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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."
...not really, you buy their product and then they sell you as a product.
It's a trustworthy operating system.
...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.
Seriously who is surprised by this breaking news?
Duh.
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
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 ...
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Windows 10--the world's first Freemium OS!
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
Just get Spybot anti beacon, and you're good to go, no more phoning home.
Hope they've put aside some money to defend against a lawsuit from Apple
Pain is merely failure leaving the body
totally unrelated things, Sexist Anonymous Coward...
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.
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
For the most part, they do keep SQM and crash dumps etc separate from ad tracking though.
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?).
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"
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
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.
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