To see what Google knows about you if you have a gmail account, go to Google dashboard. It's what it doesn't show(from their cookies and super cookies) that makes me wonder. Microsoft at least asks for permission to deliver profile/interest based ads(which I do want, at least it filters out crap I don't like:)).
I don't worry about software from large legitimate companies like Microsoft or Google.
It's interesting that no one has mentioned phone apps. Pretty much anyone can post a phone app and people load those without a second thought. Now there is a LARGE security hole. Phone apps have proven to have been spying and collecting info and even identity theft. Why does a calculator phone app need to access your e-mail list, etc. Want to worry about privacy issues? Concentrate on your phone. There is real security and privacy issue.
there is also O&O ShutUp10. you can search this on google and get it. I wonder how good these apps are!
I personally did all manually.
I never said I trusted the 3rd party software If you reed what I said! I said I did it manually! But a 3rd party software is not necessarily unsafe just because its 3rd party and not provided by MS or google! There are still (I hope) honest people out there making 3rd party apps to help!
I use a lot of freeware but not the stuff that gets deep in the system. Stuff like that may not be malicious but nobody knows more about windows than MS themselves. Changing things windows expect to find in standard condition may have bad results. As the matter of fact, that's usual reason of system failures. Not even MS gets it right 100% of times.
The less user or programs dig and change, less chance of screwing up.
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