@windooooooooows: I think you hit the nail on the head here. There are many IT professionals here. If they see and realize the truth, when asked, they can provide opinions based on facts. And they are "paid to think" so to speak. Now, I'm not advocating a Microsoft smear campaign. But ask yourself this question: If you recommend Windows 10 to an organization, and it causes a breach in privacy or security, how will your reputation be affected? At the very least, knowing about these issues will allow you to adequately protect your clients. And if you protect your clients, you are protecting your reputation. And that's good for business. I have suggested and would suggest taking a "wait-and-see" attitude towards Windows 10. That's probably the best way to approach it. Directors and managers surf the web. They read. They see. So, that's probably the safest stance to take. There are issues that sit above the OS that we can not fix if we do not work together. In the USA, domestic spying is a major issue. This needs to be fixed because the USA is convincing other countries to follow suit and spy on their own people for the sake of a terrorist agenda. Hell they're even spying on the people whose trust they elicited (Germany?) Over the span of 40 years, I've watched the USA change. Not for the better. And I've kept my mouth shut. But this is just too much now, because it's affecting the entire world.
Project Spartan aka Edge Forensics Don't know whether this has been shared here, this research gives a detailed information about the Microsoft Edge Browser collects and may be provided to Microsoft http://articles.forensicfocus.com/2015/07/27/project-spartan-forensics/#
@Michaela Joy All this is far removed from our hand and our knowledge. A worldwide survey do not see it as a solution to the problem, nor is it credible. The trend is to centralize the information that is collected from any media or information ourselves consciously or unconsciously give away our daily habits, and the way we move around the world. Just the fact of shopping at our local supermarket, using credit card, or using mobile, is information from our habit of life that a high percentage of the population often used. Who does not have a credit card? And a cell phone? Ask not to use a completely new operating system, and we are given the ease of aceder him completely for free, why reject it ?. It's free...! No, it is not, we pay with our privacy. But our privacy is priceless? Know what we truly return ?, no, it is only available to those who know the encrypted data and have privileges to access them. We live in a technological and concern for all that can offer, we want to be fashionable with the latest software and hardware, with the threat posed that if you do not update you stay back, you'll need to protect vulnerable of all. In this situation, we can not know "who are the good guys and who are the bad guys"
@Boops: Sometimes, you have to bend the rules to find the truth. There are people here who are more than capable of doing just that. As a matter of fact, they're doing it as we speak. Don't give up hope just yet. Stay tuned.
I think in this situation numbers can count for something. Take war for example - who has the most men wins? Who has the most weapons wins? Who has the better weapons, better training, better logistics, better technology wins? And on and on it goes ... So today we have some very smart people working for some very powerful companies (I see little distinction between corporate and government these days) working out ways to spy/collect information on every citizen who uses modern technology. But if numbers do indeed count for something, you may also have a few thousand, maybe tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people working out ways to circumvent their efforts. I mean how funny was it when news came out about the efforts Microsoft employed to make *Windows (choose your flavor here) uncrackable. How many people had themselves a fully working copy of Windows, bypassing all their efforts to make sure everyone pays before it was even officially released. Michaela Joy is 100% correct. They tried to stop Napster, how did that workout for them? They tried to stop torrents, and continue to do so. Can you still torrent today? As much as I am worried about the direction corporations and government are taking in spying/collecting our information, I do believe/hope collectively we will continue to come up with ways to circumvent their efforts.
Exactly. It is best to continue spreading their ways of acting and denounce the procedures they use to try to counteract them in the best way possible. But what inedulible still say, is that they offer us their help providing operating as impenetrable, secure systems, and we offer a solution as a defense adiccional (antivirus), often free, finally we put them on a silver platter our privacy legally. (EULA) The same privacy that threaten us "others" steal and use unlawfully against us, either by the proper use of the same information (that which reveals who you are and what you do) or which threatens to leave us without the material goods that we defend and we got our efforts.
I AM and I WILL advocate a complete boycott against Windows 10, a smear campaign! Whatever anyone wishes to call it.... have at it! Even though more investigation and information is valuable and needed, there was more than sufficient damning evidence over a week ago, showing conclusively M$ is taking power and control over the consumer through mining massive amounts of your data with Windows 10. Their new NSA like quest, through Windows 10's hundreds of default invasive processes that have been identified, and ways that are as yet unknown, blatantly destroys consumer privacy and security. Further their control is as of now unrestrained and unregulated! Windows 10 is INVASIVE as hell, period. Your 'private', and 'personally identifiable' data going to their cloud, puts every consumers security at enormous risk, and also puts users at risk for damages to their lives and/or property when that data is shared with 3rd parties, and the one day when it is all breached or hacked into the wrong hands, and then spread throughout the net f-o-r-e-v-e-r. Sure this mess can be fought in the courts and elsewhere with governments....but-that-could...and-would-take-years...! Just as with windows 8, M$ understands only one thing, and they can be motivated much more quickly with ONLY one thing, flat out consumer rejection of Windows 10! Sure, I am just a small fish in the vast ocean, but I have already contacted EVERYONE I know, and I am telling them NOT to install/upgrade or purchase ANY device with Windows 10. I have easily and clearly shown them why (the facts and evidence are abundant). I have asked them all to pass this recommendation and information on to ALL of their family and friends. I will continue to spread my conclusions and my recommendations in every way, and by every means that I possibly can. The consumer has all the power in this case! It is as simple as this, the consumer either rejects it, or they bend over and accepts it. It is OUR choice. IMO, this time M$ has crossed WAY over the line into the destruction of 'personal privacy' and security, only for greed and their gain of power and control. They could have 'created' a great system that would not destroy the users privacy by default, with hundreds of invasive and obscured processes. They could have easily designed all their extra 'fluff' turned off by default and given the consumer the information and choice to opt-in if they so choose. They could have been light years more transparent with an open, concise and easy to understand EULA. They could have done all this and more for the benefit of the consumers rights. And I believe if they did, the consumer would have easily paid what we PAID for Windows 7, and even more, for that type of a user and business friendly, security conscious system. They could have, but they didn't. They have been driven only by greed and have absolutely no conscience, they lack integrity, and they have absolutely no respect for the consumers rights, be it the single user, or an entity/business. Instead, M$ has again chosen an arrogant and detestable stance with this invasive, obnoxious, hellish monstrosity, they call Windows 10. No matter how much anyone tweaks, changes, uses scripts, or tries to lock down Windows 10, as a whole, and by design no one can dispute Windows 10 IS a privacy and security nightmare! Hell, I won't even allow a Windows 10 system running on my network (home or business), because of it's intricate web of invasive design. Personally, I will ride out time with Windows 7, and switch over to Linux before it reaches end of support. At this point, I am so done with Windows 10 and Microsoft, unless they change their direction in the future with concern and respect for consumer privacy and security in mind....I don't see that ever happening. I also suggest starting a new thread entitled "Security for Your Windows 7 or 8.1 and Say NO to Windows 10" On a side note, I purposely left out any links on this post because I WANT it ALL to be in plain public view! ....... Windows 10
@MysTikAl3: I agree with your post -almost- in it's entirety. The statement that I have bolded is what I wish to comment on. It's highly possible that Microsoft, like many corporations, has been coerced into acting on behalf of an agenda, an agenda perpetrated by an organization that wields incredible power. Now, I can almost hear some of you snickering about a movie plot, and tinfoil hats. But the truth is, they are quite real. They have been referred to as "five eyes". It's a conglomeration of government organizations with a common agenda. (see: William Binney video) These people are so powerful that they can make or break a huge corporation, much less a person. And make no mistake; they could break Microsoft too. Self preservation is a powerful force in nature. It's just as important in matters of the economy. :MJ
We need to shame them, but in order to be effective we need a social media campaign that explains exactly what they're doing. It would also be effective to compare it to previous Windows versions and such. We would need to drive the point that home users are unable to modify most of the settings without modifying very confusing registry key settings and firewall settings.
@murphy78: Thank you! Spot-on and well put. We need to collect as much information about these practices, put them in an unambiguous and understandable format, and then provide the masses this information via social media. Just as we must use tact and allow as little of our emotions into the discussion as possible, We also must be ready to explain our findings in a way that does not intimidate the average user. If we do not do this, we will be heralded as conspiracy kooks and "tinfoil hats". And those who are behind this agenda will use that against us. They will manipulate the masses into believing that we are insane, or worse, criminals. Here's an interesting article about copyright law and reverse engineering in America. http://digital-law-online.info/lpdi1.0/treatise25.html It's a little dry, but it basically provides enough examples of case law that will allow you to mount a defense against a copyright infringement law suit. And the more research you do, the more solid your case will become. :MJ
Really explain to millions of people about the abuse of our privacy will not be nothing, nothing easy. The news says almost everything. 01/08/2015: Report: Windows 10 is now installed on 67 million PCs as of this morning 06/08/2015: Windows 10's usage share continues climb
This actually makes the prospect of a social media campaign more effective. The more people that use it, the more will be inclined to be persuaded to sign such a petition.
Then we let us open a public worldwide request where each user sign the indictment. We lead a movement, here and now. Let us form a support organization users and ourselves.
Indeed. We can do a change dot org petition, but first we need to figure everything out. We can't just hobble together a wall of incoherent text or it will go nowhere.
just to play devils advocate or whatever name you want to tag it with.. The energy spent with useless banter at MS to save our privacy, to stop taking personal data, etc etc .. and omg etc.. In a fraction of that time you could be running a Linux distro that is far more secure, and far more free (nothing free about Windows 10 if its taking your lives). If everyone seriously moved away from Windows (everyone concerned with their privacy that is), That would spark far more attention at MS Corp than any petition or fist raising babble. If a car ejects children from the back sear, people wont buy it (well maybe some here would ha), if a plane can't fly, people would use it, if a program doesn't do what you want, you find another one that does. But if MS uses its Windows OS to steal your lives, you just bitch and moan continuing to use it? And why? I have to use it for this, I cannot run "this program" on linux, or it is tooo hard. There are a million excuses for not leaving Windows presented daily when someone asks why they are not using linux. Pull the Microsoft Pacifier from your lips, cut the umbilical cord from your brain that is attached to the stink hole MS has it attached to, and show them you will not stand for having your privacy taken lightly and leave their OS behind until they satisfy everyone's privacy concerns. MS has a gun to your head demanding your privacy or you get a bullet to the head. You make the final decision, submit or die. Nobody makes that choice but you.
I think both options are appropriate and likely. MS's bread and butter is business, tho. If businesses found out how much stuff was being sent to MS in 10, there's no way they'd adopt it.
This is a WONDERFUL point in a brilliant topic to start the debate especially in the corporate environment since this has been going saliently in the past with MS now the small print is more or less glare now in windows 10 i.e key logger option during setup open eyes who have yet stumble upon privacy in the past
Word of mouth to all family and friends by 1,000, turns quickly into 10's of thousands, to 100's of thousands spreading the same message, warnings and recommendations. Word of mouth is also more listened to, accepted, relied upon, and acted upon, coming from friends and family. With email and all the social media, etc., the word that 10 is an invasive personal privacy and security risk can spread like wildfire! That my friends is a very powerful and meaningful campaign that everyone can start immediately in order to spread the word. And there's plenty of quotes and articles to substantiate our position. Heck, the statements we have all read from Microsoft's EULA and service agreement, alone, are enough to convince any of my friends to not touch Windows 10 with a 10 foot pole, pun intended. It's the consumers voice and reviews that people pay attention to most...