239
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 22 Jul 2025
239 points (91.1% liked)
Technology
74061 readers
1091 users here now
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Our Rules
- Follow the lemmy.world rules.
- Only tech related news or articles.
- Be excellent to each other!
- Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
- Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
- Politics threads may be removed.
- No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
- Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
- Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
- Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.
Approved Bots
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
The better option would be to not use spyware as an operating system.
Do you consider any form of telemetry "spyware"?
You consider actual, literal spyware as being merely telemetry?
What are you talking about now?
I believe they are talking about Windows, an OS that is spyware and no one should use
An example of Windows being spyware not standard telemetry is the Recall feature. A feature that doesn’t just tell you how the OS is used but actually takes screenshots every few seconds
Of, ffs, grow up.
You have no clue what you're talking about, do you?
Recall only works on devices with an NPU. Do you know why? Because it runs locally. It's got NOTHING to do with telemetry, because it does NOT send data to Microsoft.
Show code or gtfo
LOL, this is hilarious :D
Imagine believing they can sneak gigabytes of network traffic without anyone noticing just because you can't read the code! :D
They can process it locally to your point and send txt files of passwords/sensitive info
However, they don’t have to send anything while such a terrible feature is new. They just have to wait until enough retards accept such a feature
Again: if they did that, the EU's GDPR would eat them alive.
how the hell do you not?
I don't know, maybe because I understand the definition of "spyware" and "telemetry"?
Well, semantically yes, not all telemetry is spyware. However regarding Windows telemetry it's indistinguishable from spyware - you have no idea nor control over the data gathered, measured and processed.
The crux is that Windows telemetry is opt out, opting out can't be done during installation, and historically opting out wasn't sticky. Additionally some Windows telemetry is still being sent despite opting out.
That makes Windows telemetry fulfill all spyware criteria.
Ah, so you're another one of those fear-mongers?
Here's the Required Diagnostic Events Fields (required telemetry) documentation.
Keeping in mind that it's anonymous - which parts of this are you so vehemently against sending to Microsoft?
The shittiest spyware in history, I guess, considering it's all anonymous...
I don't think taking screenshots of everything you do every few seconds is telemetry.
It's not, but it's also not spyware - it's local, encrypted, AND optional.
Actual optional things are disabled by default.
So you're saying you haven't bothered to read about Recall at all, you just assumed it's going to be enabled by default?
Until a windows update kicks in and somehow turns it on for the world. thanks but no thanks. I'll be disabling this not with a reg key but with local policy or DSC if I have to use a windows machine for personal again.
I switched to Linux 2 months ago.
I don't know if this is a regional thing, but I've been using Windows since 3.11 and have NEVER had ONE instance of an update randomly turning on something that I've turned off before.
Look at this bootlicker ignoring history and saying trust Microsoft.
"Look at this fossil thinking it's still 1990", I guess?
Mate, did you miss how 30 years have passed? How the world change? Can you even begin to imagine the fine the EU would slap without a second thought on MS if they tried pulling something like suddenly grabbing these screenshots from users' devices?
I will pass on being your mate. I don't like shills.
I am curious though, what do boots taste like?
Grow up, mate. And check the calendar.
Already told you I don't want to be your mate. Maybe learn what consent is.
Also, go play devil's advocate somewhere else. You suck at it.
Optional like how it reminds me every 3 days that it wants my info for "customization" purposes, and I can only sleep the notification for another 3 days instead of telling it to fuck off?
They have been so predatory, at this point no one should see anything they do as benefiting end users.
If it does that, outrage will be understandable.
Getting outraged about something they said will be 100% optional and hasn't even released yet is just childish.
Microsoft is known for making things “optional” at first then eventually forcing it down everyone’s throats. Removing offline accounts is one of them.
It’s not so much the technology itself is malware, but its behavior replicates that of malware.
Yes hello John Windows my microwave account name is Oobe\bypassnro
This also works: shift-F10 before you get to the network configuration, then type this and press enter start ms-cxh:localonly
For either method, if you configure networking during setup, e.g. plug in an ethernet cable or give it the wi-fi password, it'll keep returning to the online account screen. You need to do it prior to network config.
Right. So you're all panicking just in case.
That's what's being swept under the rug as "alarmists being loud".
The same way you have a lock on your front door “just in case”. It’s not emotional. It’s logical.
The lock is there. The whole thing is encrypted.
If they somehow go through encryption, they won't just have the EU on their arses, governments of the entire world will be after them, because they trust that this encryption system makes their data secure.
Honestly it largely is.
Personally I like sharing crash reports, but even then, the user should be able to turn that off if you like.
Telemetry should be 100% opt-in.
I mean, by definition, it isn't.
It's anonymous and not malicious in nature. It's a diagnostic and engagement measuring tool.
Haha, sure thing William
Are you a tech-illiterate person?
If not, explain how is it malicious.
And how do you know it's not malicious in nature? I'd like to know what your definition of "malicious" is if you're just fine with letting a Corpo run system look at everything you're doing.
Because I have a functioning brain.
Malware is designed to hurt you by extracting your personal information or resources.
Telemetry is designed to give developers feedback about product/functionality usage and is anonymous.
I'm not, and it's not. Unlike you, I actually checked what data telemetry gathers and I'm perfectly fine with it. It's inconsequential and anonymous.
I think it is useful to send crash reports, but the user should have power over it (see: when macOS generates a crash report, it asks the user if they would like to send it)
That is your data they are taking to make money off of without your consent, and I consider that malicious. There are ways to do that with consent. See: Steam’s annual hardware survey
I mean... They're a for-profit company, so literally anything they do is to make money.
But it's not "my data", it's anonymous. The "engagement" info is in relation to features. That's why some features are removed - because nobody uses them. Or rather: not enough people use them to warrant maintenance.