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Comment by samspenc | Hacker News Reader

I just got a new PC with Windows 10, replacing an older PC laptop that's a Windows 7 / Ubuntu dual-boot. (I'm running Ubuntu from a VM this time.)

Anyway, Windows 10: I was a bit shocked at all the information it sends back to Microsoft. As soon as the setup screen comes up, it gives you an option to choose "Express Install" or "Custom Install".

I chose "Custom Install", and there were about 10 privacy settings that I turned off (all on by default) before I felt comfortable using the OS. (Examples: send all search words back to MS, tie advertising info to your Windows account, etc etc)

I'm assuming most users would chose the "Express Install" without even wondering about what data they were sending back to MS.

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It is actually a very similar list to that seen in Windows 8. Windows 8 was a little bit more sneaky however, when you chose custom they were all disabled but if you select express they were enabled.

You haven't done all the things necessary to defend your privacy yet, Windows 10 has spread this stuff all over the operating system, its all enabled by default and you need to find it all.

Is there a checklist available on the settings people might perceive as privacy violation, their operational implication, and howto disable it?

This is one of the better ones I've seen: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/07/30/windows-10-privac...

I've seen this posted before, though I can't vouch for its quality:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Windows10/comments/3f38ed/guide_how...

Most of these settings are probably related to Cortana (the new Siri/Google Now like feature in Windows 10). These kind of tools that suggest information to you only really work if they have your search and location information. If you turn those options off, I guess the only thing that will be affected will be Cortana.

Also, the thing where apps may share a common advertising ID? Sounds invasive, but is actually a tiny step towards more privacy: before, apps (i.e. desktop programs) could access basically any information on your PC: Your name, your address if you entered it anywhere, your contact list, possibly your position. Nowadays, "Modern" apps can only identify you via an pseudonymous ID (if you allow it), unless they have the proper permissions.

What does annoy me is that they still obscure these settings, and fail to explain what exactly they are for. At least they made it a bit more obvious in Windows 10 that you can use it without creating a Microsoft account (using a local account).

There is a saying in Germany: Nothing is eaten as hot as it is cooked.

I agree. I was quite shocked myself and I also found the descriptions vague. I wasn't even sure what programs are accessing the data.

I really think iOS is the only OS has really done permissions right on the 3rd party level and on the OS level.

A linux distro with sane defaults, robust wine scripts, and no personal information compromises, that is easy to install, could take over the world.

I vote KaOS as the base: http://kaosx.us

This looks really good, will give it a spin. Thanks for the heads up!

In my experience, Debian is easier to install than a recent version of Windows. I think it's an excellent choice for almost everyone.

I would have said Debian up to the whole Jessie debacle with systemd and abandoning core precepts. Now I have to recommend a different base.

I've never done a graphical debian install. how does it compare to KaOS?

Ironic that your other choice is Ubuntu. They pioneered sending back all your search terms (to Amazon).

Yes, I make sure to turn off that first thing when I run Ubuntu. :)

> They pioneered sending back all your search terms (to Amazon).

You don't have to use Unity to use Ubuntu. There is an abundant choice of WMs on Linux. And besides, even if you had this turned on, it's about nothing compared to what Microsoft does.

Have you run into any articles that detail exactly what is captured and sent off of your computer? Has Microsoft release more than just a little bit of information on what they use that info for?

Not just what the setting screen and privacy policy say.

It will be impossible to know and/or verify what they're actually sending. Even if they told us exactly what the data contains, though, who will believe them?

Besides, we already know what they'll say: they'll use it for debugging and troubleshooting, to make the products better, and to enhance your user experience. In certain circumstances, they may share the data -- but only with their trusted partners, of course. In no way, however, will they use it for anything "evil".

For that matter, it's really just a matter of faith that the settings completely disable the sending of this information (or disable it at all).

Yep. Sadly, the only way to be one hundred percent sure your data is private is to keep it in your head. Even building your own chipsets and other components doesn't protect from physical access. So we have to choose who to trust. Currently, that's not Microsoft. If they open sourced, or at least made the code visible, Windows, I'd be a lot happier. 'Course, then I'd have to trust that the people reviewing the code knew what they were doing. Since I'd not spend the time to review the code myself....

I don't think it's impossible. Can't you intercept the traffic via a router or something to see what's in it?

"...what they'll say..." They already said that in their privacy policy. I was wondering if they had released more details. Like "We record your voice commands and add them to a database of millions of other people making the same command so Cortana can understand people better." And, "Our voice interpretation service is provided by a trusted partner. They signed a contract that requires they take this step and this step to keep your data secure."

Well, hopefully they learned something from the NSA documents and are at least encrypting the data they're sending home now. Assuming that they are -- and are doing it properly -- then no, you can't.

Putting machines behind a firewall (or even a virtual firewall, as is possible with VMs) could help somewhat, both in determining what it's doing with the network and in blocking unwanted traffic.

Incidentally, one of the features Windows had in 2k and XP that was off by default in Vista, and lost completely in Win7, is a network status icon that shows when the OS is sending/receiving data. Very useful for troubleshooting and identifying unexpected network activity, but its removal makes it much easier for this sort of "phoning home" to go unnoticed... (I know they could've made it lie, but apparently removing it altogether was easier.)

You can see network traffic in Resource Monitor. And yes, you can block unwanted traffic at the LAN router.

pfSense VM works well as a virtual firewall. With IPv4 and IPv6 deselected on the Local Area Connection, there's no direct connectivity. In the pfSense VM, you bridge WAN to the host NIC, and attach LAN to a host-only adapter.

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