Windows 10 snooping: Microsoft wants to know if new privacy controls go far enough

[straycat19]

Microsoft is asking Windows 10 users whether the OS offers enough control over the personal data it collects.

The firm is consulting Windows 10 users testing early builds of the OS under the Windows Insider program, who will be asked for feedback on a new privacy settings menu.

 

The data collection toggles are designed to make it easier for users to choose which information they are comfortable being sent back to Microsoft. The new menu will be shown to all users before Windows 10 upgrades them to the Creators Update, which is expected to rolled out in April.

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The privacy settings page appears to be unchanged from when it was revealed in January, allowing users to choose broadly which data should sent to Microsoft, for example, location data when using maps, voice recordings when using the Cortana virtual assistant or diagnostic information related to what they type and write, and the apps they use.

Insiders can give feedback on the new privacy settings page via the Feedback Hub application, where they will be able to see a prototype of the settings menu, shown above. By default the settings all appear to be toggled on to collect the maximum amount of data.

 

The new privacy controls will be introduced alongside an option for Windows 10 Home and Pro users to dial back data collection further than is possible today, with Microsoft pledging that Windows 10's 'Basic' telemetry setting will ensure the OS "only collects data vital to the operation of Windows".

 

Many of the privacy-focused changes to Windows 10 appear to address concerns raised by the French privacy watchdog, the chair of the National Data Protection Commission (CNIL), last year.

 

At the time CNIL said the amount of data Windows 10 collected from users was "excessive" and that Microsoft needed to do more to seek users' permission before downloading advertising cookies to Windows 10 machines. It gave Microsoft until January 20 to set out how it would make Windows 10 compliant with the French data-protection act.

In January, CNIL said it was evaluating whether Windows 10 would comply with French data-protection law following these changes. At the time this article was published, CNIL had not responded to a request for comment about whether a compliance decision has since been reached.

 

While the changes caused Swiss data protection and privacy regulator FDPIC to drop its lawsuit, Microsoft still faces official questions about how Windows 10 handles data collection. Just last month, an EU watchdog, the Article 29 Working Party, said that, even with the changes to how Windows 10 handles personal data, it "remained concerned about the level of protection of users' personal data".
 

Source

[coromonadalix]

Absolutely not enough, when i want them all off, i want them all off,  i have to resort to tools to do the job and registry tricks to complete the job.

 

I have an entreprise with an windows Entreprise version, i have lots of issues regarding security, and what is "snooped or sended to Microsoft" this version should have the highest security and NO telemetry NO spying NO bullshit...

[steven36]

7 hours ago, coromonadalix said:

Absolutely not enough, when i want them all off, i want them all off,  i have to resort to tools to do the job and registry tricks to complete the job.

 

I have an entreprise with an windows Entreprise version, i have lots of issues regarding security, and what is "snooped or sended to Microsoft" this version should have the highest security and NO telemetry NO spying NO bullshit...

People brag about  windows enterprise when they pirate it using some unsecured  activation server from lord knows who , give me a break.. When you say  enterprise unless you are a business it tells me you did not buy windows no way and Microsoft could careless what you think   ,

 

That's the whole reason of all the privacy issues in windows 10 was because they gave it away free for a year and they put all that crap in it too pay for all those free copies .. Witch is not fair too people like me who always buys windows I would of bought Windows 10 if it would of not been free and more like Windows 7 and had were you could turn updates off and not full of privacy issues.

 

If you  look back at my post here I was planing on buying it anyway. But because Windows 8x done so bad they ruined it for legit users and pirates alike by giving it away as a free upgrade to the masses on windows 7 and the few on Windows 8.1  .Windows 10 is the 1st version of windows were pirates are having to pay for too with there data  .

 

All the new settings do is turn stuff off that was on by default and has telemetry set to basic by default, it dont remove nothing. I posted yesterday what is removed and and what is to be removed and there not removing anything to give you better privacy there only changing the settings as been explained on 100s of blogs in all versions on how to set up windows 10 and really this dont stop very much it only slows it down some. 

 

if you dont want windows 10 calling home to mama you have block that yourself the only reason there doing anything is to make the EU happy but really it's all smoke and mirrors. In Canada were you're from according to the law there Windows 10 should be illegal anyway because software that auto updates without being able to turn it off  is against the law why dont they take Microsoft to court ?

 

I set windows 10 up like was explained and i even turn off everything off  that i can when i clean install it  ..Also  i use some 3rd party tools to apply registry hacks and still it dont stop everything calling home i end up having to block some things in my firewall . I start out with it all blocked in my firewall then apply the  registry hacks so it dont work my firewall so hard and i can see blocked traffic  and not blocked traffic./ Also i have a lot of there urls blocked in host too.

 

Windows updates is one the worse things it calls home all the time even though they not even done updates in almost two months , Why does  it call home 24/7 at random times even tho its only used 1 or or 2 times a month now? I keep windows updates blocked in my Firewall and update from the windows update catalog .It's not like windows 7 were they check activation online every so often .

 

Here is a example of some the stuff my firewall will be blocking. even after i apply registry hacks and turn off what i can in settings and remove all store apps.

 

 

 

 

If you done a free upgrade ever it activates thorough the HW ID  on clean installs unless you make a major hardware change .on OEM versions you have OEM rights and on the retail version  you may have to wait a bit for it to activate. I have both kinds of windows here on different pcs I even changed hard drives and still its all good.

[Karlston]

1 hour ago, steven36 said:

i end up having to block some things in my firewall

 

Rather than using registry hacks and killing services etc, can all telemetry be blocked by the firewall?

 

Blocking a list of domains to do it all would, at least for me, be the simplest way.

[steven36]

1 hour ago, Karlston said:

 

Rather than using registry hacks and killing services etc, can all telemetry be blocked by the firewall?

 

Blocking a list of domains to do it all would, at least for me, be the simplest way.

Yes it can but Firewalls uses extra process even host blocks do so the less stuff you have too block the better off  you are also it depends on how much ram you have and you're processor if you will notice it really. With all the stuff  i have blocked i had my pc on for over 24 hours my firewall  it uses about 6.44% CPU average around the same as it does in Firefox . I notice it more in my other PC with windows 10 witch is just a mini tower .My firewall is already is blocking everything encase anything were to change in the registry i just use registry hacks to reduce cpu load .  You benefit from killing services you don't use.. Black Viper has wrote a list for many years on this   and the less stuff that calls out on its own you benefit from it too.