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comment by querx
querx  ·  3398 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: How To Stop Windows 10's Spying Ads

In my opinion - forget about privacy when using commercial products. For sure, you can "disable" the ad-tracking-ID in Settings but the big question is: "Does it really helps?"

Nope. It doesn't. Turning privacy intruding settings to "off" is merely giving a false sense of security - "I turned it off, and because I trust Microsoft and - more importantly - I accepted those Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, it's logically for me, that it is disabled."

If you distrust Microsoft and it's ToS or Privacy Policy are presenting an issue to you - go for a Linux distro. The possibility that something there is backdoored, spying, etc. is practically seen much lower than by commercial operating systems, like OS X and Windows, as it's Open Source (although this doesn't make it bullet-proof or perfect). But of course, you just won't get that comfort as by using Windows 10.

    You can't get 100% privacy and 100% comfort. Choose the percentage that suits you. Although sometimes there is a limit for privacy.




Killerhurtz  ·  3398 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Personally, I believe that the maximum privacy possible is about 80% - you can completely secure your machine, but as long as it's connected to the Internet there's at least SOME data that's tracked.

Good to know that someone shares my viewpoint, though. Windows isn't designed with privacy in mind - it's designed with functionality and money.

querx  ·  3398 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Yup, the problem that average people (so average privacy concerned - like "I don't like that Facebook knows where I'm going Tuesday night but don't care that much, that I would make a change in my habits") - won't change their daily, weekly, monthly habits/life in general because of this. It's too comfortable that somebody would give up known comfort for something like "privacy" (which meaning is mostly unknown for him/her).

Of course, a complete isolation of a workstation from any form of network is technically the "best" solution for privacy and security. Just, how many of Internet folks would give Internet completely up? It's a too drastic change in an average privacy concerned person life, that it would really make (short or long term) effect.

We just have no real option - leave the censored, manipulated, monitored "Internet" behind and go for a run (BTW, it's also healthy), meet friends (or somebody else) in real life OR accept the mountains of ToS-es and don't comply.

Killerhurtz  ·  3397 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Until there's surveillance in the streets that is.

querx  ·  3397 days ago  ·  link  ·  

True. But real-life surveillance much more expensive than controlling Internet backbones, upstream, etc. Although the government has anyway de facto unlimited resources, so in a way, it doesn't really matter out of the privacy aspect - you're just more social with people around you (or maybe not), which can be better than chatting them but seeing them daily.

Killerhurtz  ·  3395 days ago  ·  link  ·  

There's also the issue that people can't stop existing - they can't avoid street surveillance. But then again - people generally accept Skype, e-mail and Facebook as social contact so that may also be hard to give up to some people...