When Windows 10 launched, I cautiously waited to see what others thought before trying it out for myself. I've been through enough Windows OS launches to know well the risks of installing a brand new product. When word came out that Windows 10 was chalk full of telemetry / privacy violations I felt confident that Windows 7 would continue to be my OS of choice for the foreseeable future. That is, until I began reading articles like this one:
I don't have any problems with running a couple of commands (scripting them even) to disable services, task scheduler libraries, etc... But where I draw the line is having to now pre-select / filter my Windows Updates.
If the reports are to be trusted, there are now a number of Windows Updates that enable and reactivate telemetry services on Windows 7 and 8. I find this behavior fundamentally unconscionable - I trusted MS to deliver security patches in an effort to make my machines secure from external threats. By introducing data collection services into my automatic delivery of security updates across my environment, I am now forced to deploy a WSUS server (with an AD for GP control) so that I can have the privilege of going through an approval process on every update MS delivers.
I am a busy person - I am involved in advancing my education, career, and family. I simply don't have the time or energy to police MS from delivering 'security updates' that violate the privacy of myself and my family at home.
So where was I when I lost confidence in Windows 7? I was sitting at my desk listening in on a work conference call while getting caught up on interesting Hubski technology articles.