Opt-in does not matter, if I message or email someone who has it on, my personal data has been collected without my knowledge or consent.
This shouldnt have been built in the first place, it’s irresponsible
This raises an excellent point not considered. This goes for all texts as well if the other person uses the “your phone” app. Discord, matrix, signal, telegram etc are all compromised by this existing on a system.
Will my browser’s “private mode” be respected or it is going to store every inappropriate thing I search?
Are password managers safe? How about bank security questions? How often are those actaully obfuscated. The last 4 digits of social security numbers are usually unobfuscated, which is also what a lot of intuitions (stupidly) use to verify your ID over the phone. What if I want to look at the PDF of my tax documents?
What if my HR manager has this enabled and starts viewing PDFs containing private information about employees, payroll data, finances and whatever else is sellable on the dark web.
How about govermnet data? Sure maybe the pentagon IT staff will completely block it, but what about local gov committee ABC that’s collecting voter information?
That type of data is valuable enough that it will be targeted regardless of what protection MS attempts. Based on the fact they didnt bother encytping the data from the start, my faith is low.
The implications of this are insane.
That’s true of any malware on your contact’s computer or an unsecure server, though. That is not specific or novel to this feature.
(I’m not saying I like this feature, or think it’s a good idea. I don’t, and it’s not)
So what you are saying is, is that it’s malware. I agree.
We have seen this game 100 times. Opt in for now and then turned on for everyone 6-12 months later. It’s just a temporary move to handle the bad PR.
registry switch that’ll mysteriously reset itself. we’ve had this shit with countless windows configurations at work that our IT guy has to battle with on the regular.
I’ve had so many people jump down my throat for listing some of the many obviously fucked things Microsoft did on my PC just over the life of Windows 10. (And not that it should matter, but I even paid for Pro).
I turned all their various advertising and spying “features” off through legitimate settings, group policies, whatever, and the list of things that reverted themselves over time was insane.
You forgot the best part
Silently turned on via “security” update
Or the other trick of constantly prompting “Turn on / Maybe Later” until people either accidentally accept or just give up to make nagging stop.
It’s a security update because it adds new security vulnerabilities.
Same as it ever was
Can anyone give me examples of times Windows has done this in the past? I mean, I feel like this is true, but I legit can’t think of anything that matches this.
In the last 6 months:
- One Drive reinstalled and turned back on on my personal & work computer multiple times.
- AI Co-pilot added to my machine and enabled “so you can start using it now!” with an obtrusive pinned shortcut on my start bar, to both of the same machines but at different time intervals. Uninstalling is virtually impossible and requires registry mods to 'remove" it. Not even a powers he’ll command can remove it.
I don’t want, or need, this add-on garbage.
Perfect examples, thank you 👌
As a reminder this was the go-to play for Facebook when they were caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Default it off until nobody’s looking and change it slightly so it was named ‘differently’ and on it went again.
How do you “fix” the security issues of a program that is literally designed to spy on you?
I’ve just switched to Linux Mint and I’m not ever coming back. That’s how I “fixed it.”
They’ll always play right on or just over the line to see when/how people push back. They knew what they were doing, they started at a 9 intentionally so that people push back to and live with a 7
MS really has always done this, what’s the name for this kind of marketing maneuver? Manufactured consent? Manufactured begrudging tolerance?
Like politics, were adding 200% to this inconvenience!
Then rolling back to “only” 50% (the initial target).
Door in the face
I mean… Yeah? That’s kind of the point isn’t it? Test the waters and figure out just how far they can push it? Find the limit of acceptance and ride that?
Opt-in but you get an annoying full screen popup every boot, like for the windows11 upgrade. It’s only a matter of time, til they sell AI recall features as Win12 and then beg you to upgrade for free, pretty please!
Or “(totally unrelated feature) is not available unless you activate AI recall. Click here to activate.”
“Click cancel if you do not want to not activate it”
Trust is difficult to earn and easy to lose.
When did they earn it last time?
XP was made stable to counter Linux, it wasn’t something like trying to earn trust IMO.
deleted by creator
How did that earn them trust?? Making something that works?
It feels like these huge ass companies are just testing people’s reactions before they do something these days.
“Make it opt-in” (for 6 months) At this point, Microsoft is the biggest advisement for Linux desktop
security issues as in its very existence?
Too late Microsoft, I jumped into the Linux pool and the water is fine.
Exactly. Running fedora desktop and I am thinking why the move does.not do more poeple. The only Microsoft junk I am using is the corporation laptop and that I am sure wont get this function.
Too little too late, I’m not getting any more versions of windows.
“we will change nothing but announce it like we did”
My 10 year prediction - Microsoft does a full transition to a services company:
- Basic Windows is free, even for OEMs
- Windows Professional becomes a subscription thing, maybe you get it as part of your Azure AD sub
- Things like Recall or not having ads are extra subscriptions
Windows 10 will be the last I work on. I work in tech and won’t accept 11 as a work environment either.