Name a mainstream GUI that doesn't have information gathering build into it? Spyware was out there way before computers came along.
Originally posted by andre369
No, I have not read into or looked at what Windows 10 offers.
So a friend of mine said, that he will never get Windows 10 because it has spyware and such built in the core system. That gathers information, what you like and not like, to sell ads and more.
I have worked in company making a free product with over 500 million active users. And possibly as 3 times this number of non active users. ( you most likely at least know someone who was using it )
The product was free because we made money by something called "User profiling"
Our program would install untracable spyware. And I mean it. No adware , antivirus or anything like that was able to detect this , and if it would, we would pay them to remove us from the list (this is how they make money)
This "profiler" would than gather data on each user. It could even read your emails.
But what we were interested in is user buying habits, what sites he surfs and what he has installed.
We would compose report : This IP is a women age 35 interested in flowers and gardening and is playing these games ...etc
Than would sell this data to advertizing dealers , in order to do what is called "targeted advertizing"
We were making above 200 million dollars a year. Before the company was bought by bigger one.
So yes. This spyware story. Windows wanting piece of that cake.
Credible.
Well shit my profile would read something like
Roughly 30-35 year old male with an unhealthy obsession with pornography and video games, possibly at the same time. Also receives an inordinate amount of junk mail about getting a bigger penis and/or breasts and wrist watches....possibly to wear on his enlarged penis. Doesn't seem to give a shit that we are tracking his internet habits as he constantly responds to chain emails about how your privacy is being invaded with a very clear "stop sending me f*ing retard emails".
Originally posted by DMKano If information gathering is your "valid concern" - throw away anything with an on/off switch - move to the mountains and stay away from civilization.
Everything is tracked - not because anyone cares who you are - what is tracked is how we spend money - so that we can be marketed to better.
It's about consumerism - not about "big brother" spying on you because they want to know how many times you went to the bathroom.
Ignorant is bliss you live in fairy tale world and they LOVE you as so many the masses are easy target they get rich or get more and more power over you but hey you don't care you just consume right.
Better hide your stash of Brony porn somewhere the NSA can't find it.
Well.. I do no think anyone really doubt that MS is in on the info-share biz.
What i am objecting is that it is a concern... As others have pointed out it is just another blip on the radar... A biz that is slowly killing it self from oversaturation.
If you are connected... You are being traced.
That is the simple fact of it. The internet is about as private as using a megaphone on a crowded plaza.
No, I have not read into or looked at what Windows 10 offers.
So a friend of mine said, that he will never get Windows 10 because it has spyware and such built in the core system. That gathers information, what you like and not like, to sell ads and more.
Is this a valid concern?
No it is not, the tech preview has a lot of tracking for obvious reasons, if you are concerned about being tracked maybe technology is't for you as even this site collects data on you, shock horror!
In the UK we have the Snooper's charter likely to make it into law very soon, now that is something to be very worried about
I want to make some things right, seeing the amount of bullshit this thread is full of. *EVERY* major OS with *NO* exceptions tracks user behavior. Microsoft does it since 98. Canonical does it for several years now. Apple does it on all their devices. Google especially does it and actually makes money off it.
Hell, 2 years ago Canonical was sending your search queries to Amazon. At least microsoft is trying to improve based on user input. They actually track whether you use Start menu or not.
since it's free it will most likely come with an app store so they will definitely want to know what eye candy they can throw at you so that you spend money.
Originally posted by hallucigenocide since it's free it will most likely come with an app store so they will definitely want to know what eye candy they can throw at you so that you spend money.
It is NOT free.
They will give it away to people who have allready bought Windows 7 or 8 for the first year after release as a free upgrade.
New installs will still have to pay, and old customers will have to pay as well if they dont upgrade during that first year.
Its a promotional offer. Nothing more, nothing less.
Originally posted by hallucigenocide since it's free it will most likely come with an app store so they will definitely want to know what eye candy they can throw at you so that you spend money.
It is NOT free.
They will give it away to people who have allready bought Windows 7 or 8 for the first year after release as a free upgrade.
New installs will still have to pay, and old customers will have to pay as well if they dont upgrade during that first year.
Its a promotional offer. Nothing more, nothing less.
oh right.. well wouldn't be surprised if it came with an app store anyway
Can't you just run a software firewall and block windows from accessing the net to send said info? IMO it should be against the law for them to snoop into your privacy like that, it just should not be allowed.
Being a pessimist is a win-win pattern of thinking. If you're a pessimist (I'll admit that I am!) you're either:
A. Proven right (if something bad happens)
or
B. Pleasantly surprised (if something good happens)
I'm not particularly bothered or worried either way, the older I get the less I don't give a damn to be honest. What do they know about me - probably that I'm sat at my PC most days playing MMO's? Do what you will with that information if it's making them money - good luck to them.
It is a valid concern. Especially concerning your OS.
Microsoft is looking at Google and taking a page out of their book. So ya the data collection will be significant. I see the switch from windows being a product to service will allow for more "anonymous" data collection as well.
If you are concerned about privacy though that becomes a full time job.
No company cares about you as an individual. I mean how fucking arrogant do you need to be to think that companies are curious what you do today or where you went or that you were browsing porn x on the web etc. They collect information on people aggregate for various purposes, it is collected annonymously and you as a person are not identified.
Also someone posting extract from the T&C for the "windows technical preview" and how they collect what you do on your windows, that's because it's for testing purporses. Microsoft need data of the usage to improve the product. This also happens with these technical previews. The final version will not have this clause, this was even said by Microsoft (can't be bothered to provide links, use a search engine if interested).
Overall stop being so paranoid. Tons of companies collect information about our habits and usage so they can market and target us better. Or do you really think that they care about what you personally do and have some nefarious intention behind all this? Then all I can say is LOL.
Mission in life: Vanquish all MMORPG.com trolls - especially TESO, WOW and GW2 trolls.
WOW - I think y'all better get your little tin foil hats out. After all, it protects you from mind control.
MS was the first company to actually have private sessions on their web browser. They were also sued by the US Government for email access and fought back.
If you want total security, please unplug your computer from the internet and throw out all of your pads, smart phones, watches, etc. that is the only way you will have total security.
Originally posted by hallucigenocide since it's free it will most likely come with an app store so they will definitely want to know what eye candy they can throw at you so that you spend money.
It is NOT free.
They will give it away to people who have allready bought Windows 7 or 8 for the first year after release as a free upgrade.
New installs will still have to pay, and old customers will have to pay as well if they dont upgrade during that first year.
Its a promotional offer. Nothing more, nothing less.
oh right.. well wouldn't be surprised if it came with an app store anyway
And don't forget that businesses are not illegible for this offer so they have to pay for it. To be honest there was a similar promo when Windows 7 and 8 launched. I bought a laptop with windows vista on it, then got free upgrade to windows 7. Same for my windows 7 laptop.
Originally posted by justmemyselfandi
Originally posted by hallucigenocide
Originally posted by hfztt
Originally posted by hallucigenocide since it's free it will most likely come with an app store so they will definitely want to know what eye candy they can throw at you so that you spend money.
It is NOT free.
They will give it away to people who have allready bought Windows 7 or 8 for the first year after release as a free upgrade.
New installs will still have to pay, and old customers will have to pay as well if they dont upgrade during that first year.
Its a promotional offer. Nothing more, nothing less.
oh right.. well wouldn't be surprised if it came with an app store anyway
Of course it has an app store. The same as Windows 8. The same as the Windows phone. The same as the Xbone. The same as my Android phone. The same as the majority of Apple's products. Big deal. You know how many times I've had to see, much less even use the app store in Windows 8, 8.1, or 10?
0. Zilch. Nada.
There is no freemium version of Windows 10, there is no ad-supported version of Windows 10, there is simply Microsoft throwing a bone to everyone who at least bothered to upgrade from ancient Windows XP or Vista ( which is why 7 and above get it free for the first year ). Less importantly, they're throwing a bone to those too dimwitted to be able to use Windows 8 without having a brain spasm.
Every new Windows OS we go through this same bullshit from the casual PC user, most of whom have more uninformed opinion to spare than sense. The same people who couldn't take one second to click the "desktop" icon on the metro screen in Windows 8, but instead bitched because "Windows 8 is only for touch screens!! There's no desktop!! Oh, and no Start menu ( because right clicking in the lower left corner was too much for their already strained brains to comprehend )!!!!! ZOMGBBQROARR!!" and called it a failure.
Pretty much my thoughts on Windows 7 users who said that windows 8 was unusable. Clicking Desktop on Start screen is soooo difficult and requires advanced programming skills. I was shocked that people didn't know they could open up the start menu by pressing the windows logo on their keyboard so when the button was removed people were lost.
You forgot one thing. HOw the hell do I search in Windows 8??? I mean in windows 7 there is a BIG fat blank box saying search. How the hell do you search? What do you mean I just start typing?? What the hell do you mean by that? That feature was NEVEEEER in windows 7 and I didn't know about it. MIND BLOWN!
Mission in life: Vanquish all MMORPG.com trolls - especially TESO, WOW and GW2 trolls.
LOL, Big brother always watches over you, do you own a cellphone, do you take pictures, do you go online, do you buy in the stores? Any answer yes you are been watched. By the way I am the oldest man playing MMOs out there, every single time I check a game and they ask me for my day of birth I always type 1-11- whatever the first year they have there like 1900 or 18-- if they have ikt. Go anf fly a kite you big brother.
Hate to tell you this but big brother has been watching you since before the advent of computers... they've been gathering information about you since the moment you were born.
Can't believe people are here defending windows 8. It was horrible, and completely unintuitive compared to win7. Some of you people live on your mobile devices so much you no longer understand what is convenient for a desktop user.
Originally posted by Dullahan Can't believe people are here defending windows 8. It was horrible, and completely unintuitive compared to win7. Some of you people live on your mobile devices so much you no longer understand what is convenient for a desktop user.
Straight benchmarks windows 8.1 is the fastest OS Microsoft made. For gaming its still the fastest and most stable option.
No company cares about you as an individual. I mean how fucking arrogant do you need to be to think that companies are curious what you do today or where you went or that you were browsing porn x on the web etc. They collect information on people aggregate for various purposes, it is collected annonymously and you as a person are not identified.
Also someone posting extract from the T&C for the "windows technical preview" and how they collect what you do on your windows, that's because it's for testing purporses. Microsoft need data of the usage to improve the product. This also happens with these technical previews. The final version will not have this clause, this was even said by Microsoft (can't be bothered to provide links, use a search engine if interested).
Overall stop being so paranoid. Tons of companies collect information about our habits and usage so they can market and target us better. Or do you really think that they care about what you personally do and have some nefarious intention behind all this? Then all I can say is LOL.
Yes, they do collect info about you as an individual. And it's becoming increasingly granular as people adopt wearable devices. You digital "footprint" of daily activity is not only recorded, but used in predictive analytics to generate contextually aware information about you and your future habits.
And just fyi, your fitness/wellness data is currently, as we speak, being packaged and sold to insurance companies and in some cases people's employers. Just as an example, since I work in mobile health, mAging (mobile aging) efforts are learning to track elderly people's gait over time to determine if they've developed a limp or lost some of their mobility and how rapidly it's deteriorating. Now, technically this is a benevolent use of personal data as we are interested in improving health outcomes (and we're a non-profit center at a university) but so much of your data is tracked and linked to you and the more devices people connect (sleep monitors, nutrition recording, etc) are constantly mined for that personal data. Photo-tagging algorithms scours your social feeds to see if they can identify what you like to eat, who shows up most in your photos, if you have pets, etc. No, they're not perfectly accurate and not all of this data is actionable (aka, useable within the confines of the law), but it is being collected.
If you use any connected technology, even the slightest idea of privacy is laughable. You are tracked, quantified, and analyzed in so many ways it'll make your head spin. It's not about paranoia, it's just how things are now.
"testing purposes" is code for "we're collecting every little thing about you and keeping it on file for when this becomes legal - in the meantime we're using this stuff to create new technologies around it." For example, just this April it was announced that there are iris scanners that can identify a person at 40 feet. This tech is only going to improve over time, and when it's ready, they will want to know who people are so they can identify them and sell it to airports, hospitals, GAP stores, etc. Well, when you use your webcam your iris signature is recorded for "testing purposes" so is your voice print, if you use a fingerprint scanner for security, that information is also stored.
Are they nefarious or do they actually care? No. They care about money, this will make them money later. People will get all huffy when "da govmint" borrows this technology from the private sector. The more things are accepted, the further they will push it. Some insurance companies will offer you a discount if you are willing to connect a fitness device and log certain amounts of exercise. Auto-insurers are doing the same thing Progressive and State Farm allow you to connect a dongle to your car which records your driving in exchange for lower rates. Of course your driving telemetry is already recorded by the chipset in your car, but it's one of those "we're offering a device on a volunteer basis so it's legal" territory. So whether you're signed up for this or not, your driving data is already captured. Where you go, how you drove there, and how long you stay in any particular area.
Don't worry, even though you've cleared your browser history, your ISP did record the porn site you visited, how long you spent on that site, and have already plotted out a regression analysis of time of day that you tend to use those sites. Not the most valuable of data, but it's easy to record and nearly free to store.
Originally posted by Dullahan Can't believe people are here defending windows 8. It was horrible, and completely unintuitive compared to win7. Some of you people live on your mobile devices so much you no longer understand what is convenient for a desktop user.
Straight benchmarks windows 8.1 is the fastest OS Microsoft made. For gaming its still the fastest and most stable option.
The interface is complete crap. It also nannies you to death trying to keep you from altering the way it functions to suit your needs. Speed isn't everything. With even a mid range system you can already get faster frame rates than your brain can possibly process. The limit now isn't the operating system it's the bus the data moves across.
Its not that bad lol. With upgrading to 8.1 you dont even need to use the metro interface and it does not change the fact, its the most stable and fastest OS Windows has made.
Originally posted by Dullahan Can't believe people are here defending windows 8. It was horrible, and completely unintuitive compared to win7. Some of you people live on your mobile devices so much you no longer understand what is convenient for a desktop user.
It literally doesn't matter. Windows 10 is fantastic, so if they want to keep using 8 then so be it.
Comments
Well shit my profile would read something like
Roughly 30-35 year old male with an unhealthy obsession with pornography and video games, possibly at the same time. Also receives an inordinate amount of junk mail about getting a bigger penis and/or breasts and wrist watches....possibly to wear on his enlarged penis. Doesn't seem to give a shit that we are tracking his internet habits as he constantly responds to chain emails about how your privacy is being invaded with a very clear "stop sending me f*ing retard emails".
Better hide your stash of Brony porn somewhere the NSA can't find it.
Well.. I do no think anyone really doubt that MS is in on the info-share biz.
What i am objecting is that it is a concern... As others have pointed out it is just another blip on the radar... A biz that is slowly killing it self from oversaturation.
If you are connected... You are being traced.
That is the simple fact of it. The internet is about as private as using a megaphone on a crowded plaza.
This have been a good conversation
No it is not, the tech preview has a lot of tracking for obvious reasons, if you are concerned about being tracked maybe technology is't for you as even this site collects data on you, shock horror!
In the UK we have the Snooper's charter likely to make it into law very soon, now that is something to be very worried about
I want to make some things right, seeing the amount of bullshit this thread is full of. *EVERY* major OS with *NO* exceptions tracks user behavior. Microsoft does it since 98. Canonical does it for several years now. Apple does it on all their devices. Google especially does it and actually makes money off it.
Hell, 2 years ago Canonical was sending your search queries to Amazon. At least microsoft is trying to improve based on user input. They actually track whether you use Start menu or not.
I had fun once, it was terrible.
It is NOT free.
They will give it away to people who have allready bought Windows 7 or 8 for the first year after release as a free upgrade.
New installs will still have to pay, and old customers will have to pay as well if they dont upgrade during that first year.
Its a promotional offer. Nothing more, nothing less.
oh right.. well wouldn't be surprised if it came with an app store anyway
I had fun once, it was terrible.
Being a pessimist is a win-win pattern of thinking. If you're a pessimist (I'll admit that I am!) you're either:
A. Proven right (if something bad happens)
or
B. Pleasantly surprised (if something good happens)
Either way, you can't lose! Try it out sometime!
It is a valid concern. Especially concerning your OS.
Microsoft is looking at Google and taking a page out of their book. So ya the data collection will be significant. I see the switch from windows being a product to service will allow for more "anonymous" data collection as well.
If you are concerned about privacy though that becomes a full time job.
Some interesting reads on privacy in general.
The Hypocrisy of the Internet Journalist
by Quinn Norton.
https://medium.com/message/the-hypocrisy-of-the-internet-journalist-587d33f6279e
Smith v. Maryland Turns 35, But Its Health Is Declining
This court case stood for the idea that people have no expectation of privacy in information they expose to others.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/06/smith-v-maryland-turns-35-its-healths-declining
It's quite cute how paranoid some people are.
No company cares about you as an individual. I mean how fucking arrogant do you need to be to think that companies are curious what you do today or where you went or that you were browsing porn x on the web etc. They collect information on people aggregate for various purposes, it is collected annonymously and you as a person are not identified.
Also someone posting extract from the T&C for the "windows technical preview" and how they collect what you do on your windows, that's because it's for testing purporses. Microsoft need data of the usage to improve the product. This also happens with these technical previews. The final version will not have this clause, this was even said by Microsoft (can't be bothered to provide links, use a search engine if interested).
Overall stop being so paranoid. Tons of companies collect information about our habits and usage so they can market and target us better. Or do you really think that they care about what you personally do and have some nefarious intention behind all this? Then all I can say is LOL.
Mission in life: Vanquish all MMORPG.com trolls - especially TESO, WOW and GW2 trolls.
WOW - I think y'all better get your little tin foil hats out. After all, it protects you from mind control.
MS was the first company to actually have private sessions on their web browser. They were also sued by the US Government for email access and fought back.
If you want total security, please unplug your computer from the internet and throw out all of your pads, smart phones, watches, etc. that is the only way you will have total security.
And don't forget that businesses are not illegible for this offer so they have to pay for it. To be honest there was a similar promo when Windows 7 and 8 launched. I bought a laptop with windows vista on it, then got free upgrade to windows 7. Same for my windows 7 laptop.
Pretty much my thoughts on Windows 7 users who said that windows 8 was unusable. Clicking Desktop on Start screen is soooo difficult and requires advanced programming skills. I was shocked that people didn't know they could open up the start menu by pressing the windows logo on their keyboard so when the button was removed people were lost.
You forgot one thing. HOw the hell do I search in Windows 8??? I mean in windows 7 there is a BIG fat blank box saying search. How the hell do you search? What do you mean I just start typing?? What the hell do you mean by that? That feature was NEVEEEER in windows 7 and I didn't know about it. MIND BLOWN!
Mission in life: Vanquish all MMORPG.com trolls - especially TESO, WOW and GW2 trolls.
want 7 free days of playing? Try this
http://www.swtor.com/r/ZptVnY
Hate to tell you this but big brother has been watching you since before the advent of computers... they've been gathering information about you since the moment you were born.
Have a driver's license?
Have a social security card?
Have a bank account?
Have a credit card?
Own/Lease a house/apartment?
Have insurance of any sort?
Go to a doctor?
Go to a dentist?
Ever had a job?
The list goes on and on...
Straight benchmarks windows 8.1 is the fastest OS Microsoft made. For gaming its still the fastest and most stable option.
Yes, they do collect info about you as an individual. And it's becoming increasingly granular as people adopt wearable devices. You digital "footprint" of daily activity is not only recorded, but used in predictive analytics to generate contextually aware information about you and your future habits.
And just fyi, your fitness/wellness data is currently, as we speak, being packaged and sold to insurance companies and in some cases people's employers. Just as an example, since I work in mobile health, mAging (mobile aging) efforts are learning to track elderly people's gait over time to determine if they've developed a limp or lost some of their mobility and how rapidly it's deteriorating. Now, technically this is a benevolent use of personal data as we are interested in improving health outcomes (and we're a non-profit center at a university) but so much of your data is tracked and linked to you and the more devices people connect (sleep monitors, nutrition recording, etc) are constantly mined for that personal data. Photo-tagging algorithms scours your social feeds to see if they can identify what you like to eat, who shows up most in your photos, if you have pets, etc. No, they're not perfectly accurate and not all of this data is actionable (aka, useable within the confines of the law), but it is being collected.
If you use any connected technology, even the slightest idea of privacy is laughable. You are tracked, quantified, and analyzed in so many ways it'll make your head spin. It's not about paranoia, it's just how things are now.
"testing purposes" is code for "we're collecting every little thing about you and keeping it on file for when this becomes legal - in the meantime we're using this stuff to create new technologies around it." For example, just this April it was announced that there are iris scanners that can identify a person at 40 feet. This tech is only going to improve over time, and when it's ready, they will want to know who people are so they can identify them and sell it to airports, hospitals, GAP stores, etc. Well, when you use your webcam your iris signature is recorded for "testing purposes" so is your voice print, if you use a fingerprint scanner for security, that information is also stored.
Are they nefarious or do they actually care? No. They care about money, this will make them money later. People will get all huffy when "da govmint" borrows this technology from the private sector. The more things are accepted, the further they will push it. Some insurance companies will offer you a discount if you are willing to connect a fitness device and log certain amounts of exercise. Auto-insurers are doing the same thing Progressive and State Farm allow you to connect a dongle to your car which records your driving in exchange for lower rates. Of course your driving telemetry is already recorded by the chipset in your car, but it's one of those "we're offering a device on a volunteer basis so it's legal" territory. So whether you're signed up for this or not, your driving data is already captured. Where you go, how you drove there, and how long you stay in any particular area.
Don't worry, even though you've cleared your browser history, your ISP did record the porn site you visited, how long you spent on that site, and have already plotted out a regression analysis of time of day that you tend to use those sites. Not the most valuable of data, but it's easy to record and nearly free to store.
Its not that bad lol. With upgrading to 8.1 you dont even need to use the metro interface and it does not change the fact, its the most stable and fastest OS Windows has made.
It literally doesn't matter. Windows 10 is fantastic, so if they want to keep using 8 then so be it.