Microsoft has been silently removing malware from users' computers for years now. What do you think the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool does?
The only new thing here is that this particular piece of malware contained an otherwise-legitimate open-source component, which Microsoft decided to remove as well. I believe there's nothing wrong with that decision since it's been used as part of the malware and for malicious purposes. In this case the decision is even more justified since having Tor installed, even without the original malware, can have consequences to the user, such as a substantial drop in available bandwidth.
Even then, Microsoft made sure that they only remove instances of Tor installed by the malware and not copies that users knowingly installed so I really see no problem here.
When Microsoft decides to remove Firefox or VLC or any other open-source stuff just because it competes with their products, please inform me and I'll ditch Windows altogether. Until then, I'll keep the Windows MRT installed and updated.
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Microsoft has been silently removing malware from users' computers for years now. What do you think the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool does? The only new thing here is that this particular piece of malware contained an otherwise-legitimate open-source component, which Microsoft decided to remove as well. I believe there's nothing wrong with that decision since it's been used as part of the malware and for malicious purposes. In this case the decision is even more justified since having Tor installed, even without the original malware, can have consequences to the user, such as a substantial drop in available bandwidth. Even then, Microsoft made sure that they only remove instances of Tor installed by the malware and not copies that users knowingly installed so I really see no problem here. When Microsoft decides to remove Firefox or VLC or any other open-source stuff just because it competes with their products, please inform me and I'll ditch Windows altogether. Until then, I'll keep the Windows MRT installed and updated.