Windows is spying you!!!

[mbilla]

Hi

Microsoft is gathering private informations from your computer.
OK that's known for all versions of windows, but MS always said XP
won't spy your privacy.
But its starnge that every patch and update to Win XP is sending much
more data to MS than you do get from them,
A german group has now cracked the data send to MS:
well the guys at Richmond are collecting all of your privacy.

More infos here

http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2003Feb/gee20030226018826.htm

bye Manou

Microsoft is always going to be looking into your personal life.

And it's not going to stop soon.
Probably never.

It's to valuable to them and other certain parties.

[JoannaK]

One good reason (more) not to install/use Windows XP. Pitty though alternatives are on quite short supply if one does not happen to like various Unixes.

Ah well.. There is still hope.

Hmmmm...

Sorry to be a bit of a killjoy for all the conspiracy theorists, but SO WHAT?

Well... think about it - Microsoft has a big database of what applications are being used by the windows using community.   OH NO!  WOULD NEVER WANT THEM TO KNOW I RUN PAINT SHOP PRO ( :-) ) !!!!

All I can see that's wrong is that they've done it without asking, but it hardly ends up being a mass collection of everyone's credit card numbers or something....

Just wondering what all the fuss is about in this particular case....

(here I go, playing devils advocate....)

What do other people think - I just think its funny seeing people running about like headless chickens at the first sniff of anything from M$, even without seemingly thinking it out first....

[odin]

What about W2000?

[Paul_Gadd]

Big deal, the way the paranoid people are talking it sounds like someone from M$ has got a knife to their throat to make them use Windows.

If you do not like it then do not use Windows, it is simple as that.

[lorddef]

odin wrote:
What about W2000?

same EULA as far as I know, at least for the later service packs.

[Ilwrath]

@odin-
Yes, Windows XP (all) and Windows 2000 from Service Pack 3 and up are affected.  I don't know about NT4SP7 or any of the Win9x series, though.

@Paul_Gadd

If you do not like it then do not use Windows, it is simple as that.

This, of course, makes much too much sense.  The problem is, the microwave control beams emminating from Redmond have already taken control of these people.  Their foil hats aren't protecting them enough to allow them to stop and disable/remove features that they don't want from an operating system.  (Let alone switching OS)

 :-o

(And don't even get me started on how stupid you are if you're trying to run auto updates or "Live Update" on warzed or keygen'd Windows build...)

[odin]

@Ilwrath:

Well, I've been running Win98 with a key which came from god knows where for ages. And using WinUpdate, so far no M$ secret agents bashing down my door :-).

[cecilia]

i had to get a laptop for several reasons, one of which was to be able to run AfterEffects. i therefore "needed" windows2000. I have since installed red hat 8 and made my system mutiboot.

a friend - who works as a network consultant - told me about Zone Alarm

it's supposed to tell you whenever a program tries to access your computer. it's basically a software firewall. i installed the free version a few days ago and have not had any problems so far. and you can see whenever someone tries to "get in". and block them, of course.

and, i have NEVER turned on that stupid auto update crap. do i look dumb?  :-o  :-D

i will eventually figure out how to use the linux side to log on (it's those dumb winmodems), but it's ok logging on on the pc side because i use Opera. a FAB browser.

[Ilwrath]

@odin-

Well, I've been running Win98 with a key which came from god knows where for ages. And using WinUpdate, so far no M$ secret agents bashing down my door.

I haven't heard of anyone getting in trouble for any of this stuff, yet.  I think M$ just likes to keep a pulse on what's going on, though.  It's much more likely that they are just looking to find out how much "piracy" they can try to stop before users revolt over too much spyware.

@Cecilia-
Sounds like you have things under control.  :-)  

Zone Alarm is a very good piece of software, and it's caught several programs on various machines I use trying to "phone home" when they shouldn't...  I'm not always convinced, of course, it'll stop the OS, itself, though, as since Microsoft wrote the API's, they surely know how to write something that hides itself from them.  

While you may not have ever turned on auto update junk, Windows 2000 service pack 3, and all versions of XP automatically enable it.  (In other words, if you had it disabled on Win2k, and then installed the SP3, you now have to go back and disable it, again.)  I wasn't thrilled by that cute little fact when I was configuring servers.  It's a pain, and I really dislike Microsoft thinking they know more about my security than I do.

As for winmodems, just say 'no'!  ;-)

[Vincent]

I'm not in the least it surprised about this.

m$ will do everything they can to find out what their users use.

I'm on dial-up, if m$ want to find info about what I do, then tough sh*t - I'm not wasting time online telling them about my programs.  If I had broadband, then I wouldn't be bothered about it, but when you're only on a 52k modem it's a big deal.

[T_Bone]

> Sorry to be a bit of a killjoy for all the conspiracy
> theorists, but SO WHAT?
> Well... think about it - Microsoft has a big database
> of what applications are being used by the
> windows using community. OH NO!
> WOULD NEVER WANT THEM TO KNOW I RUN PAINT
>  SHOP PRO (  ) !!!!

They don't even know it's YOU who's running Paint Shop Pro, as your serial key and registration is not part of the data being sent! All they know is that at one time, SOMEONE was running it.

Heck, there's millions of people sharing their whole C drive with NetBEUI, and sharing their Outlook PST files with Kazaa. This is hardly a big concern (for now)

[mbilla]

Hi

Well this message is to all those people who don't give a dim about being spyed.

MS did check your computer since the days of windows 95.
Word prior to version 97 did save the directory structure of your HD with every Word document. Of course encoded so that it wasn't easy to get it.
Any Word document send over the Internet was and perhaps is automatically send to MS. So they know exactly what software (bought or pirated) you have installed.
Any file saved as encrypted message with Windows is automatically send non-encrypted to the CIA.
All Windows versions have backdoors that do allow the CIA to check your data.

Hey I live in Europe were privacy is protected by law. If I look at the USA or UK were on every corner you're supervised by some cams or you do get any informations about everybody for just some quids, well that is called dictatorship.
Especially the citizens of the USA are spoiled by advertisments and believe everything shown on TV.

So they aren't worrying about being spyed by MS.
OK MS won't send any agents to your home to arrest you, but that will come. Years ago (before internet) a big software company did send agents at 4 o'clock in the morning to software pirates and arrested them. (they did get them by fake software exchange lists in magazines).
No MS does the same thing:
like they do send wrong HTML code of their homepages to NON-Internet-Explorer-browsers like OPERA or Netscape. They do just the same thing with Win Users.
First check what software bought and pirated are on your win pc, then when you do install the next patch, you will get a patch compiled for your system.
If you have many non-MS or pirated software your windows will slowly begin to destroy your software or won't run correctly so that you are forced to buy windows and the new programs.
Or why do you think there are serial numbers in Pentiums and Co? Or what about theis TCPA chips?
Now that MS has gathered infos about all XP computers they taylor the next patch to just run on your computer with its unique serial numbers.
TCPA even allows that only some software will run e.g. a company buys some PCs which can only run Windows, Word, Excel and a CD programm. No chance to install any other programm except if you change the TCPA chip but that one is hardwired with the other serial numbers in the hardware and software.
Have you ever tried to install an OEM Win XP on another PC. It won't work. Why is hardcoded with CPUs serial number of the original PC.

Oh you can always say well I will buy another system: great! What systems? Apple? LINUX? Amiga?
Amiga were waiting now for 10 years ... no OS or a new computer now.
Apple? Will propably install it's own TCPA chips.
Linux has already now problems to play/burn DVDs. WHY? The PC industry (Win) doesn't allow Linux to use it's algorithms. And if you try to decode the programs you go to jail because of the TCPA laws (thanks USA).
The European Unity is going to have also these laws. Which means that we are not leaving in a democraty anymore. You will be forced to use and buy what the really big companies want. And MS is bigger than many governments and so we will only have Windows PC in some years.
Because the laws will force the companies to use TCPA.
AMIGA won't help much here: they can't even build 1000 units.
"WINDOWS will rule the world because the user isn't aware that he sold his soul to the devil."

Bye Manou

[poweramiga2002]

"WINDOWS will rule the world because the user isn't aware that he sold his soul to the devil.


little do you know he is the devil pure evil who else would reak havock on earth like windows