Things you don't need to know...

[Ripper]

If you want to use Windows, you need to have some degree of trust, otherwise just don't use it at all. There is no way for you to know what a closed-source OS will do with your data, no matter what.

No, you don't need to trust it, and indeed the closed-source point is a good one. I tolerate it as a gaming platform out of necessity, with nothing on there I would care about. I personally regard it as inadequate for keeping people's sensitive, private information safe on my PC.

With regard to your reasoning, I look at it the other way round. I know what their incentive is in terms of tracking and advertising, that there's all sorts of opt-out settings to be discovered in the hopes that you've stopped most of it, and that shed loads of telemetry is being sent to MS and third parties. To me that's an unacceptable starting point, and I opt out of the whole damn thing.

What is quite interesting is that if you run the Enterprise version of Windows, then you have much more extensive control over shutting down telemetry. The reason being, of course enterprises are not going tolerate loads of unknown telemetry from their systems being bandied about like that. But that is not a courtesy extended to we prolls. I'd have more confidence in that being fairly trustworthy, because maintaining corporate trust is vital for them.

 

[Redglyph]

To argue a little in the opposite direction, there's the concern of potential virus infection. Windows is an easier target because it's so spread and often prefers user friendliness over security.

One extreme example I like to give is the Denuvo DRM installed by some games, which runs in kernel mode, and millions of users are willing to put up with that. Or brands like Lenovo and Dell which put a lot of customization into the OS (some call it bloatware...). Those may be interesting targets to place a piece of malicious code that could potentially look for passwords as you type them - if placed right it may even intercept it when the desktop sends the events to the application and get the whole context. Probably more efficient to directly attack the databases though.

About the flavours of Windows, I think (it's a hunch - I don't know for sure) that they're still sharing the exact same code between versions as they have done since Windows NT, just enabling features based on the licence(*), and so I also think that companies and home users are in the same boat regarding privacy. Even if that wasn't the case and if they were exposed for a home product, it would have about the same effect on corporate trust, a dishonest vendor is a dishonest vendor. I bet enough users leave the default settings and are using an online account, because it's so much easier and they don't care too much. It's probably much safer for MS to keep it legit and take the data from willing or oblivious users.

It's ultimately everyone's choice depending on the situation; I don't have anything so precious here that I consider myself an interesting target, and that I need to use a dual boot or a 2nd computer, but it wouldn't be the same if I had more sensitive stuff. As for the "customized experience" (ads & alike) I can live with it better than I can live without with a more complicated setup. For you it's more important, and easy enough to use Linux for most tasks anyway... and for pibbuR we'll see.

(*) IIRC you can switch from Windows 10 Home to Professional just by upgrading your licence, no need to reinstall anything

 

[Ripper]

Don't know if you had a look at the article I linked, but that spells out quite well the difference in the Enterprise version and its control of telemetry. A single group policy setting essentially shuts it down.

Also worth noting that the data protection organisations were saying things like 'Windows 10 ist ein Datenschutz-Unfall', (quite so), and, 'The data protection commissioners of the federal and state governments see little scope for using Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system in a legally compliant manner.'

So they forced MS to give them that control and prove it to them, essentially saying, "Never mind all that waffle - break out the packet-sniffer, son, and show us that our data's not going anywhere." Which I think is the correct mentality.

With regard to Denuvo, Steam, and those sorts of intrusive things, to me it makes sense to keep all that nonsense confined on the naughty Windows PC, which is why I like that approach.

Of course everyone has their choice, no problem there. If people don't much care about these things, fair enough.

 

[Couchpotato]

“The Last of Us” Apocalypse Is Not Realistic, But Rising Threat of Fungal Pathogens Is

Cordyceps, or Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, is a real fungus that parasitizes the brains of insects like ants or spiders. Fortunately for humankind, while

medicine.yale.edu

 

[Redglyph]

Don't know if you had a look at the article I linked, but that spells out quite well the difference in the Enterprise version and its control of telemetry. A single group policy setting essentially shuts it down.

That's a 3-year old article on Windows 10 though, we'd have to see how the situation evolved since then. What can't be turned off is not mentioned. I found more info on that page (link), for ex. all the endpoints for the other versions. It doesn't say how to turn it off for non-Enterprise versions and not all endpoints are detailed but it gives a good idea.

It's funny to note that this is hosted by Microsoft and yet they didn't extract this information from their specs but by measurement (non-MS people were involved too, apparently).

But anyway, what I meant is that the source code is likely the same, and if they lie about collecting some data (like keystrokes), it will be perceived as a trust issue with MS for all versions of Windows.

 

[pibbuR]

I tried Moonlight. It certainly has potential, both for game and for my Windows programming (PibburWorks in Qt). There are however a couple of problems, no doubt connected to hardware setup (currently 3 screens for windows, one of them shared with the Linux machine) and a lot of things I don't know.

Among the problems:

1) Somewhat strange mouse behaviour (shows on two monitors, and some icons are not clickable)
2) Can't temporarily leave a full screen game to do Linux things.
3) Can't disconnect from a shared desktop (without stopping the stream in Geforce Experience).

pibbuR who is looking for documentation other than install guide andm FAQs

 

[Ripper]

That's a 3-year old article on Windows 10 though, we'd have to see how the situation evolved since then. What can't be turned off is not mentioned. I found more info on that page (link), for ex. all the endpoints for the other versions. It doesn't say how to turn it off for non-Enterprise versions and not all endpoints are detailed but it gives a good idea.

It's funny to note that this is hosted by Microsoft and yet they didn't extract this information from their specs but by measurement (non-MS people were involved too, apparently).

But anyway, what I meant is that the source code is likely the same, and if they lie about collecting some data (like keystrokes), it will be perceived as a trust issue with MS for all versions of Windows.

Yes, the article is from 2019 (probably referring to a situation before that), because that's when the data protection folks made it clear that what Win 10 was doing was unacceptable, and the changes required if it were to be viable for use in a corporate/government environment. I wouldn't offer any guarantees, then or now, but I consider the Enterprise situation more trustworthy, because it is so closely scrutinised, and it would be so disastrous for them to lose that trust.

In consumer land, the deal is very different. Like a lot of the junk at the consumer level, from the spyware-tastic default software on most phones, to 'smart' TVs, the fine print is full of disingenuous weasel waffle, and you essentially sign up to them having a field day with your data. It's a completely different standard of what's acceptable.

It's entirely consistent that one could assess Windows as sufficiently trusted in a properly configured Enterprise setup, but not trust what it gets up to in its consumer incarnation. We're not talking about it trying to steal our banking passwords here - just completely taking the piss with our privacy.

 

[Pladio]

Well, I've been using Linux for many years, and personally I find going back to Windows for anything a complete drag. But I'm not really talking about the alternatives or the pros of Windows - just pointing out what they're up to these days. Part of the idea of the Advertising ID is that if apps want to show ads within them, it gives them a way of looking up your 'profile' to serve targeted ads. Ooh - where do I sign up?

I'm not sure if Win 11 is necessarily worse, but this has been going on for years - Windows 10 was the big turning point, when it tried to batter its way onto our PCs for 'free', instead of us having to go looking for deals on upgrade licenses.

This is my start menu - so I think you may be exaggerating when talking about Win 11 with ads etc.
The tracking is most certainly there, but ads aren't as far as I know.

 

[Ripper]

No, not exaggerating.

How to disable annoying ads on Windows 11

Are you tired of ads on Windows 11? If so, you are not alone. Here's how to stop or at least minimize the frustration.

www.windowscentral.com

As I said earlier, what gets shown in the Windows UI is a trivial part of all this. The tracking is the point.

 

[Pladio]

No, not exaggerating.

How to disable annoying ads on Windows 11

Are you tired of ads on Windows 11? If so, you are not alone. Here's how to stop or at least minimize the frustration.

www.windowscentral.com

As I said earlier, what gets shown in the Windows UI is a trivial part of all this. The tracking is the point.

A lot of these aren't ads. It's saying you may have apps like Prime Video on your PC. It's like saying Solitaire was an ad and you could uninstall it.
Search suggestions are ads ?

I did say I agree on the tracking but there being ads everywhere is completely wrong.

 

[Ripper]

Well, firstly I'd say that third-party applications from 'partners', shown though as-yet not installed in the Start Menu, are most certainly ads. Search suggestions as ads? Yes, I would think that's an excellent vector. I didn't say ads are everywhere in the UI - I talked about what was stated in the installation process, and gave pibbur some examples.

One of the sections I suggest looking at is 'How to stop applications showing ads in Windows 11".

The apps you install on Windows 11 can use your system's unique identification number to target you with advertisements. If you want to prevent this from happening, it's possible to stop the system from letting apps use your "advertising ID."

That's where you'd be most likely to see those targeted adverts promoting dominatrixes, and so forth. A lot of this goes back to when MS was still trying to make Windows phones happen, and they were essentially aping Android's model - how do we allow apps to make money from people's data, while taking a sweet cut?

Another part I think is interesting, "How to stop ads from diagnostic data on Windows 11"

Windows 11 collects various pieces of information on every installation to understand how you use your computer to improve security and build new features. However, Microsoft also uses this information to target you with ads, tips, and recommendations.

...

Click the Tailored experiences setting.

Turn off the "Let Microsoft use your diagnostic data, excluding info about websites you browse, to enhance your product experiences with personalized tips, ads, and recommendations" toggle switch.

Uh-huh. So you're using 'diagnostic data' to personalise ads, excluding the websites we browse - which also implies our browsing would otherwise be considered 'diagnostic' information. Lol.

 

[danutz_plusplus]

Diesel and Tolkien. Two of the greats.

If Diesel was actually serious and not just joking, it must be amazing to have that level of lack of self-awareness.

 

[Couchpotato]

Curious about those colored circles on chip bags? I'm not but if you are here you go.

What Those Colored Circles on Food Packages Actually Mean

Wondering what those colored circles on food packages really mean? The answer is more technical than you might think.

www.rd.com

 

[JDR13]

Diesel and Tolkien. Two of the greats.

If Diesel was actually serious and not just joking, it must be amazing to have that level of lack of self-awareness.

What a douche. He's a mediocre actor at best who's been in 1 semi-decent series (Riddick). Besides that, he's done nothing but generic crap.

 

[Carnifex]

Roughly two hours ago I submitted my dissertation, and now I get to defend it for six or so months. And, for the first time in a while, I read a new prefix before my name.

I still have about eight to ten more months of classes to go to finish the actual degree, yet I can see the end in sight. I just hope I can get out without racking up too much debt along the way.

 

[Redglyph]

Roughly two hours ago I submitted my dissertation, and now I get to defend it for six or so months. And, for the first time in a while, I read a new prefix before my name.

I still have about eight to ten more months of classes to go to finish the actual degree, yet I can see the end in sight. I just hope I can get out without racking up too much debt along the way.

Good luck! What is it, if I may ask?

Sounds like it took a lot of time, hopefully you'll be a little more relax now?

 

[Carnifex]

Oh I should have mentioned that, a doctorate in history. And aye, now I should be able to read more of what I want to read, maybe even check out more telly/films as well as games, with hopefully more time on my hands.

 

[Redglyph]

Oh I should have mentioned that, a doctorate in history. And aye, now I should be able to read more of what I want to read, maybe even check out more telly/films as well as games, with hopefully more time on my hands.

Impressive!

For me it's a strange method, having to defend a dissertation during a period and still having classes. Here we have a private presentation to allow for corrections and to make sure it's mature enough, then we defend the work in a public examination which consists of a presentation followed by Q&A but that's it, the verdict is given at the end of the public session. But this is in science, maybe it's different in other domains.

 

[Carnifex]

Aye, it's not the normal process, two people bailed out on their presentations so back in September I was offered the chance to put mine out ahead of schedule. I'd already done a full outline so the opportunity wasn't something I was going to pass by one, so far no regrets.

 

[Hurls]

Aye, it's not the normal process, two people bailed out on their presentations so back in September I was offered the chance to put mine out ahead of schedule. I'd already done a full outline so the opportunity wasn't something I was going to pass by one, so far no regrets.

Here in Oz we don’t tend to have to defend. If the reviewers pass it, and any necessary changes are made to the universities approval that’s it. Also, the only class during my PhD was research methods, which is also the common approach here. The focus is on your research not more classes on other people’s work.