worldmaker
14 million people opening their PCs to upload user activity and ID data to Microsoft's servers forever. What joy, what rejoicing much be running like a tremor of ecstasy in the hearts of all at M$oft, and the CIA and NSA, and more..?
http://www.computing.co.uk/ctg/news/2420044/backlash-grows-over-privacy-in-freemium-windows-10
I will wait until this is satisfactorily resolved, or stick with my existing installations, then maybe move away from Microsoft altogether.
It kind of looks like you didn't actually read that article - it makes it very plain that the target recipient for all this collected data is not the three-letter-security-orgs, but advertisers. Remember that Microstuff have long talked about alternate ways to monetize Windows - well here you go, they'll sell your details to advertisers.
Putting away the tinfoil hat for a moment, I'm interested in that you can opt out of these data gatherings - a Hexus article on exactly how to do that would be most welcome. Personally I fail to see the need to cloud save either browsing history nor app passwords, heck I won't even use Lastpass for exactly that reason. Other thing is that the browsing history - is that specific to IE/Spartan or is Chrome and Firefox also effected?
The article itself is not exactly a good piece of writing, if Mark Tyson etc was to post that here (
very unlikely, they have higher standards I'd suggest) then we'd rightly pull them over the coals about Daily Fail-style “the sky is falling in” tabloidism.
I'm also interested if this kind of data capture is, strictly speaking, legal. I'm sure various UK acts have strict controls about “personally identifiable information”, and failing that (because our current crop of idiots-in-charge would sell you, your family and everyones data to their pals in the City in a heartbeat) maybe the EU Information Commissioner's office should be taking a close look. You can bet your bottom dollar/euro that the French and especially German governments will be - given the US's history of spying on both.