Microsoft needs to fit Windows 10 with a data collection 'off switch'

[RV_]

Privacy has always been one of my main concerns and here I was just accepting it because I am really really liking 10 and 8.1. Time for me to take a second look. There is no doubt I am moving forward but it may be a good thing to all write in to MS and let them know what we feel about the telemetry.

 

I still can't wait until after the next few months and I have my native Windows 10 Surface or Surface Pro in hand and loving it. I am waiting to see if there are any discounts for the holidays first, and second, how the transition to Windows Mobile 10 goes on our new Lumia 735s.

 

Microsoft is collecting telemetry from PCs running Windows 10 and I'm OK with that, but what I'm not OK with is the fact that there's no off switch. In fact, I can't understand why Microsoft wants to get into a privacy brawl with Windows 10 users at such a critical time.

 

Excerpt:

 

"Collecting data from systems and not giving the folks who are sitting between the keyboard and chair an option to opt out would always have raised an eyebrow, but in this post-Snowden world it looks especially shady.

 

Is this data really worth the price Microsoft has to pay to collect it by force?

 

I want to make it clear that I'm in no way suggesting that Microsoft is doing anything nefarious with telemetry data. The crackpot theories that it's a data backdoor and Microsoft is handing that data to the NSA/FBI/saucer people are just that -- crackpot theories. But Microsoft does need to appreciate and accept that not a week goes by where there isn't some data horror story in the headlines, and that makes people understandably nervous.

 

Microsoft needs to be working on getting people excited about Windows 10, not strong-arming them or generating ammunition for the haters (or, for that matter, competitors).

 

Getting out of this mess is easy. Here are three simple steps for Microsoft:

1.Wind back the ego a few notches. Just because a system is running Windows 10 shouldn't mean that Microsoft feels it is entitled to end user telemetry. Period. Remember whose computer it is. Never lose sight of that.

2.Build an off switch for the telemetry. This shouldn't be hard to do. Put the decision as to whether telemetry data is sent back to the Microsoft mothership in the hands of the user.

3.Quit it with the heavy-handedness. What is it with all the "mandatory" stuff in Windows 10? Sheesh.

 

So, is there anything that Windows 10 users can do if they want to put the brakes on Microsoft harvesting data from their PC?

 

Well, there are third-party tools that can configure your system so it doesn't send data back to Microsoft. Problem is you're trying to solve a privacy issue by installing random third-party software on your system, which feels sketchy at best.

 

This is made all the sketchier by the fact that some of the Windows 10 privacy tools install adware onto the system. I suggest you don't install these onto your system, and as always, be vigilant.

 

There's a good listing of Windows 10 privacy tools available on Ghacks, but if you were to ask me for a recommendation then my vote would be for Spybot Anti-Beacon from the makers of Spybot Search & Destroy, a popular anti-spyware program for Windows. The tool is simple to use, doesn't foist ads onto your system, and is written by people who have a background in keeping Windows systems clean.

 

Do you have to do this? No, but if you feel strongly enough about this matter to want to do something about it then it's using third-party tools to modify the operating system or nothing (or not use Windows 10, I suppose)."

 

The whole article, which I agree with, including related articles and live links is here: http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-needs-to-fit-windows-10-with-a-data-collection-off-switch/?tag=nl.e539&s_cid=e539&ttag=e539&ftag=TRE17cfd61

[Ron]

I read an article about this issue on Forbes website. I use a Mac and I know that Apple also has their OS sending messages automatically to various servers as I'm using my computer. I don't know the nature of the messages, their reasons for sending them, nor whether I should be concerned about their content. I don't know how this compares to the nature of the data that Microsoft is collecting from Windows10 users.

 

I know about it because I recently installed a program called "Little Snitch". I really like this program. I provides a wealth of information about which apps are sending data out of your computer and where that data is going. I'm probably naive but I was amazed at the number of messages sent by certain apps and also from some emails I open. Little Snitch makes it pretty easy to block these messages selectively based on rules that the user can define.

 

I started looking into this because my only internet connection is via cell modem so $/GB is pretty expensive, and I find my data usage going up quite a bit even though, subjectively, I feel like my "surfing" hasn't gone up. Because of this I've installed browser extensions to block advertisements, block outgoing messages to trackers, a Java Script blocker, and a Flash player blocker. Those along with Little Snitch now blocking a lot of outgoing traffic and seems (subjectively) to have reduced my data usage somewhat.

 

After installing Little Snitch I was amazed at the number of messages I was unknowingly sending to Google when I clicked on emails from corporate websites. Google and several other such data harvesters are not getting very many messages from my computer any more. Outgoing messages that used to automatically be sent to Microsoft every time I opened one of the Office Apps have also been eliminated or reduced to once per day. Likewise with most messages that were being sent to Apple.

 

I'm sure there must be comparable extensions and apps for Windows and your favorite browser - they may help you address the subject data collection issue, reduce your data usage, and help prevent Google and other data harvesters from knowing everything about you and your life.

 

---Ron

[RV_]

I was really in a rush yesterday and put this post in the wrong forum!

 

If the admins would move it to computers I'd be grateful. Man, that is a first in the 15 years I've been on these boards. I always wondered how some one could be so inattentive!

 

Oh well!

 

That little snitch looked really good. I looked it up to see if they have a Windows version, they do! It's called FortKnox Firewall - Best Alternative to Little Snitch for Windows PCs. $29.95 for 3 PCs for five years support/license. http://littlesnitchwindows.com/

 

Thanks! I'm going to go play with it some and see.

 

Ghacks is making quite a name for themselves in software reviews and recommendations for performance, privacy, and security. I'm doing a lot of reading there: http://www.ghacks.net/

 

I'd trust Apple and Microsoft's phoning home as really performance telemetry more than Google, as their revenues are primarily from their hard and soft warz.

 

I'm hoping Microsoft acknowledges and becomes more forthcoming in their use of any telemetry. I also hope they become the Operating System equivalent of the Luxembourg/Swiss/Cayman Island banking privacy and security. I think they have made a start, but more is needed.

 

"Of course they will never satisfy the crackpots and OS as a religion types as the article above said and I quoted: "The crackpot theories that it's a data backdoor and Microsoft is handing that data to the NSA/FBI/saucer people are just that -- crackpot theories."

 

It only seems there are more tin hat people today because they get on the Internet. They were always there, but were shunned by folks with more sense.