What about Google, Tweeter, Facebook (and other social media), Youtube...... etc ? Antivirus and antimalware programs can follow every step you make on your computer, go thru your email and messages, that's how they work and couldn't work properly without it. Your bank, credit bureau, insurance companies etc. know more about you than you do.
I'd say that MS has least vested interest in you as a person by name than your friendly neighborhood grocer.
If turning off most/all of the monitoring truly behaves as claimed, then fine.
And, saying that "Microsoft has not the faintest interest in your person" is perhaps accurate in that neither they nor anyone else in this world (save for close friends and family) cares about you as an individual.
But the online experience offered to us exists SPECIFICALLY for "spying". Web sites cost money, yet we go to them for free. So how are they being paid for? By your data and your usage patterns and by any other means unknown to us behind closed doors.
What you do is used to tailor what you see ... for the purpose of targeted marketing. And that information can be leaked, spied, or subpoenaed for use by authorities for legitimate or illegitimate use.
We are being watched.
Last edited by margrave55; 08 May 2018 at 07:36.
I was thinking more of Niemoller (not that I was drawing any absurd equivalence) - just agreeing with @TheDeerDude about little steps perhaps ending where you don't want.
You can remove your devices from your Microsoft account by creating local accounts for each one of your devices.
Hi folks
Not wishing to get into UK's Brexit stuff but EU data protection law (latest one) comes into effect on 25 May -- this should make it much harder even for legitimate 3rd parties to collect and retain personal data. Parts of Windows 10 outside the US will have to take notice of this.
Of course this won't effect scammers and other "malcreants" but should afford people living within the EU area better data protection than now.
Some parts of the EEA have also accepted the same system.
My only worry is that some of these "credit reference" agencies such as Experian, Equifax etc can hold whatever they like on individuals and pass it out willy nilly to all and sundry - and this new law doesn't seem to rein them in at all. An error held by these types of organisations can virtually destroy lives.
Personally I think these companies should be made illegal --if a Bank wants to issue / deny people a credit card they should do the research themselves.
Cheers
jimbo
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