Wow, if they are so economical (cheap) they use reservation tech from that era, maybe they'd consider hiring contractors from India to give the system an overhaul. Of course the contracting firm will probably just hand it over to a bunch of juniors who will then use techniques/tech/flaws from the 1990's, but that's still an improvement, right?
Be careful what you wish for. The spy stuff in Windows 10 can be inserted into Windows 7 with an update "enhancement" The spy transmission components are apart of windows 10 internals after all.:D Oh, I recommend you turn off auto updates on Windows 7 (while you still can) as MS has made clear they will push ANYTHING into their updates, no matter how unstable, untested or unethical. The trend towards android boxes, tables and phones is pushing OS's into a less open direction and more towards a black box. (like XBox or Wii). The answer to the stablility/trust vs security updates is simply, wait for professionals to test the updates (at least 1 months, but I'd say 2) and when reports come back, then and only then install a new update into windows 7. (those saying that Windows is a lower cost of ownership compared to linux may want to take concerns like this into account)
Okay, seriously. What do you expect MS to say. "Windows 7 is more private so stick with that?". Right. Recently MS released an update that have the option of "send less of your data". but no option to turn it off completely. And it's VERY difficult to turn automatic updates off (you have to basically hack it to bring that to a stop but telling it your network is metered. Would you trust anyone who puts in such lack of user controls and extraction of metadata from every file the OS sees? Those who want to lower cost in maintenance in setting up traps to stop leaking data and stopping auto updates from adding even more stuff you don't want, go to Linix (Mint Linux is the easiest). It's an easy choice world. Ms pushing people so they can collect more data for themselves (and the NSA) is creepy. We all need to say a simple word to MS: "No".
The whole point of net neutrality is to keep people from sabotaging or blacking companies for faster transmission than "preferred" individuals. Communications love it when you can add fees for "preferred" data rates. Companies were "negotiating" with NetFlix and one if their tactics if I remember correctly was slowing their traffic down. When Netflix caved on an issue I cannot recall, their speed when up. Coincidence, I think not.
There is a flaw here I believe: If the registered owner and ONLY the registered owner an remotely control the item in question, it's theirs. What you may not be taking into account is the corporations have the remote control access and they alone have final say, NOT the registered/verified person who purchased the car. So under this system, the company still owns the car because they control it and can override anything you do regardless of whether or how much you paid for it. And they can revoke that ownership at anytime for any reason. Meaning...you don't control your own product, you don't own it. IT can be stolen from you without anyone entering your car. So the stealing gun comparison isn't applicable here. Plus in this instance, the item can steal YOU.;-)
So basically, we are starting to implement China's form of censorship. Want to protest? Top visiting sites that censor this way. Facebook, for example, is hardly a necessity. Part of free speech is figuring out phoney from fact. Besides, what's to say that what they label as "true" isn't approved propaganda? It's always easy to invent justifications for censorship. In the USA, there is one against it the NSA continues to ignore: The Constitution.
This is a classic example of how even when you pay for a car, you don't really own it. (kind of like iPhones) Anyone could give any reason for "hijacking" the car. If the OWNER of the car could do this, okay. But this had to be done by BMW CORPORATE. Bit of a difference. Cars today should be scaring us. One has to assume any car with a remote lock can remotely imprison you. It's like that scene in the movie "Minority Report": you can be locked in your own car and "kidnapped" to whereever "big brother" (or smarter hacker using big brothers back doors) says you should be taken and that could create a LOT of havoc. We should seriously be rethinking this. You can say "big win against thieves" this is really a side effect, not the primary purpose. The real purpose, is to keep complete ownership of the vehicles and you in the hands of big brother + corporate. The obvious ability to be abused by government agencies and hackers alike don't matter to the creators or the governments that promote them. I wonder if Russian cars are implementing this feature yet. (Putin would LOVE it I'm sure). It's like that NSA information dragnet;it was never designed to protect the common citizen, just the common interests of those who already have perhaps a bit too much power already.
MS is funny. That application has been so outdated compared to half a dozen open source apps or even relatively simple javascript apps, it was embarrassing. I went to GIMP/GIMPshop awhile back. If they had done this 10 years ago, I might have been impressed. Now, I'll stick to my GIMP or perhaps Blender if I want serious 3D "painting". (A 7 year old taught himself to use this program a couple years ago, he'll never go to MS Paint again. LOL)
This info was never for the student, teacher or school benefit as a whole. It's true purposes was political thought policing. Kind of obvious when you think about it. What is chilling, is that sp,e school voluntarily tried this out. Wonder of parents were asked for consent before putting the students on it....
Uh, Linux is open. MS is more like, "open season" for hackers since MS leaves so many holes and doorways it's like open season especially with Windows 10.
I'm not sure Chomski or Snowden or even myself would agree with you there. While people have foolishly given a LOT of information to these companies, do not forget that these companies claimed openly verbally and in writing that they would not sell your information to third parties in an identifiable form. Now I suspect that is still true as the info to my knowledge wasn't sold, it was GIVEN to the NSA without any specific cause against any individual or even group of individual, because they were taking it ALL for use later to lookup anyone who challenged the status quo. It was never about selling data (as you put it), it was about giving (paid or unpaid) information it it's raw form, which identifies individuals which the public was assured in various ways would not happen. Of course they sell collective data, and most assumed this was going on.
The type of tyranny this represents is monumental and completely undermines the idea of any sort of democracy. Reason being, they can interfere with your opinion far more easily (and they already are) and target key individuals who might lead a group with a specific set of opinions those "upstairs" don't want expressed. An example of how this could be used can be seen in Watergate, where the Republican party did "rat fucking", sabotaging the political opposition, which destroys not only democracy, but in spirit a free market and certainly free speech.
If these companies did "all they could" to protect privacy, they would have told the agencies "no", possibly shut down the company and destroyed the data (not necessarily in that order). Sure, the NSA would have retaliated but given the huge public attention this would have gotten worldwide plus these companies are to this day contributing lots of money to various politicians, it probably would have gone the way it did with Clinton with her illegal email server: a public scolding, but nothing more. But the added benefit to the public would have been the NSA would have brought this project to a halt for fear of PR and economic repercussions. However, their only concern (as Greenwald pointed out) was their wallets and public perception. TrueCrypt people DID do everything they could to protect privacy by shutting down rather then building in backdoors and by doing so, told the public what was going on (without saying so, so they were gagged under threat). Of course a law was introduced later saying that you can't shut your company down if you get certain requests, which is basically exercising eminent domain on private enterprises; in essence, government slavery removing the very concept of private property or enterprise. Basically, a government state where the government owns everything. The true test of a company being prepared to do "everything it could" to protect privacy or anything, is it's demonstrated willingness to sacrifice itself (like a soldier in essence) to protect something important to it. No company listed on Snowden's chart (and certainly not yahoo) has shown it's willingness to do this. Apple so far, has come the closest of any worldwide corporation in recent history. It's not enough, but a step in the right direction even if it's stance was in the name of self interest.
Okay, I listed this before and I'll do it again, because...this is important. There are alternatives to yahoo, MS and Google and we need to hold the to a higher standard.
Checkout these web mail alternatives
See Snowden's chart on video below. Google has been in bed with the NSA for at least 3 years. Apple for 2. Microsoft was one of the first way before Google as far back as 1999 I believe. See this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
Again, see how Microsoft is at the bottom left of this chart, meaning they were in "bed" the longest. And notice how MS got more and more aggressive since the WGA was introduced, and people didn't understand what it truly represented and didn't raise any objections. That was when I went full blown to Linux. was the best decision I ever made in IT.
While nothing is foolproof, that is the general idea. Anyone who is a doctor, lawyer or handles confidential data should not be using MS Windows while viewing/interacting with that data. Cellphone too, Cyanogen is what I use for cell phone use (and I cover my camera:D) PrivatOS may have possibilities too. (Yes Blackberry was giving data to the NSA for a couple years, but I believe that was directly from Blackberry, not leaked from the OS directly. Time will tell.) Android and iOS I suspect are preinfected/compromised out of the box (or at least out of the service provider shops/stores)
Since those on top are either above the law (see Clinton family) or arrange the law/enforcement system so they effectively are, we clearly need a higher standard. Kind of like IBM doing business with Nazi Germany. Sure it was legal; The USA wanted business from Germany, IBM wanted to make money from Germany, it didn't affect us (or so we thought) so we went on ahead with no sense of morality. IBM knew what was going on. It didn't care. Yahoo (and others, yahoo the only one, see reports on Snowden's release papers) also had deals with China leading to the arrest and torture to human rights advocates there (as covered in a Senate hearing). there are outside alternatives Yes, some governments (Sweden, Germany, France I believe) are apparently working with the USA, but at least it's not likely to be accessed as quickly (and it's encrypted). Checkout these web mail alternatives
https://www.vmail.me/en/ https://countermail.com/ http://www.neomailbox.com/ http://www.e-mail-made-in-germ...
We all have a choice, if we decide to. Let's exercise that ability while we still have it. I believe in the idea "Use it or lose it". Like the election in the USA. Can can STILL vote for Sanders. Yes, you CAN fill in his name on the ballot. It's not necessarily A or B as the two parties would have you believe. We can still choose. Like web mail, we have other choices than the big 3 (Microsoft, Gmail, Yahoo). Time to think outside the boxes put in front us. And to Yahoo, well, didn't have much faith/trust in them before, I have even less now.
Gee, doesn't it make MORE sense to run Windows in Linux (VirtualBox, Proxmox, KVM). Safer, easier to audit network activity. It's amazing how people don't seem to see the light, even when the potion is on the table in front of them saying "drink me" AND they know people who have already tasted the potion and haven't died, or gotten sick.
I think we all know that our governments are collecting our data on everyone in every way possible. I'm surprised they are using planes. Just use the cameras in People's cell phones. In Canada the RCMP mine cell phone data and we have planes patrolling Toronto in evenings. And to those playing Pokemon Go, you think the gaming companies are the only ones using that data you send during your hunts? This is beyond what I ever imagined after reading 1984. I think even Orwell would be surprised: People installing software on their mobile cell phones that are being used like voluntary tracking ankle bracelets. Tin Foil hat's and Fariday cages anyone?
So does this mean people who haven't disabled the Windows Update Service can breath easy knowing their PC's will no longer "upgrade" to Windows 10 without explicit permission from the user? (Those who DID disable their windows update service as we all should should probably keep it that way, these days nothing seems to be beneath MS these days). For those who need their PC's exorcised I say these words: "The Power of lawsuits, compel you, the power of lawsuits compel you". If that fails, remember, these is always the power of Linux. (Suggest ElementaryOS or Linux Mint to start)
People has been sheepish on this topic up to now. The "Ghost" upgrades I've had reported boggle my mind. For one thing, there are changes to the EULA regarding what Microsoft is allowed to collect (and put in) to your computer and since it's automated, there was no actual consent to these changes done by any human being, which I believe if tested by the courts, would prove to be illegal due to lack of "meeting of the minds" because the owner was not present to read it during the automatic upgrade. Wonder why MS didn't consider this one before trying to force feed this bloat/spyware on happy MS Windows 7 users.
Okay, MS was push windows 10 udpates to unwilling victims who were helpless resist unless they had windows administration knowledge. How does that make it "the biggest thing". More like the biggest digital hijacking operation in history.
I have told people in my circles for years that relying on "cloud" backups is an invitation for disaster for a few reasons:
1. It's not your server, even with legal agreements (how enforcible they are can vary from country to country), someone could hit the "rm" script and bye-bye data. Suing (even if it is an option) can't get the data back.
2. If you lose your connectivity to the Internet or the site, or the service provider is out of business, your data is effectively gone temporarily or permanently).
3. Any staff member can view that data. encryption (which can be intentionally weak or have a back door) can be used against you without you even knowing it...(until it's too late to do anything)
We are a culture taught to "set and forget" and this artist, like most of us, got caught up on the idea that is data would be kept safe, which is exactly the mindset on that groups like Google, Iron Mountain, DropBox, Microsoft, Apple and many other "cloud providers" intentionally provide.The only way to be sure your data is secure (assuming you don't care who views it as much as making sure it's preserved) is to have your OWN local backup in addition to a cloud drive. You can create your own cloud drives to reduce the number of people likely to have access to the data (remember encryption is NOT a guarantee of security).
There are many programs (free and commercial) that can help with your backups. Areca (open source/free/user friendly), Acronis (commercial, user friendly) and other products like Bacula (less user friendly), Bareos (Bacula fork). there are others, list here:
http://www.enterprisestoragefo...
Most people will be happy with Areca:
http://www.areca-backup.org/in...
We all have to remember we have to protect our own data and not get "headlight" frozen by everybody repeating "cloud storage" in our ears to the point it overrides our common sense. We have so many tools available to the public to protect ourselves and our data now. All we need to do is turn on our common sense/brains.
I feel for this artist, but he should at least be a reminder to all of us of the truth we all know but somehow keep ignoring. Oh, at $150 CAD for 2 TB, we don't really have price as an excuse. Oh, also remember hard drives often die between 3-5 years (enterprise, Western Digital Black, Hitachi Ultrastar) or 1-3 years (Western Digital Black, i.e, green blue, red, purple, Hitachi Deskstar series). I don't mention Seagate because I've had too many bad experiences with them. I assume 1-2 years for their drives based on experience and test of Meantimes between failure, but Seagate drives are the cheapest, so for datacenters they are popular with their RAID 6 and RAID 10 setups.
We created an economic system that rewards actions that create profit at the expense of quality of living. And the funny thing is...on average Seagate has worst MTBF (Mean time between failures). The cheapest price (and quality) drives found a way to be cheaper, and the stock market soars.Seagate, the McDonald's of Hard drives.
Is this really a surprise? If it weren't for federal laws requiring competitors be allowed to participate in Canada, we'd only have Bell (Canada), Rogers and Shaw for providing ANY Internet access and consequently, crazy high prices for Internet services abusing their monopoly. Fortunately our laws require those companies with the physical infrastructure to provide at wholesale prices so resell to end customers. Food for thought..
Slashdot Mirror
Wow, if they are so economical (cheap) they use reservation tech from that era, maybe they'd consider hiring contractors from India to give the system an overhaul. Of course the contracting firm will probably just hand it over to a bunch of juniors who will then use techniques/tech/flaws from the 1990's, but that's still an improvement, right?
Be careful what you wish for. The spy stuff in Windows 10 can be inserted into Windows 7 with an update "enhancement" The spy transmission components are apart of windows 10 internals after all. :D Oh, I recommend you turn off auto updates on Windows 7 (while you still can) as MS has made clear they will push ANYTHING into their updates, no matter how unstable, untested or unethical. The trend towards android boxes, tables and phones is pushing OS's into a less open direction and more towards a black box. (like XBox or Wii). The answer to the stablility/trust vs security updates is simply, wait for professionals to test the updates (at least 1 months, but I'd say 2) and when reports come back, then and only then install a new update into windows 7. (those saying that Windows is a lower cost of ownership compared to linux may want to take concerns like this into account)
Okay, seriously. What do you expect MS to say. "Windows 7 is more private so stick with that?". Right. Recently MS released an update that have the option of "send less of your data". but no option to turn it off completely. And it's VERY difficult to turn automatic updates off (you have to basically hack it to bring that to a stop but telling it your network is metered. Would you trust anyone who puts in such lack of user controls and extraction of metadata from every file the OS sees? Those who want to lower cost in maintenance in setting up traps to stop leaking data and stopping auto updates from adding even more stuff you don't want, go to Linix (Mint Linux is the easiest). It's an easy choice world. Ms pushing people so they can collect more data for themselves (and the NSA) is creepy. We all need to say a simple word to MS: "No".
The whole point of net neutrality is to keep people from sabotaging or blacking companies for faster transmission than "preferred" individuals. Communications love it when you can add fees for "preferred" data rates. Companies were "negotiating" with NetFlix and one if their tactics if I remember correctly was slowing their traffic down. When Netflix caved on an issue I cannot recall, their speed when up. Coincidence, I think not.
There is a flaw here I believe: If the registered owner and ONLY the registered owner an remotely control the item in question, it's theirs. What you may not be taking into account is the corporations have the remote control access and they alone have final say, NOT the registered/verified person who purchased the car. So under this system, the company still owns the car because they control it and can override anything you do regardless of whether or how much you paid for it. And they can revoke that ownership at anytime for any reason. Meaning...you don't control your own product, you don't own it. IT can be stolen from you without anyone entering your car. So the stealing gun comparison isn't applicable here. Plus in this instance, the item can steal YOU. ;-)
So basically, we are starting to implement China's form of censorship. Want to protest? Top visiting sites that censor this way. Facebook, for example, is hardly a necessity. Part of free speech is figuring out phoney from fact. Besides, what's to say that what they label as "true" isn't approved propaganda? It's always easy to invent justifications for censorship. In the USA, there is one against it the NSA continues to ignore: The Constitution.
This is a classic example of how even when you pay for a car, you don't really own it. (kind of like iPhones) Anyone could give any reason for "hijacking" the car. If the OWNER of the car could do this, okay. But this had to be done by BMW CORPORATE. Bit of a difference. Cars today should be scaring us. One has to assume any car with a remote lock can remotely imprison you. It's like that scene in the movie "Minority Report": you can be locked in your own car and "kidnapped" to whereever "big brother" (or smarter hacker using big brothers back doors) says you should be taken and that could create a LOT of havoc. We should seriously be rethinking this. You can say "big win against thieves" this is really a side effect, not the primary purpose. The real purpose, is to keep complete ownership of the vehicles and you in the hands of big brother + corporate. The obvious ability to be abused by government agencies and hackers alike don't matter to the creators or the governments that promote them. I wonder if Russian cars are implementing this feature yet. (Putin would LOVE it I'm sure). It's like that NSA information dragnet;it was never designed to protect the common citizen, just the common interests of those who already have perhaps a bit too much power already.
MS is funny. That application has been so outdated compared to half a dozen open source apps or even relatively simple javascript apps, it was embarrassing. I went to GIMP/GIMPshop awhile back. If they had done this 10 years ago, I might have been impressed. Now, I'll stick to my GIMP or perhaps Blender if I want serious 3D "painting". (A 7 year old taught himself to use this program a couple years ago, he'll never go to MS Paint again. LOL)
This info was never for the student, teacher or school benefit as a whole. It's true purposes was political thought policing. Kind of obvious when you think about it. What is chilling, is that sp,e school voluntarily tried this out. Wonder of parents were asked for consent before putting the students on it....
Uh, Linux is open. MS is more like, "open season" for hackers since MS leaves so many holes and doorways it's like open season especially with Windows 10.
I'm not sure Chomski or Snowden or even myself would agree with you there. While people have foolishly given a LOT of information to these companies, do not forget that these companies claimed openly verbally and in writing that they would not sell your information to third parties in an identifiable form. Now I suspect that is still true as the info to my knowledge wasn't sold, it was GIVEN to the NSA without any specific cause against any individual or even group of individual, because they were taking it ALL for use later to lookup anyone who challenged the status quo. It was never about selling data (as you put it), it was about giving (paid or unpaid) information it it's raw form, which identifies individuals which the public was assured in various ways would not happen. Of course they sell collective data, and most assumed this was going on.
The type of tyranny this represents is monumental and completely undermines the idea of any sort of democracy. Reason being, they can interfere with your opinion far more easily (and they already are) and target key individuals who might lead a group with a specific set of opinions those "upstairs" don't want expressed. An example of how this could be used can be seen in Watergate, where the Republican party did "rat fucking", sabotaging the political opposition, which destroys not only democracy, but in spirit a free market and certainly free speech.
If these companies did "all they could" to protect privacy, they would have told the agencies "no", possibly shut down the company and destroyed the data (not necessarily in that order). Sure, the NSA would have retaliated but given the huge public attention this would have gotten worldwide plus these companies are to this day contributing lots of money to various politicians, it probably would have gone the way it did with Clinton with her illegal email server: a public scolding, but nothing more. But the added benefit to the public would have been the NSA would have brought this project to a halt for fear of PR and economic repercussions. However, their only concern (as Greenwald pointed out) was their wallets and public perception. TrueCrypt people DID do everything they could to protect privacy by shutting down rather then building in backdoors and by doing so, told the public what was going on (without saying so, so they were gagged under threat). Of course a law was introduced later saying that you can't shut your company down if you get certain requests, which is basically exercising eminent domain on private enterprises; in essence, government slavery removing the very concept of private property or enterprise. Basically, a government state where the government owns everything. The true test of a company being prepared to do "everything it could" to protect privacy or anything, is it's demonstrated willingness to sacrifice itself (like a soldier in essence) to protect something important to it. No company listed on Snowden's chart (and certainly not yahoo) has shown it's willingness to do this. Apple so far, has come the closest of any worldwide corporation in recent history. It's not enough, but a step in the right direction even if it's stance was in the name of self interest.
Okay, I listed this before and I'll do it again, because...this is important. There are alternatives to yahoo, MS and Google and we need to hold the to a higher standard. Checkout these web mail alternatives
;-) )
there are others listed in this article:
https://www.vmail.me/en/
https://countermail.com/
http://www.neomailbox.com/
http://www.e-mail-made-in-germ...
/
http://techpp.com/2013/08/28/n...
(not encrypted but smaller country + company appeals to me
http://techpp.com/2013/08/28/n...
we need to use alternatives to show there are choices and to make companies aware they need to work in OUR best interests if they want us to use them.
See Snowden's chart on video below. Google has been in bed with the NSA for at least 3 years. Apple for 2. Microsoft was one of the first way before Google as far back as 1999 I believe. See this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... Again, see how Microsoft is at the bottom left of this chart, meaning they were in "bed" the longest. And notice how MS got more and more aggressive since the WGA was introduced, and people didn't understand what it truly represented and didn't raise any objections. That was when I went full blown to Linux. was the best decision I ever made in IT.
While nothing is foolproof, that is the general idea. Anyone who is a doctor, lawyer or handles confidential data should not be using MS Windows while viewing/interacting with that data. Cellphone too, Cyanogen is what I use for cell phone use (and I cover my camera :D) PrivatOS may have possibilities too. (Yes Blackberry was giving data to the NSA for a couple years, but I believe that was directly from Blackberry, not leaked from the OS directly. Time will tell.) Android and iOS I suspect are preinfected/compromised out of the box (or at least out of the service provider shops/stores)
Since those on top are either above the law (see Clinton family) or arrange the law/enforcement system so they effectively are, we clearly need a higher standard. Kind of like IBM doing business with Nazi Germany. Sure it was legal; The USA wanted business from Germany, IBM wanted to make money from Germany, it didn't affect us (or so we thought) so we went on ahead with no sense of morality. IBM knew what was going on. It didn't care. Yahoo (and others, yahoo the only one, see reports on Snowden's release papers) also had deals with China leading to the arrest and torture to human rights advocates there (as covered in a Senate hearing). there are outside alternatives Yes, some governments (Sweden, Germany, France I believe) are apparently working with the USA, but at least it's not likely to be accessed as quickly (and it's encrypted). Checkout these web mail alternatives
;-) )
https://www.vmail.me/en/
https://countermail.com/
http://www.neomailbox.com/
http://www.e-mail-made-in-germ...
http://www.inbox.lv/index?lang...
(not encrypted but smaller country + company appeals to me
there are others listed in this article:
http://techpp.com/2013/08/28/n...
We all have a choice, if we decide to. Let's exercise that ability while we still have it. I believe in the idea "Use it or lose it". Like the election in the USA. Can can STILL vote for Sanders. Yes, you CAN fill in his name on the ballot. It's not necessarily A or B as the two parties would have you believe. We can still choose. Like web mail, we have other choices than the big 3 (Microsoft, Gmail, Yahoo). Time to think outside the boxes put in front us. And to Yahoo, well, didn't have much faith/trust in them before, I have even less now.
Gee, doesn't it make MORE sense to run Windows in Linux (VirtualBox, Proxmox, KVM). Safer, easier to audit network activity. It's amazing how people don't seem to see the light, even when the potion is on the table in front of them saying "drink me" AND they know people who have already tasted the potion and haven't died, or gotten sick.
I think we all know that our governments are collecting our data on everyone in every way possible. I'm surprised they are using planes. Just use the cameras in People's cell phones. In Canada the RCMP mine cell phone data and we have planes patrolling Toronto in evenings. And to those playing Pokemon Go, you think the gaming companies are the only ones using that data you send during your hunts? This is beyond what I ever imagined after reading 1984. I think even Orwell would be surprised: People installing software on their mobile cell phones that are being used like voluntary tracking ankle bracelets. Tin Foil hat's and Fariday cages anyone?
is there anyone out there who thinks this is a BAD idea? I mean, an error is an error, hiding it usually causes more harm than good.
So does this mean people who haven't disabled the Windows Update Service can breath easy knowing their PC's will no longer "upgrade" to Windows 10 without explicit permission from the user? (Those who DID disable their windows update service as we all should should probably keep it that way, these days nothing seems to be beneath MS these days). For those who need their PC's exorcised I say these words: "The Power of lawsuits, compel you, the power of lawsuits compel you". If that fails, remember, these is always the power of Linux. (Suggest ElementaryOS or Linux Mint to start)
People has been sheepish on this topic up to now. The "Ghost" upgrades I've had reported boggle my mind. For one thing, there are changes to the EULA regarding what Microsoft is allowed to collect (and put in) to your computer and since it's automated, there was no actual consent to these changes done by any human being, which I believe if tested by the courts, would prove to be illegal due to lack of "meeting of the minds" because the owner was not present to read it during the automatic upgrade. Wonder why MS didn't consider this one before trying to force feed this bloat/spyware on happy MS Windows 7 users.
Were giving access codes to their encryption to the US Government early on?
Okay, MS was push windows 10 udpates to unwilling victims who were helpless resist unless they had windows administration knowledge. How does that make it "the biggest thing". More like the biggest digital hijacking operation in history.
I have told people in my circles for years that relying on "cloud" backups is an invitation for disaster for a few reasons: 1. It's not your server, even with legal agreements (how enforcible they are can vary from country to country), someone could hit the "rm" script and bye-bye data. Suing (even if it is an option) can't get the data back. 2. If you lose your connectivity to the Internet or the site, or the service provider is out of business, your data is effectively gone temporarily or permanently). 3. Any staff member can view that data. encryption (which can be intentionally weak or have a back door) can be used against you without you even knowing it...(until it's too late to do anything) We are a culture taught to "set and forget" and this artist, like most of us, got caught up on the idea that is data would be kept safe, which is exactly the mindset on that groups like Google, Iron Mountain, DropBox, Microsoft, Apple and many other "cloud providers" intentionally provide.The only way to be sure your data is secure (assuming you don't care who views it as much as making sure it's preserved) is to have your OWN local backup in addition to a cloud drive. You can create your own cloud drives to reduce the number of people likely to have access to the data (remember encryption is NOT a guarantee of security). There are many programs (free and commercial) that can help with your backups. Areca (open source/free/user friendly), Acronis (commercial, user friendly) and other products like Bacula (less user friendly), Bareos (Bacula fork). there are others, list here: http://www.enterprisestoragefo... Most people will be happy with Areca: http://www.areca-backup.org/in... We all have to remember we have to protect our own data and not get "headlight" frozen by everybody repeating "cloud storage" in our ears to the point it overrides our common sense. We have so many tools available to the public to protect ourselves and our data now. All we need to do is turn on our common sense/brains. I feel for this artist, but he should at least be a reminder to all of us of the truth we all know but somehow keep ignoring. Oh, at $150 CAD for 2 TB, we don't really have price as an excuse. Oh, also remember hard drives often die between 3-5 years (enterprise, Western Digital Black, Hitachi Ultrastar) or 1-3 years (Western Digital Black, i.e, green blue, red, purple, Hitachi Deskstar series). I don't mention Seagate because I've had too many bad experiences with them. I assume 1-2 years for their drives based on experience and test of Meantimes between failure, but Seagate drives are the cheapest, so for datacenters they are popular with their RAID 6 and RAID 10 setups.
We created an economic system that rewards actions that create profit at the expense of quality of living. And the funny thing is...on average Seagate has worst MTBF (Mean time between failures). The cheapest price (and quality) drives found a way to be cheaper, and the stock market soars.Seagate, the McDonald's of Hard drives.
Is this really a surprise? If it weren't for federal laws requiring competitors be allowed to participate in Canada, we'd only have Bell (Canada), Rogers and Shaw for providing ANY Internet access and consequently, crazy high prices for Internet services abusing their monopoly. Fortunately our laws require those companies with the physical infrastructure to provide at wholesale prices so resell to end customers. Food for thought..