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Windows 10 as spyware - Peter Lemkin - 09-05-2016 Everything Is Wrong with Windows 10
...or how bad programs get worse and worse...and more invasive!Table of contents
It's funny and equally sad that year 2015 marks the end of the Windows OS for a lot of people. There are several issues with Windows which, at present, make Spyware/Malware OS 10 inappropriate and even outright dangerous for a lot of people. The most egregious, of course, is a total abandonment of any form of privacy and control. Firstly, Microsoft openly stated that pervasive data collection will be present in any Windows version starting from Windows 10 and as a host of research on the Internet shows, this data collection cannot be disabled using official means. If you decide to disable total tracking (including keyboard scanning and voice recording) you'll have to disable over a hundred different Internet addresses and then no one guarantees that a new Windows update doesn't add new hosts because Microsoft surely is not interested in losing such a lucrative feature meant for Big Brother agencies. Read the rest of the article for official Microsoft statements and for various information on how Windows breaches you privacy and how you might try to control it (it's almost futile btw). Secondly, Microsoft has stripped us of controlling Windows updates. It was ostensibly done to improve the user experience by keeping the system up to date and perhaps malware free, but the truth is that a built-in antimalware protection in Windows is simply horrible (according to various AV comparisons Microsoft Essentials misses over 20% of in the wild malware) and said updates mean nothing for security because over 90% of infections happen due to the user actions (like downloading and installing dubious applications). No Windows update can prevent such a behaviour. Thirdly, as Microsoft has stated multiple times, Windows 10 will not have any service packs, Windows 10 is the final version of Windows, because Windows 10 has become a service, it will be updated over time to bring new features and remove the old ones. Windows 10 you might have updated to in July 2015 will be a different OS than Windows 10 plus all its updates a year later. Let me say that I've always been a big fan of Windows because Microsoft does care about compatibility vs. many other tech companies which break backward compatibility all the time. However I've always felt that there are no resources or articles on the web which dig deep into Windows' problems and therefore I wrote this very concise essay. Mind that it was not created to say that Linux is better (it's definitely not). It was created to stop Microsoft fans roaring in regard to Windows 10 and how it's better than Windows 7 in every regard - it's actually worse in most regards aside from DirectX 12 (which is actually hidden from the user and it's only exposed in games). You may probably want to know why Windows 10 feels so buggy. Here's a very nice quote: Full Disclosure: I worked at M$ from 2014-2015.
In a new, not that unexpected, turn of events Microsoft now foists ads as part of ... security updates for Windows 7 and 8/8.1 (KB3139929 which says nothing about this new "feature"). People were afraid but never believed it would happen. It now has.MS has some very talented programmers. They're not very common, but they exist. The problem is that the entire company is completely and totally focused on developing an absurd number of new features and products, giving them completely unrealistic deadlines, and then shipping software on those deadlines no matter how half-assed or buggy it is. The idea is that everything is serviceable over the internet now, so they can just "fix it later", except they never do. This perpetuates a duct-tape culture that refuses to actually fix problems and instead rewards teams that find ways to work around them. The talented programmers are stuck working on code that, at best, has to deal with multiple badly designed frameworks from other teams, or at worst work on code that is simply scrapped. New features are prioritized over all but the most system-critical bugs, and teams are never given any time to actually focus on improving their code. The only improvements that can happen must be snuck in while implementing new features. As far as M$ is concerned, all code is shit, and the only thing that matters is if it works well enough to be shown at a demo and shipped. Needless to say, I don't work there anymore. So, there are two kinds of issues with the Windows operating system created by Microsoft. The first kind is the issues intrinsic to every Windows version starting from Windows Vista (XP is out of circulation and support so let's forget about it). Problems which are present in every version of Windows for PC
Because it has all the attributes of spyware:
As a bonus Windows 10 has features of a PUP: it shows ads in the start menu including full screen ads on the lock screen. Busting Windows 10 myths There seems to be a good number of myths which are spread on pro-Microsoft forums and websites and I want to take a bit of your time to debunk them. Windows 10 is more secure than any previous version of Windows Um, sorry, this is pure BS. Windows 10 offers exactly zero new protection mechanisms to the end user vs. Windows 7. I haven't forgotten that Windows 8/10 apps run a sandbox and they are all verified by Microsoft, that's true, but most of them are made purely for content consumption (so they won't cut it for power users), besides people will still download executables from the Internet and run them relentlessly. Normally you should never run Windows without a decent antivirus installed (Microsoft Security Essentials is not an AV your can rely on, in fact you're crazy if you believe it protects you). Head to av-comparatives and check out their real world tests to see what's best for you. According to various AV comparisons MS Security Essentials misses over 10% of in-the-wild viruses (i.e. over five hundred new viruses every day). The truth is there are some new security features but they are invisible for most users out there. Windows 10 is a more modern OS Hey, what does it mean it's more modern? How exactly do Windows 7 and 8 differ from Windows 10? This is yet another BS claim from the Microsoft fanboys. DirectX 12? There are just two games being developed for DX12 right now. 99.99% of the games which are being published at the moment will be DirectX 9/11 games so your Windows 7/8 system will perfectly run them. Of, course there's the Universal Windows Platform but if you're not into Metro apps it means nothing to you. Windows 10 is faster According to this, this and this there's no discernible difference between Windows 7, 8 and 10. Windows 10 features an improved memory handling for certain multithreaded applications like WinRAR but most other applications have the same performance. "I have installed Windows 10 and it feels faster", right, like with every Windows release it feels fast when you install it from scratch. Then, strangely, it slows down significantly. I have nothing to hide - let them track me! Robin Doherty has a nice piece on this issue: "Why privacy is important, and having "nothing to hide" is irrelevant". Also you might want to read about the implications of real life surveillance. Here's an insightful comment I cannot agree more with: "Microsoft has given themselves the right to do remote administration and data gathering ... and for all but the ones which can select Security, they'll do it in such a way that they can personally identify you. Oh, and apparently they'll gather some of your documents as well. No fucking way we can trust them with this, because as soon as they have the ability to tell your computer to package up some data and send it to them, some asshole in law enforcement is going to demand they misuse it. And don't say they won't, because that's exactly the kind of shit law enforcement and the security agencies are doing. No way they won't show up with an NSL demanding information and forbidding Microsoft from admitting to it."
I've got Windows 10 preinstalled on my PC/laptop, I hate it, what should I do?If you do value your freedom, privacy and ability to control your OS, not the other way around, you've get these options:
Just before you call me anti-Microsoft, a Linux shill, zealot or fanatic, here's a wonderful list of Linux problems that I've been compiling over the past six years. The truth is I don't plead allegiance to any OS on the market. So, sorry, Windows 10 sucks no less than Linux sucks, it just sucks differently. So far, Microsoft has had two great modern OSes: Windows XP and Windows 7 (in the past they had rock solid Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000). I have no attitude towards MacOS X, because I've never had a chance to use it, however from what I've seen on screenshots this OS has the worst fonts antialiasing among any existing OSes - I actually refuse to try it because I don't want to hurt my eyes. I'm not a journalist and I've never been one. P.S. If you want to reinforce your love towards Microsoft and Windows 10 go to neowin.net - this website has thousands of raving idiots who dribble and moan with excitement from everything made by Microsoft. Some guy from game-debate dot com rewrote this article in an easy-to-understand way. http://itvision.altervista.org/why-windows-10-sucks.html Windows 10 as spyware - David Guyatt - 09-05-2016 Thank god I don't use Microsoft and Windows anymore. But it looks to me as though the writing is on the wall and I wonder if Mac will soon go the same way? In which case I'll have to switch to an open source software like Linux because there's no damn way I'm allowing the computer I buy to be used against me like Microsoft are doing to their customers. Such arrogance. Windows 10 as spyware - Peter Lemkin - 09-05-2016 If you still use Windows 7 or 8/8.1 remove some 'fixes' listed here : https://www.hackread.com/microsoft-updates-spy-on-windows7-8-users/ and here http://www.infoworld.com/article/2981947/microsoft-windows/the-truth-about-windows-7-and-81-spy-patches-kb-3068708-3022345-3075249-and-3080149.html You can NOT really undo the spying on Win 10 - it is built into the program and you can not control how they change the program anymore.....welcome to the future you dreaded would come. Mac is still safe, I think ::coffeesplutter::...and Linux is, as well....MS sold out long ago...long, long ago! Linux now even has a special 'flavor' just for those who need EXTRA security! Windows 10 as spyware - Lauren Johnson - 09-05-2016 Guess why MS is giving Windows 10 away for free (as an upgrade). Windows 10 as spyware - Magda Hassan - 09-05-2016 Lauren Johnson Wrote:Guess why MS is giving Windows 10 away for free (as an upgrade). Yep. Windows 10 as spyware - Albert Doyle - 09-05-2016 I was going to post wherever I could to avoid Windows 10. It has destroyed my computer in the last 4 months. I have had to do 2 complete factory restores and now they inform me I need to do a 3rd. My speed is down to 2.5 Megabites per second while my Vista laptop on the same isp gets 33. Microsoft and its proprietary interests have now reached a new level and they are getting rough with their customers. No hacker, troll, virus spreader has caused me more hell and computer disruption than Microsoft Corporation and if there is any group that starts a class action lawsuit against Microsoft they can count me in as first in line. Tech support tells me it is because Windows 10 is massive and cannot be run by any computer that is not factory built with it. In the next week I am going to have to do a painstaking recovery the tech told me took him 18 hours and he knows computers. The US government and its corporate extensions is an evil empire. Windows 10 as spyware - Lauren Johnson - 09-05-2016 Albert Doyle Wrote:I was going to post wherever I could to avoid Windows 10. It has destroyed my computer in the last 4 months. I have had to do 2 complete factory restores and now they inform me I need to do a 3rd. My speed is down to 2.5 Megabites per second while my Vista laptop on the same isp gets 33. Microsoft and its proprietary interests have now reached a new level and they are getting rough with their customers. You an still buy Windows 7 which is pretty good and not a spyware operating system minus the updates the Peter mentions. Maybe do an install with it. Windows 10 as spyware - Albert Doyle - 09-05-2016 The Supreme Court has now allowed corporations as people to now do whatever the heck they want and run as pirate organizations. You can be sure Microsoft will stop supporting Windows 7 as a rough move to force people towards Windows 10. They now plan these rough moves in order to incur more revenue from the percentage of people who will purchase new hardware instead of dealing with the intentional problems caused by Windows 10. Microsoft engineers are not stupid, so you can be sure this move wasn't accidental. The membrane of consumer protection against this pirate-like action is non-existent. Microsoft already dropped the perfectly functional XP operating system. Time to dump Microsoft and teach a painful consumer lesson. Windows 10 as spyware - Lauren Johnson - 09-05-2016 Quote:Time to dump Microsoft and teach a painful consumer lesson. I still use Win7 but I know the time is coming. I have feeling that any software that does not allow spying will labeled as terrorist software. Windows 10 as spyware - Peter Lemkin - 09-05-2016 Windows 10 is on about half a billion computers now (and growing)....if, as I suspect, MS has an agreement with 'THEM' that if there were a 'national emergency' and thus 'needed' they could now with the automatic updates in Win 10 that you can NOT stop and are not even informed about, change it into a total spy program on all those computers and likely those connected nearby in certain circumstances. Even as it is now, when you push 'yes' to agree to the EULA for getting Win 10, MS can take ANY file out of your computer and inspect it in their facilities [!] if they claim it is suspected of causing some activities MS feels is dangerous to their program (and you do not even get informed of this happening!). Madness. A company who'd do that, will do anything. ::face.palm::....they already have..... |