Microsoft’s Windows 10 is a privacy nightmare

[2012Coleman]

I see the current Windows 10 topic, but I spotted this article and thought I'd post a link to it. I would suggest anyone running W10, or contemplating installing it read it.

Microsoft’s Windows 10 is a privacy nightmare

[3oaks]

burlmart wrote:
'hope springs eternal.'

i've been all glowing about how MS was gonna redeem itself after reaming them on how they used all sorts of scare tactics and half truths to force us off XP.

I see i was in a hopeful fog of naivete. its all M$, and that's that.

abusing our trust in a major US corporation and nonchalantly recommending people to do the 'express install,' which unbeknownst to 90% of them allows MS unprecedented access to their privacy is dirty business, and completely nullifies any trust that users have placed in this greedy corporation.

i don't know what i was thinking that they were good guys

But are they doing anything illegal? If not, oh well, it's all about choices. You choose!

[8_1_Van]

Wow, this thread is too funny.:B

[Fizz]

sue.t wrote:
Word on the street is that Windows 10 is the first step towards a subscription based operating system for Microsoft.
.

This would be the kiss of death for Microsoft.

[AsheGuy]

sue.t wrote:
The anything-Cloud isn't in my future - I prefer to keep my stuff with me anyway and have a desktop that's made for it.

🙂 Well, the Yukon isn't exactly the normal environment. We have fiber to our mountain cabin though, so you might be surprised. Most city dwellers don't have that option yet.

I am not a Microsoft fan, never have been and never will be. But we live in a Microsoft (and Apple) world. As I see it, Windows 10 is Microsoft inching toward Apple's model, i.e. all things Microsoft in one big package.

I happen to prefer the Linux model, being an operating system with all apps (from wherever) running on top of it, but in a Microsoft world.

So I installed Windows 10 on my relatively new Lenovo laptop with 8.1 on it (just last evening). I didn't accept Windows browser, photo software, email, etc, etc and am now using my normal operating environment of Google Chrome browser, GMail, Google Cloud (My Drive), Google Photos, Google Apps, etc, etc. Oh, and StartIsBack (I dislike the new Windows splashy and screen covering mess).

I am a happy camper, the upgrade went without hitch and you can barely tell its Windows 10 rather than Windows 7. All the doomsayers about Windows 10 are overstating the issue.

Windows has gradually acquired an actually good disk imaging capability. I have used a succession of 3rd party apps to do this including Norton Ghost, EaseUS, DriveImage XML, etc. But the Windows 8 (and now 10) Secure Boot feature makes booting a Linux based recovery tool problematic so the Windows capability is much easier to use. Secure Boot is a needed security fix since without it a password on your system is no protection for your data.

I used Windows disk image capability (Reflect) to create a bootable USB flash drive with a Windows mini-system on it that is used to restore the image if Windows or the hard drive crashes. I then created an image of my Windows 8.1 system before doing the Windows 10 upgrade so I had a fall back plan if Windows 10 disappointed. Not likely I will be using it so it is time to create an image of my Win 10 system if I need to recover from a crash.

My conclusion is that both Windows 8.1 and 10 are perfectly good incremental upgrades to Windows 7 (and XP) that a lot of people are avoiding for personal and perfectly acceptable reasons. Even if they are misguided. 🙂

[sue_t]

Word on the street is that Windows 10 is the first step towards a subscription based operating system for Microsoft.

I haven't gone to Adobe's Creative Cloud because it is a monthly fee to use, although use it through work. Don't like it. Too many upgrades and downloads required AND that doesn't work well when you live in the North and have limited bandwidth and slow internet. The anything-Cloud isn't in my future - I prefer to keep my stuff with me anyway and have a desktop that's made for it.

[Just_Lee]

strollin wrote:

I did the upgrade on a Win 7 netbook with Office 2003 on it and all my Office programs still work fine.

I did both of ours Win 7's with Office 2003 and they seem fine....

I did notice that when I use email in 2003 Outlook that the Auto-Fill (when putting in names) no longer works...

[Oldme]

MNtundraRet wrote:

Colo Native wrote:
I downloaded it and within 24 hours got rid of it.

Maybe you can answer a question for me. Did you have Windows 7 before the download? If so did you loose your Microsoft Word and Excel?

I have the free-be versions with ads, and can't see getting stuck paying a fee each year to handle using net-worth spreadsheets and Word documents needed by a retired person.

I can deal with the bugs in Windows 7, and will stick with it until "Drop-dead" date instead of paying more to Microsoft for programs supplied with the computers in the past.

I am using Office 97. Word, Excel etc all work as they should.
It also fixed a scan problem that MS cause a year ago with one of
their network updates with my Laser printer scanner.

I am very pleaded. W7 to W10 works great.

[burlmart]

Campfire Time wrote:
If you are worried about your privacy, you lost that the minute you started using a credit card. And those store loyalty cards you use? Yeah, they know a lot about you...

the 'new privacy' is real. but my purchasing activity is way less personal than whom and what my emails address, or what data my crashed excel spreadsheet might have given MS's 'trusted partners' as they both 'restore' the app.

there is benign and malevolently intrusive - ask all the federal employees whose personal data was stolen about the difference.

[Campfire_Time]

If you are worried about your privacy, you lost that the minute you started using a credit card. And those store loyalty cards you use? Yeah, they know a lot about you...

[strollin]

MNtundraRet wrote:
... Maybe you can answer a question for me. Did you have Windows 7 before the download? If so did you loose your Microsoft Word and Excel?

I have the free-be versions with ads, and can't see getting stuck paying a fee each year to handle using net-worth spreadsheets and Word documents needed by a retired person.

I can deal with the bugs in Windows 7, and will stick with it until "Drop-dead" date instead of paying more to Microsoft for programs supplied with the computers in the past.

All data and programs remain intact. There's only a few MS things you lose such as Windows Media Center and some games like Spider Solitaire.

I did the upgrade on a Win 7 netbook with Office 2003 on it and all my Office programs still work fine.

[joebedford]

Yeah, it's good - I like it.

[burlmart]

'hope springs eternal.'

i've been all glowing about how MS was gonna redeem itself after reaming them on how they used all sorts of scare tactics and half truths to force us off XP.

I see i was in a hopeful fog of naivete. its all M$, and that's that.

abusing our trust in a major US corporation and nonchalantly recommending people to do the 'express install,' which unbeknownst to 90% of them allows MS unprecedented access to their privacy is dirty business, and completely nullifies any trust that users have placed in this greedy corporation.

i don't know what i was thinking that they were good guys

[MNtundraRet]

Colo Native wrote:
I downloaded it and within 24 hours got rid of it.

Maybe you can answer a question for me. Did you have Windows 7 before the download? If so did you loose your Microsoft Word and Excel?

I have the free-be versions with ads, and can't see getting stuck paying a fee each year to handle using net-worth spreadsheets and Word documents needed by a retired person.

I can deal with the bugs in Windows 7, and will stick with it until "Drop-dead" date instead of paying more to Microsoft for programs supplied with the computers in the past.

[Colo_Native]

I downloaded it and within 24 hours got rid of it.

[Oldme]

Read the other Windows 10 comments here and ypu will see how to cut all of them off. I is not difficult.