Windows 10 is NOT spying on you, Microsoft says

Naked Security ^ | 09/30/2015 | Lisa Vaas

[SeekAndFind]

Since it was released, Windows 10 has incited a privacy furor.

Hundreds of commenters on sites such as Hacker News and Reddit have criticised default settings that send personal information to Microsoft and use bandwidth to upload data to other Windows 10 computers.

Concerns have risen over the Wi-Fi password sharing feature, Microsoft's plans to keep people from running counterfeit software, the inability to opt out of security updates, weekly dossiers sent to parents on their kids' online activity, and the fact that Windows 10 by default shares a lot of your personal information - contacts, calendar details, text and touch input, location data, and more - with Microsoft's servers.

Since the release, Ars Technica has revealed that even when all data collection settings were turned off, Windows 10 still sent identifiable data to Microsoft.

On Monday, Microsoft attempted to clear the air when it comes to the privacy implications of data collection in the new operating system.

Terry Myerson, leader of the Windows and Devices Group, put up a blog post that, for the most part, reiterates the company's privacy policy.

For one thing, Windows 10 is not scanning emails for the purpose of targeting advertising, Myerson said:

No matter what privacy options you choose, neither Windows 10 nor any other Microsoft software scans the content of your email or other communications, or your files, in order to deliver targeted advertising to you.

Windows 10 collects two types of data, Myerson said.

The first is designed to help Microsoft and third-parties identify bugs or problems in software, including anonymous device ID, device type, and application crash data.

What Microsoft doesn’t collect for diagnostics and application improvement: any content or files, nor any information that could identify a user, such as name, email address or account ID.

Myerson gave an example of what Microsoft does with such collected data: In August, aggregate data showed that a particular version of a graphics driver was crashing and then causing reboot on some Windows 10 systems.

Using the safety and reliability data, Microsoft worked with the partner who builds the driver, turning around a fix for the public within 48 hours.

For the sake of personalisation, Windows 10 also collects information on user habits - the better to provide users with information such as updates on game scores or to recommend apps they might enjoy.

Microsoft’s digital assistant Cortana collects the most, but it and other settings that remember preferences can be disabled, Myerson noted.

The post describes a third class of data - advertising data that "we don't collect", Microsoft stressed.

In Ars Technica's ongoing efforts to analyse just what, exactly, Windows 10 is really up to with our data, vs. the somewhat loose descriptions Microsoft's put out in messages such as Myerson's, the publication dissected Monday's post and found a few interesting things to note:

• Regarding telemetry data: Unlike previous versions of the OS, most Windows users - those running Home and Pro versions - can't opt out from sending data such as crash logs in Windows 10. Myerson writes that enterprise users will have the option to disable the telemetry later this year, though the company strongly recommends against it. When Ars asked what that means, it said simply that Enterprise users will still have opt-out ability, though it's not actually part of the upcoming feature update.
  
• Are we really in control of personalisation data? As mentioned above, Ars's testing has shown even with the most restricted privacy settings, Windows 10 can't seem to stop babbling to Microsoft's servers. With regards to Monday's post, nothing seems to have changed about that.
  
• What about targeted advertising based on other content? Microsoft says file contents or communications within email or Skype aren't being used to target advertising, but it makes no mention of data derived from Cortana, store purchases or Bing searches. As Ars's Peter Bright points out, this could mean that "while Cortana can't use your email to tailor ads to your interests, it appears that she could use the appointments in your calendar to do so, for example."

[Resettozero]

Windows 10 is NOT spying on you, Microsoft says

Until they want to.

[sauropod]

bfl

[Swordmaker]

Ping for the Windows Ping list. . . Took MS long enough to say this. . .

[DaxtonBrown]

If you get a popup that says “windows 10 is not spying on you”, you know Bill Gates is spying on you.

[Purdue77]

Of course W10 isn’t spying on you. MS is spying on you using W10 as it’s tool of entry.

[BuffaloJack]

If it’s not spying on you, then why the need for a keystroke logger?

[Navy Patriot]

Windows 10 is NOT spying on you, Microsoft says

Microsoft lies

[LowOiL]

Google Pref cookies are built into most major browsers now days and are spying on you with the government piggybacking on the information.

“cookies.sqlite” in Firefox can’t be deleted on the newer versions. It does not show in the normal cookie folders and if you dig it out, it reappears the next time you load the browser.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

No matter what privacy options you choose, neither Windows 10 nor any other Microsoft software scans the content of your email or other communications, or your files

What about anti-virus software? Surely, MS puts some in Win10.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

if you dig it out, it reappears the next time you load the browser.

Look for a service that runs and recreates the cookie. It probably gets installed with FF and can probably be disabled.

[dayglored]

We're not spying on you, honest! ... PING!

You can find all the Windows Ping list threads with FR search: just search on keyword "windowspinglist".

Thanks to Swordmaker for the ping!!

[matthew fuller]

Thanks for the ping. I have been watching out for the intrusive Windows updates for a few weeks now, and even uninstalled a couple. Thank you for all your good advice. I do have a question for you, and maybe others- When I go to windows update, and click “change settings”, I am not allowed to modify anything. Is there any reason that I can’t change my settings? There is a blurb at the top of the window that says “Some settings are managed by your system administrator. More information.” And when I click on “more information” it really doesn’t tell me anything sensible- I have no system administrator. I am positive that I set up the settings in the past to where I want them, “Check for updates, but let me choose whether to download and install them”. Is there any reason why I can no longer adjust my settings that you know of? I have a feeling that this question may apply to many others.

[Woodman]

You either came to that window without administrative privileges or you are logged into your computer with an account that has reduced privileges. If you are using an administrator account, find windows update on the menu, right click on the menu item and select run as administrator. You should then be able to change settings.