difficulties with enterprise software from problems with home software seems a stretch.

    Other Questions: What's FireEye going to do with the data and how secure is it in their hands?

    --
    In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. George Orwell
  31. Ever notice? by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1
    In every Windows telemetry story we get here, the first couple comments deny the truth, then ist' soff to the races deflecting the truth to the olde Windows Versus Mac chestnut.

    The post truth is strong in the Slashdeflectors.

    As proof, watch this get modded down as flamebiat or troll in 3..2..1..

    --
    The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  32. Enterprise customers benefit? by Trogre · · Score: 1

    The only thing enterprise customers benefit from is the ability to turn it off.

    --
    "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
    1. Re:Enterprise customers benefit? by vandamme · · Score: 1

      How many times do you see "In order to better serve our customers....." , and how many times do you believe it?

    2. Re:Enterprise customers benefit? by DeVilla · · Score: 1

      That benefit has just increased in value. Money well spent?

  33. long story short by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    lol they could hear users complaints on forums and do a better job

  34. Based on what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Some language from an article that contains no evidence or guarantees from MS or FireEye that ALL telemetry data, vs Windows Defender telemetry data, is being shared with FireEye?

  35. fake by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    fake news story