Windows 10, MUST READ!

[matthewfarmery]

for anyone who has gotten around to installing windows 10 or deciding on doing this, then please hold off until you read the following links.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/07 ... -settings/

and

http://prntscr.com/7ykzbh

even though its a free upgrade, it's far from free or secure. windows 10 is basically tracking / logging everything you do, the fact that MS has so far got away with this is extremely worrying, especially with so many privacy concerns.

the bigger question is, will the paid for version be the same? but to me, windows 10 is nothing but a security risk, windows has NEVER been 100% secure. only recently steam got hacked, how long before MS back servers or the OS itself gets hacked and personal and private data gets spilled to the public domain? its an accident waiting to happen.

my advice is, downgrade, or if you do intend to keep to 10, disable as much of the crap in the image, even then, windows will still leak, but not as bad. if you value your privacy, don't use windows 10.

I hope MS winds up in a few supreme courts over this, as they really are going too far this time.

thanks for reading.

[DestinedToDie]

I bet Bill Gates is so rich he doesn't give a damn if Windows 10 sells only 5 copies.

[jirka642]

Yeah, I noticed that when I tried upgrading my VirtualBox Windows VM.
I guess, that I should be thankful to all open-source developers that made it possible for me to switch full-time to Linux two years ago.

[Okulo]

I bet Bill Gates is so rich he doesn't give a damn if Windows 10 sells only 5 copies.

I don't think he cares either way since he hasn't been CEO of Microsoft for fifteen years now. He's not even the biggest shareholder anymore.

[SquireNed]

I mean, most of these things are neither new nor particularly troubling.

Windows has been sending diagnostics since XP, and I'd bet that most other OS'es do it too.

Personalized speech/pattern recognition is on Android, and it's not something that doesn't have a legitimate end-user purpose (namely, helping people with, say, a speech impediment, still be able to use voice functions).

As far as Skype and Outlook integration, that's not exactly a huge concern; every internet service (even just a webpage) can track your location if it wants to.

Wi-Fi Sense needs to be activated with Facebook to use your Facebook friends, IIRC.

I use multiple Windows devices, and syncing settings is great; my laptop and desktop run exactly as I want, and OneDrive isn't superior to third-party solutions but is still useful at times.

Automatic updates and security enabling is actually a security feature (and the "no turning it off" thing ignores the Delay Upgrades checkbox, which actually pretty much does that).

Spell check is a minor privacy issue, but it's one on most devices through a variety of software packages. My LibreOffice had an automatically stored list of embarrassing typos for a while.

Showing search suggestions is not necessarily a keylogging function; Google shows me all of my search history, and makes suggestions based off of it (again, with a lot of embarrassing typos, because apparently I can't type at 11 PM).

The only major security issue in Windows 10 is Wi-Fi Sense, which really needs more authentication before people are allowed to share passwords. However, if I were able to use it instead of simply tossing people my password, I'd actually be more secure. It's also really handy, again, as a multi-device user; my phone, tablet, and laptop share wi-fi networks with each other, which is a huge time saver.

[charlieg]

I am always reminded of a comic strip of pigs eating in a trough with one saying to the other, "This free food is awesome!"

When you are the recipient of a "free product", usually you are the product.

[psi29a]

When you are the recipient of a "free product", usually you are the product.

Quoted for truth....

[K0kt409P]

When you are the recipient of a "free product", usually you are the product.

Never liked that expression, myself. There are many free products where the users are not being sold to anyone. OpenMW, to name one.

[psi29a]

We use people to bug test OpenMW... when there is a bug, you better believe they come here to start asking questions.

[sirherrbatka]

openmw is not a product.