Do you have a better term for code that does user-unwanted tracking of their behavior, on any level, which hides itself from view, is difficult (in many cases impossible) to disable, and resists the will of the user when they try things like hosts file filtering?
The only difference between 3rd party spyware and Microsoft spyware is the stated intention of the author. Oh, and the former generally being easier to remove.
Somehow, we improved OSes and UIs before this kind of always on bullshit was commonly accepted. And I see it as a negative besides, it means that any "improvements" are always going to be pointed at the lowest common denominator, which has a habit of leaving power users out in the cold.
Power users usually remove any influence they might have by opting out of telemetry....
On the other hand, most people on the Windows Insider rings are technically adept, so maybe that balances out.
Of course, the Insider builds have a lot more telemetry....
> Somehow, we improved OSes and UIs before this kind of always on bullshit was commonly accepted.
Everything you do that involves Google (or Facebook etc) provides complete telemetry and those products are continuously updated whether you like it or not.
Now Microsoft has stopped developing stuff on a three-year cycle and switched to 6 months or less. (So you won't have to do any more Big Bang upgrades that take 18 months to plan and 18 months to implement, leaving you permanently behind.)
Either way, it probably makes sense to do more or less continuous OS updates when the OS is integrated with apps and online services (Outlook.com, OneDrive, Office 365 etc).
I "draw the line" at the definition I gave in the previous post. Where's the off switch?
At least with a browser client you have control over how you're traced on the web. With the OS (that you paid for), you're forced to install some third party software and give it admin access. That's not a security problem waiting to happen at all.
You're right, it's not.
> I'm not sure how you're equating cookie-level tracking to being more invasive than OS-level tracking.
Google does far more than cookie level tracking. What do you think Google Now use? Magic?
Blocking OS-level tracking is a security issue because the third party software can be bought and sold to malware companies, who can push an update to infect your computer.
Also, I think windows 10 is closer to adware than spyware. I think it is adware as it sneakily installs itself, and it has ads.
That's debatable, but why should Microsoft allow its competitors have an advantage over them because of telemetry data? The collection doesn't do you any harm, it's not invasive. They aren't looking at your file names, or the text in your documents or your keystrokes. The only time they gather keystroke information is when you're in Cortana...which is literally useless without gathering telemetry for search terms.
> Microsoft has done just fine with windows without taking all this additional information
Except for losing marketshare and people complaining about UX and how OSX is better?
This kind of thinking sickens me. So you would be fine with me rampaging through your room and your house looking over your stuff, making a catalog of the things you own, the things you buy, what you do with them, at what hours, and how often, watching you eat, work, play, sleep, be with your friends, taking notes on who you speak to, at what hours, and about what...
Since, as you say, this doesn't do you any harm?
Google takes telemetry data from your search results, which frankly are far more invasive than how you scroll through your start menu or how often you use the action center. It's all anonymized, I don't see the problem. I certainly wouldn't call it "spyware," that just a smear and has nothing to do with reality.
They don't track your keystrokes, unless you are using Cortana, which guess what? So does Google/Apple/Amazon when you use their assistants. So you're going to switch to a competitor of Microsofts because they started doing what their competitors already did? Fantastic logic.