Windows 10 - Spying on your every move?

I have been looking into reports about Windows 10 being a Spyware OS.... what i found was shocking.

http://www.trustedre...rivacy-concerns

http://www.theinquir...your-every-move

http://www.forbes.co...dows-10-spying/

http://windows.micro...ivacy-Statement


Also has Microsoft done this before with the xbox one? I read that the Kinect is always listening.

What are your thoughts on this?

 

They can also use your bandwidth as an update server for windows 10, you need to use micro transactions to be able to play games that come for free with the OS without ads, and they give out your WI-FI password to everyone in your contacts list, there's a reason i won't ever update to win10

 

All of which you can disable in settings

Minus the ads on the free games.

 

Well im using it right now. And my honest opinion is: I don't care. Nobody is safe on the internet. If someone wants my data they will get it one way or another. The only safe way is just stay offline.

 

yes, but it's not like these things are stated that they exist in clear text or are easy to find

 

Yeah but if you were worried about that kind of stuff you would've looked it up before you swapped to win10.

 

Things like the "Hey Cortana" feature of Win10 or the "Xbox ___" feature of the Xbone are ways that people cans say that they're always listening, but to be honest, unless you're doing something highly illegal, why would it even matter? It's not like there's people dedicating their lives to listening to every byte of sound data collected by these. Sure, they could, but why? There's no real point. It's not like 1984 where you're in trouble for speaking opinion other than that of which has been burned into your brain.

 

pfft, i have everything wired, so i keep wifi disabled.

 

Yea when people say that it is "always listening" they are referring to the fact that in order for it to respond when you say "hey cortana" it has to always be listening for that specific keyword.. in principal nothing else you say would ever be transmitted unless it comes directly after that "hey cortana" trigger.. anyone who points to that as a big privacy concern is just fear-mongering for the sake of it, and regardless if you are happy to live without cortana then you can easily disable that feature.

PeerBlock can get rid of the ads, you just need to configure it to block the ip ranges of the microsoft ad servers (a list of which is already been put together on the PeerBlock forums)

 

Soon imma, soon ... and that's the real problem, it's implemented and as you say it's just the way of using the actual data that is problematic, the real question is when are they going to start using that to identify people to censor and stuff ..

disclaimer: I agree with Pitschweis

 

If they were going to censor the internet they'd just do it already, the only real thing you need to be watching for is whether or not Net Neutrality is a thing.. Net Neutrality is one of those newer internet terms which essentially a free and open internet, made available by an ISP, where once subscribed you have access to the internet as a whole. Now Comcast was in the works of trying to "Fast Track" the internet. Essentially what that is, you have access to all of the internet, but everything you aren't paying for takes forever to load.

Like Chaos said, the listening is only done for the purpose of hearing the keyword of "Hey Cortana".

For the privacy paranoid, your best bet in my humble opinion, is just to never use the internet. You don't need to worry about being hacked, spied on, or any of that jazz if you just remove the Ethernet cable or turn off the wifi in your computing device. Such is the beauty of being hacked/spied on. Worse case scenario, you unplug/power off your router and/or computer. I mean if I found out the NSA or whoever else was spying on me, sure I'd be upset. The odds of them ever listening to my sound files, or any of yours, are fairly slim, regardless the legality of what you may be doing. If you dun goof and get put on their watchlist, you're still probably okay, as those things will probably contain the country and then some.

If you're worried about what they use the data for, you could just try asking, and also read this dusty forgotten thing called the "Terms and Conditions". I frequently glimpse over them to be sure I'm not binding my life into some scary contract without knowing. Usually it'll tell you that any data collected will be used to improve the quality of the product.

The only true need for spying would be to track down black hat hackers or to make sure illegal things aren't being done on the interwebz, which in reality is an effort to make the internet a better place for everyone. I'm all for privacy on the internet, but in things where privacy is lacking, you're signing yourself up for it when you agree to the "Terms and Conditions" that you never read.

 

cgp grey dose a vid on net neutrality

 

Another great one.

Spoiler: The Internet Must Go

 

finally! someone else who watches cgpgrey!

 

his voice is so charming
@immaZebrah that is a good one

 

If you are using Google or Facebook you shouldn't worry about it. Microsoft is just catching up.

 

I dont get all the fuzz about beeing wired by the big companies. If you are really paranoid about beeing listened to or your files looked thru you have somthing to hide. I have nothing to hide so Microsoft NSA Google Facebook are all welcome to look at my data.

 

I kinda agree Hansi, If i found out any of them was watching me or listening i would be quite proud i was worth them devoting there attention to what i type and say,

 

Yeah exactly

 

Or phones, or drive through cities, or use atms, or go to gas stations, etc etc.

or if you use android, or iOS, or have bank account, or own a company, or work for that matter since they collect your info too, or pay taxes, or are registered to vote, or own or rent a place to live, or use credit cards, or pay bills. The list goes on, everyone has everyone's info already if you look hard enough, who cares anymore.