Windows 10: Now you can see every bit of data Microsoft harvests from your PC

The Windows Diagnostic Data Viewer was made available yesterday to those testing early builds of Windows 10 under the Windows Insider program.

The Diagnostic Data Viewer includes the following information:

[*** Creepy list ***]

The viewer can filter data by the categories above, and also lets users search for specific terms.

However, despite Microsoft's intention to make the viewer available to all users, the information the viewer shows is unlikely to be intelligible to everyone.

That is also detailed by The Register:

Microsoft whips out tool so you can measure Windows 10's data-slurping creepiness

Diagnostic Data Viewer gives users a peek into what Redmond gathers from your PC...


For the normal form for The Register, that article is rather subdued... All far too obvious to need risking their legal budget/insurance? Instead, the comments there are somewhat illuminating as is too often the case...


IT really is what we allow it to be...
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Windows 10: Now you can see every bit of data Microsoft harvests from your PC

The Windows Diagnostic Data Viewer was made available yesterday to those testing early builds of Windows 10 under the Windows Insider program.

[*** Creepy list ***]

That is also detailed by The Register:

Microsoft whips out tool so you can measure Windows 10's data-slurping creepiness

Diagnostic Data Viewer gives users a peek into what Redmond gathers from your PC...


For the normal form for The Register, that article is rather subdued... All far too obvious to need risking their legal budget/insurance? Instead, the comments there are somewhat illuminating as is too often the case...

Tom's Hardware has picked up on the story also:

Microsoft Introduces New Privacy Tools For Windows Insiders

... Microsoft has already been threatened by Data Protection Authorities in the EU in regards to how it collects data on users in Windows 10. With the much stricter General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) going into effect later this spring, we’re starting to see many companies, large and small, offer users more control over the data that is collected on them as a way to become compliant with the new data protection regulation.


Note: Those user-friendly regulations do not include the rest of the world such as the great "US of A"...


IT really is what we allow it to be...
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Ah, but when Kaspersky sends back information about the version of AV that's installed on your system, it's bad, and everyone needs to know how bad it is, and that it's Russian - purportedly Kremlin run - and that you should not ever install it again on any of your systems. When Microsoft does it, it's "let's install this on all our computers in the Pentagon!".

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Ah, but when Kaspersky sends back information about the version of AV that's installed on your system, it's bad, and everyone needs to know how bad it is, and that it's Russian - purportedly Kremlin run - and that you should not ever install it again on any of your systems. When Microsoft does it, it's "let's install this on all our computers in the Pentagon!".

Which is why I would NEVER let Kaspersky within a thousand yards of my equipment. I know, McAfee, Norton and probably every other AV program(and most Apps), also 'report back' to their masters, but those masters are not former heads of the KGB..............

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"Sour Grapes make a bitter Whine." <(0)>

I've just renewed my license with them. They're better than frickin' Bitdefender which stills keeps asking me to reboot once, twice a week, else it can't update. 20 more days before it's going off and Kaspersky is going onto that system as well.

As for the CEO of Kaspersky having graduated from The Technical Faculty of the KGB Higher School and then served the Soviet military intelligence service as a software engineer, that's how schooling with follow-up work was done in the USSR before the Wall came down. I doubt you'll find anyone there of our age that wasn't taught in some intelligence school and didn't serve in the navy, air force or military. I'm sure that if the Wall hadn't come down, it was still going on like that.

But leave it to the Americans to be scared by absolutely nothing at all, and only because it's a Russian product, it's outlawed. Next stuff from China will be bad. Followed by anyone or anything coming from Europe.

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But leave it to the Americans to be scared by absolutely nothing at all, and only because it's a Russian product, it's outlawed. Next stuff from China will be bad. Followed by anyone or anything coming from Europe.

The difference is that any backdoors in US products are there for the US intellgence services, where as the ones in Chinese & Russian products are for their intelligence services.

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Grant
Darwin NT

I am not employed by the U.S. military or government. I have tried all the major and some minor AV programs or suites. Kaspersky is the least troublesome so far. So when renewal comes up again in a couple of months, I will renew again. I haven't seen any concrete evidence, only unverified accusations, that any personal information of mine is being shared with the Russian government.

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Seti@Home classic workunits:20,676 CPU time:74,226 hours

A proud member of the OFA (Old Farts Association)

I just started my tablet(which the upgrade service previously said was not eligible for the Win10 upgrade due to graphics hardware)and it immediately started into the 'updating your system' routine even though I have update turned off. I went into update history, sorted by date, which indicated nothing had been installed since 1/19/16.

Not believing the P.O.S. I ran the uninstall batch file and found that KB3058618 had been installed without authorization............as the Outer Limits lead in went....."you are no longer in control of your television, we control the horizontal, we control the vertical......"

":|]

A good example of what I am talking about

You have no control Welcome to "1986" Big brother is watching you !!!!!!!

So much for the Constitution's of the world ...

Umm.. that would be 1984...? lol

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One that ML1 won't like so much (and he surely already knows it, but he's been keeping it a secret for y'all, as it's about Linux... ;-)): Ubuntu will by default start sending back diagnostic data.

We would like to add a checkbox to the installer, exact wording TBD, but along the lines of “Send diagnostics information to help improve Ubuntu”.
This would be checked by default.

The result of having that box checked would be:

* Information from the installation would be sent over HTTPS to a service run by Canonical’s IS team. This would be saved to disk and sent on first boot once there is a network connection. The file containing this data would be available for the user to inspect.

That data would include:
* Ubuntu Flavour
* Ubuntu Version
* Network connectivity or not
* CPU family
* RAM
* Disk(s) size
* Screen(s) resolution
* GPU vendor and model
* OEM Manufacturer
* Location (based on the location selection made by the user at install). No IP information would be gathered
* Installation duration (time taken)
* Auto login enabled or not
* Disk layout selected
* Third party software selected or not
* Download updates during install or not
* LivePatch enabled or not

* Popcon would be installed. This will allow us to spot trends in package usage and help us to focus on the packages which are of most value to our users.

* Apport would be configured to automatically send anonymous crash reports without user interruption.

The results of this data would be made public. E.g. People would be able to see that X% of Ubuntu users are based in .de vs Y% in .za. Z% of our users run Dell hardware, and so on. The Ubuntu privacy policy would be updated to reflect this change.

Any user can simply opt out by unchecking the box, which triggers one simple POST stating, “diagnostics=false”.

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OK...

So about as advanced for user profiling as Microsoft was at about the turn of the millennia some 18 years ago...

Unfortunately, that does follow up on the Canonical people (Ubuntu) moving ever closer to being raped by an 'IPO'....

Thankfully, there are other Linux mainstream distros yet that will continue to protect your freedoms.


IT is all that you allow it to be...
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Here we go again with M$ FORCING UPDATES on unsuspecting Win10 users:

Microsoft forces Win10 1709 upgrades on PCs set to restrict telemetry

Howls of pain from Win10 1607 and 1703 users who were forced to upgrade to Windows 10 Fall Creators Update today. No advanced warning. This is the third time some Win10 customers have been pushed onto Win10 1709.

Just when you thought Win10 Fall Creators Update was finally starting to look stable, Microsoft pulled another tone-deaf move. Reports have been pouring in from people who were forced to upgrade from Win10 1607 (the Anniversary Update) or Win10 1703 (the First Spring Creators Update) to the latest version of the last edition of Windows, Win10 1709.

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Here we go again with M$ FORCING UPDATES on unsuspecting Win10 users:

Yep.
They're just like Android & Apple now.

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Grant
Darwin NT

"Don't attempt to adjust the vertical, don't attempt to adjust the horizontal.......and we will not return control of your PC to you............suck it up customers, you bought it and now we OWN you."

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"Sour Grapes make a bitter Whine." <(0)>

Iv'e yet to have issues with Windows 10, for me bar far the best operating system..I choose what to install!

well, when I upgraded from Win 7 to Win 10, my box would no longer get on the web. Plus, I hate Cortana and all the spyware on Win 10, so I dumped it and installed Linux Mint 18.2. Free, LibreOffice is compatible with Win Office, and BOINC runs fine with no more tweaking than with Win

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and 1,592 Classic SETI!

well, when I upgraded from Win 7 to Win 10, my box would no longer get on the web. Plus, I hate Cortana and all the spyware on Win 10, so I dumped it and installed Linux Mint 18.2. Free, LibreOffice is compatible with Win Office, and BOINC runs fine with no more tweaking than with Win

Hi Oliver,

I just installed Windows 10 on an 8th generation Z370 build and had no problems. I did the install from a bootable flash drive. It's Windows 10 v1709. I used a utility called Rufus to burn it to the flash drive.

I have found out that you cannot uninstall things like Cortana, Edge, etc. this will break Windows 10. They can only be disabled. I have also found out that most, if not all, of the spying can be stopped. SpyBot has a program called Anti-Beacon that will disable all of the telemetry and stop Windows 10 in it's tracks.

I will be building myself an 8th generation Z370 machine and will be installing Windows 10 simply because Windows 7 just was not designed to run on current technology, not to mention that to install it on Coffee Lake will be a headache.

Believe it or not Windows 10, despite the spying and data mining and the antics Micro$oft pulls to get it on every device in the universe, is the best OS to date from Redmond. It has a new kernel and is not a resource hog like the Windows before 7.

Just some food for thought... :)

Siran

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CAPT Siran d'Vel'nahr - L L & P _\\//
Winders 11 OS? "What a piece of junk!" - L. Skywalker
"Logic is the cement of our civilization with which we ascend from chaos using reason as our guide." - T'Plana-hath

well, when I upgraded from Win 7 to Win 10, my box would no longer get on the web. Plus, I hate Cortana and all the spyware on Win 10, so I dumped it and installed Linux Mint 18.2. Free, LibreOffice is compatible with Win Office, and BOINC runs fine with no more tweaking than with Win

Hi Oliver,

I just installed Windows 10 on an 8th generation Z370 build and had no problems. I did the install from a bootable flash drive. It's Windows 10 v1709. I used a utility called Rufus to burn it to the flash drive.

I have found out that you cannot uninstall things like Cortana, Edge, etc. this will break Windows 10. They can only be disabled. I have also found out that most, if not all, of the spying can be stopped. SpyBot has a program called Anti-Beacon that will disable all of the telemetry and stop Windows 10 in it's tracks.

I will be building myself an 8th generation Z370 machine and will be installing Windows 10 simply because Windows 7 just was not designed to run on current technology, not to mention that to install it on Coffee Lake will be a headache.

Believe it or not Windows 10, despite the spying and data mining and the antics Micro$oft pulls to get it on every device in the universe, is the best OS to date from Redmond. It has a new kernel and is not a resource hog like the Windows before 7.

Just some food for thought... :)

Siran

Wrong Siran.

Win 10 is based on the same kernel like win 7 so nothing really new.
Also you can install win 7 on some of the new hardware like i did on my Ryzen build.
You just need to use some tricks.

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With each crime and every kindness we birth our future.

Win 10 is based on the same kernel like win 7 so nothing really new.

It is based on the same Kernel, but it is not the same Kernel.

There have been many changes to the kernel, some quite substantial. Some new features include: NUMA hardware support, new IO completion notification methods, scatter gather IO, thread pools (the implementation rewritten at least once), hibernate and sleep state support, desktop virtualisation. Other changes include printer drivers moved from kernel mode to user mode, a window manager was introduced, most graphics moved from user mode into kernel mode,

Reference.

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Grant
Darwin NT

Win 10 is based on the same kernel like win 7 so nothing really new.

It is based on the same Kernel, but it is not the same Kernel.

There have been many changes to the kernel, some quite substantial. Some new features include: NUMA hardware support, new IO completion notification methods, scatter gather IO, thread pools (the implementation rewritten at least once), hibernate and sleep state support, desktop virtualisation. Other changes include printer drivers moved from kernel mode to user mode, a window manager was introduced, most graphics moved from user mode into kernel mode,

Reference.

Yep, same like some viruses.
Just change a few characters and its a new one.
I can handle it like i want to.

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With each crime and every kindness we birth our future.

well, when I upgraded from Win 7 to Win 10, my box would no longer get on the web. Plus, I hate Cortana and all the spyware on Win 10, so I dumped it and installed Linux Mint 18.2. Free, LibreOffice is compatible with Win Office, and BOINC runs fine with no more tweaking than with Win

Hi Oliver,

I just installed Windows 10 on an 8th generation Z370 build and had no problems. I did the install from a bootable flash drive. It's Windows 10 v1709. I used a utility called Rufus to burn it to the flash drive.

I have found out that you cannot uninstall things like Cortana, Edge, etc. this will break Windows 10. They can only be disabled. I have also found out that most, if not all, of the spying can be stopped. SpyBot has a program called Anti-Beacon that will disable all of the telemetry and stop Windows 10 in it's tracks.

I will be building myself an 8th generation Z370 machine and will be installing Windows 10 simply because Windows 7 just was not designed to run on current technology, not to mention that to install it on Coffee Lake will be a headache.

Believe it or not Windows 10, despite the spying and data mining and the antics Micro$oft pulls to get it on every device in the universe, is the best OS to date from Redmond. It has a new kernel and is not a resource hog like the Windows before 7.

Just some food for thought... :)

Siran

Wrong Siran.

Win 10 is based on the same kernel like win 7 so nothing really new.
Also you can install win 7 on some of the new hardware like i did on my Ryzen build.
You just need to use some tricks.

Hi Mike,

I've been watching a lot of YouTube videos from a guy that worked for Micro$oft for 15 years as a software developer. In each of his videos about or mentioning Windows 10 he says the kernel is new. It may be based on Win 7's kernel, but Jerry says it is virtually a new kernel.

Also, I know that Win 7 can be installed on current technology, Intel generations 6, 7 and 8 (not sure about the i9); I mentioned that to install it would be a headache. Windows 7 was not designed to run on the new tech, that's why it's a headache to install. Think about it, M.2 drives didn't exist when 7 was designed. One also gets a headache trying to get Win 7 updates when running on the new tech. Unfortunately, Windows 10 is the OS of the future unless the Linux community can get Linux to run Windows apps much more efficiently.

Have a great day, Mike. :)

Siran

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CAPT Siran d'Vel'nahr - L L & P _\\//
Winders 11 OS? "What a piece of junk!" - L. Skywalker
"Logic is the cement of our civilization with which we ascend from chaos using reason as our guide." - T'Plana-hath