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I mean, I don't trust their installs even shipped direct from the major laptop manufacturers either..

Or the Windows default install without all the modifications to the registry and group policy editor and privacy settings to turn off all the bloat and telemetry.

I mean, seriously, does Microsoft _really_ need to know every time I open an application?

Or, really, any pre-installed OS from similar sources. Linux/*BSD/MacOS are just more of a rarity as a pre-installed choice, mostly owing to the popularity of Android/Windows.

I suspect iOS, due to Apple's policy of "no external app sources" and other similar decisions, much as HN's audience derides them, as a consequence is most resistant to this sort of a thing.

You can wipe a generic PC and reinstall the OS, which will deal with all but the most nefarious malware.

No such luck with these random Android devices, generally. You are generally obligated to use the system image provided by the untrustworthy vendor.

Unfortunately Microsoft provide the Windows Platform Binary Table which is a documented vendor feature, rather than nefarious malware.

You can get a rootkit on every boot as part of your UEFI, and that's a bonus.