Revealed! Crucial detail that Windows 10 privacy critics are missing

Victek · 10 Jan 2016

Kari said:

How is your personal privacy violated if and when the manufacturer of your chosen OS collects anonymous usage data? Why should I feel my privacy violated if and when Microsoft collects data about how often I launch Edge, how much I use Groove to listen music, how many searches I do with Cortana and Bing?

Please could you give a few practical examples: What will or can happen to me when using Windows 10 with its default settings? How will my life be affected?

To be clear the first post says that Microsoft anonymizes the data it collects. It doesn't say it collects "anonymous usage data". In other words the implication is the collected data is not anonymous to begin with and Microsoft chooses to anonymize it afterward. Is that accurate? Personally I don't believe Microsoft cares about the personal details of my computer usage, but I can't prove it. And although Microsoft may not care there may be people who do, for instance the government. Can we definitively rule out the possibility that data can flow from corporations to the government? If we can't rule it out it's reasonable to think about how we feel about it. There's also the possibility of hackers stealing info from Microsoft. It's not paranoid to ask these questions. Normally I don't think or worry about any of this, but if we're going to look at it objectively I feel we have to acknowledge how little we really know. Cheers :)

dencal · 10 Jan 2016

Yes its true M$ are targeting users of Bing, WHY? Advertising revenue, nothing sinister in that inasmuch that making a profit is not a sin.

Try this example...type in Cortana....surface pro 4....read up on it.....then open your e-mail provider or a newspaper....low and behold adverts offering the afore mentioned article appear by magic.

Each time you enquire about a product or service and click on a link using either Google or Bing adds monies to their account.

Bing hope to capitalise by offering nearby services and products through Cortana, assuming you allow (optional) your location to be established.

Nothing sordid or suspicious about that....its called capitalism.
As for prying...they are only interested in making monetary gain for the company.

Uilly · 10 Jan 2016

Kari said:

I have to repeat: what are the consequences to me as a Windows 10 user? You posted this:

Stating something like that, comparing it to the user statistical data collected by Microsoft, you should have some real and valid examples. That's why I am still waiting you to tell me what am I risking, what will or might happen to me as a Windows 10 user because I let my Windows 10 call home when it wants, let Microsoft collect the data?

Was your post just empty meaningless words or can you give me some examples? Give me something to make me believe you know what you are talking about, facts instead of tinfoil hat brigade paranoid assumptions.

Kari

It was the usage of this notorious Joseph Goebbels phrase - "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear".
used in a recent comment about MS data collecting, that I was responding too.

Layback Bear · 11 Jan 2016

I wear no tin foil hat and my systems have nothing anybody would want to waste the time gathering.

But I do ponder a question.
How did Microsoft get to be 90% plug of the market share of PC's before they started gathering all this data.
I'm guessing to some degree that the users of older Microsoft operating system chose those system and liked the fact they could also choose how the system worked. What it did when or do nothing if the owner operator chose to do nothing.

Their are users that choose not to install Windows Updates; which to me is a huge mistake but it is their computer, they can choose as they care to.
The fact that one should be able to choose shouldn't be looked at lightly.
Hiding the place and method of getting there to turn something off one doesn't want is not the proper method in my opinion.
Things that can be turned on or off should be obvious and straight forward.

Do you want cream in your coffee? Yes or No.
Here is some info on what cream in coffee does ect.

Do you want Cortana? Yes or No.
Here is some info on Cortana to help you decide ect.

dencal · 11 Jan 2016

Uilly said:

Kari

It was the usage of this notorious Joseph Goebbels phrase - "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear".
used in a recent comment about MS data collecting, that I was responding too.

Have looked extensively on the internet for your above Goebbels quote. (for personal reasons), nowhere could I find confirmation, only a collection of different words, then put together to make your above sentence.

Could you kindly supply confirmation Goebbels made this quote.

Cliff S · 11 Jan 2016

dencal said:

Have looked extensively on the internet for your above Goebbels quote. (for personal reasons), nowhere could I find confirmation, only a collection of different words, then put together to make your above sentence.

Could you kindly supply confirmation Goebbels made this quote.

History[edit]

In his 1919 muckraking exposé The Brass Check, Upton Sinclair wrote (referring to the 1914 Lexington Avenue explosion):
From first to last I had nothing to hide, and for that reason I had nothing to fear, and this was as well known to the newspapers as it was to the police who were probing the explosion.^[22]

Source: Nothing to hide argument - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The expose: The brass check, a study of American journalism

Another misconception, Goebbels

NOT!

dencal · 11 Jan 2016

Cliff S said:

Source: Nothing to hide argument - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The expose: The brass check, a study of American journalism
Another misconception, Goebbels

NOT!

Thanks Cliff for the response, like yourself I came up with the same result, including extensive Goebbels archive research

Cr00zng · 11 Jan 2016

Every systems, on or offline, collect information about you, that's just the nature of the businesses keeping track of their customers. You could not escape this data collection prior to computers and certainly cannot escape it now in the digital age. Technology just made this much more effective, easy to share, trade or sell to third-parties, etc...

Data brokers collect/trade/purchase data about everything and everybody. They don't do it for just to have this data, they perform data analysis about people/companies and the results are sold to interested parties. You might be familiar with "FICO" score, or your credit rating and have no issues with this scoring system. But you may not be familiar with your current/future employer might be using a company named Social Intelligence to screen job applicants. Similar data analysis company offer their report on individuals and companies, where evaluation criteria is different.

Facebook is actually getting in to the FICA score business, among other things:

Facebook friends may hurt you in getting a loan...

MS is in the position to collect much more accurate data based on their market share. They're not doing anything that is not "prior art", it's been done by other OS's, apps, browsers, etc. MS had no choice but to join in, if they want to remain relevant in the technology market. Anyone believing that it's only telemetry data that MS collects is naive, to say it mildly.

PS: Despite this, I do try to prevent data collection about me and my computer with very little success. No, I have nothing to hide, but buzz off...

gator2013 · 11 Jan 2016

Cr00zng said:

Anyone believing that it's only telemetry data that MS collects is naive, to say it mildly.

Unfortunately I must agree with you on that point. Problem is, MS has 100% access to your device especially if running W-10. None of the other companies have that capability.

dencal · 11 Jan 2016

Cr00zng said:

Every systems, on or offline, collect information about you, that's just the nature of the businesses keeping track of their customers. You could not escape this data collection prior to computers and certainly cannot escape it now in the digital age. Technology just made this much more effective, easy to share, trade or sell to third-parties, etc...

Data brokers collect/trade/purchase data about everything and everybody. They don't do it for just to have this data, they perform data analysis about people/companies and the results are sold to interested parties. You might be familiar with "FICO" score, or your credit rating and have no issues with this scoring system. But you may not be familiar with your current/future employer might be using a company named Social Intelligence to screen job applicants. Similar data analysis company offer their report on individuals and companies, where evaluation criteria is different.

Facebook is actually getting in to the FICA score business, among other things:

Facebook friends may hurt you in getting a loan...

MS is in the position to collect much more accurate data based on their market share. They're not doing anything that is not "prior art", it's been done by other OS's, apps, browsers, etc. MS had no choice but to join in, if they want to remain relevant in the technology market. Anyone believing that it's only telemetry data that MS collects is naive, to say it mildly.

PS: Despite this, I do try to prevent data collection about me and my computer with very little success. No, I have nothing to hide, but buzz off...

Your above post could be summarised using three words......Marketing.....Making Money.