Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft To Enhance User Privacy Controls In Upcoming Windows 10 Update (hothardware.com)
MojoKid writes: When Microsoft first launched Windows 10, it was generally well-received but also came saddled with a number of privacy concerns. It has taken quite a while for Microsoft to respond to these concerns in a meaningful way, but the company is finally proving that it's taking things seriously by detailing some enhanced privacy features coming to a future Windows 10 build. Microsoft is launching what it calls a (web-based) privacy dashboard, which lets you configure anything and everything about information that might be sent to back to the mothership. You can turn all tracking off, or pick and choose, if certain criteria don't concern you too much, like location or health activity, for example. Also, for fresh installs, you'll be given more specific privacy options so that you can feel confident from the get-go about the information you're sending Redmond's way. If you do decide to send any information Microsoft's way, the company promises that it won't use your information for the sake of targeted advertising.
If I'm using a web based console to change my local OS privacy settings, I'm guessing I'm telling some server that's already collecting the info just not to use the info it's already collecting.
1. Transgress 100 meters
2. Say you're sorry
3. Backtrack 75 meters.
4. Profit from more analytics gold than you know what to do with.
This is the same way horrific laws are passed. First they propose something completely absurd, then "compromise" with something slightly less absurd.
Eat shit Microsoft.
This sounds like a good move. While they're giving users some control back, can we get back the ability to control when updates run?
From TFS: "When Microsoft first launched Windows 10, it was generally well-received"
By whom? I don't recall much in the way of rave reviews except from paid promotors. I do recall quite a few people saying they'll stay on Windows 7, thank you.
No Microsoft, this is NOT good enough. We've already TOLD YOU that this is not good enough. We do NOT accept your telemetry data tracking. We do NOT accept your control over updates. We do NOT accept your attempt to turn everything to another FREAKIN' app store WE DON'T WANT TO USE.
STOP trying to BABY STEP us into OS choices that WE DO NOT WANT. Turn it off or be replaced by the next half way decent OS option. Many of us already 'broke' out update ability not mater how many times you try to reinstall it with a forced patch. We just disabled ALL updates and we're not going to STOP until you start listening.
I "upgraded" to Win10 because I was about to click on something when the "psst! Hey bud, wanna upgrade?" window appeared. It started upgrading and I was afraid to stop it.
My opinions? The uptime is less than a week. It reboots whenever it wants without asking. Working on something, lunchtime, close the laptop, come back an hour later? Oh hey, fucking machine rebooted. Not to mention some of these updates take a good 20 minutes after the reboot to finally come up.
The spying pisses me off. I disable most of it, but after every "upgrade" they turn it all back on.
And it's flakey. With Win8.1 this laptop worked fine for months on end, only rebooting when I told it to. With Win10 after 4-5 days I'll open my laptop to find it won't wake up and I have to power cycle it.
IMHO, any OS that reboots without asking is a POS nobody should support. Microsoft doesn't know what I'm doing when the laptop is closed, how the hell do they feel entitled to reboot my machine without asking?
.
At this point I am skeptical that this system actually prevents the collection of data from Windows 10 systems.
But presuming this nifty new privacy system works, what is to stop Microsoft from suddenly saying that they are now removing privacy controls?
Is this just an empty promise on Microsoft's part to get everyone to move to Windows 10? What sort of assurances are in place that guarantee the privacy controls will continue to work in future upgradtes and releases?
Remember when everyone was complaining about Microsoft's security issues? Microsoft actually did an admirable job cleaning up that leaky ship.
This is true. And while I have no evidence to support it, I suspect that the whole telemetry stuff is meant to give them information about how the system behaves in various situations for engineering purposes, not ads. This impression is based in part on the fairly decent level of privacy in hotmail/outlook.com compared to other free mail providers like gmail or yahoo where they milk your inbox to tweak ads.
Firefox has the same kind of telemetry features. Chrome too. And pretty much everything else. But when it comes from Microsoft people freak out first, ask questions later.
This being said, once they started to push hard to have people use "Microsoft accounts" instead of local accounts to login on Windows it became obvious that something was changing so maybe they are truly a bunch of fuckers nowadays.
lucm, indeed.