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Whatacrock
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Re: Amid Windows 10 controversy, Microsoft quietly releases privacy botching features to Windows 7 and 8

Post by Whatacrock »

This topic is already being discussed here: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1217
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Re: Microsoft Starts Collecting User Data from Windows 7 and Windows 8 PCs

Post by Whatacrock »

Microsoft Denies Windows 7 and 8.1 Data Collection Accusations

The updates are part of CEIP, Microsoft says

Microsoft is in the middle of another privacy saga, this time caused by the default settings in Windows 10, the company's latest operating system, which collects users' information and sends it back to its headquarters in order to further improve certain services.

But recently, accusations that Microsoft's spying on its users have moved to Windows 7 and 8.1, as a number of updates that the company released not long ago were believed to add a number of changes that allowed data collection on these two OS versions.

The four updates are KB3068708, KB3022345, KB3075249, and KB3080149, but according to Microsoft, they're part of the Customer Experience Improvement program and are only offered as optional downloads to users participating in this initiative.

The company has told us in a statement that all these updates are supposed to help improve Windows 7 and 8.1 by collecting information, but they're not by any means shipped to users who aren't part of CEIP. And by joining the CEIP, users agree to share some info with Microsoft, according to the official terms.

“This KB was posted in May related to updates to the diagnostics service for Windows 7 & 8.1 systems that participate in the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP), which is an opt-in, optional program,” a company spokesperson has said when referring to KB3080149.

“Our use of CEIP data to help improve and diagnose Windows 7 and 8.1 products has not changed from what is described in the privacy statements for those versions of the operating system. For Windows 8.1, CEIP is described in the Feature Supplement in the ‘Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program’ section.”
CEIP terms of service

According to the official Microsoft Customer Experience Improvement Program terms, which were published on February 1, 2009, the company can collect “information about how our customers use Microsoft programs and about some of the problems they encounter. Microsoft uses this information to improve the products and features customers use most often and to help solve problems. Participation in the program is voluntary, and the end results are software improvements to better meet the needs of our customers.”

As you can see, the terms are very similar to those of the Windows Insider program, and the emphasis is clearly on “optional,” with Microsoft stating several times that no information is collected unless you participate in the program.

So here you are, if you're on Windows 7 or 8.1 and you're afraid of being tracked, rest assured. Unless you're part of CEIP, which pretty much means that you should already be aware of these things, you're on the safe side.


http://news.softpedia.com/news/microsof ... 0690.shtml
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Whatacrock
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Re: Microsoft Starts Collecting User Data from Windows 7 and Windows 8 PCs

Post by Whatacrock »

Gee I'm so glad that I'm beginning my migration to a *nix distro, then the Windows Systems will be placed in a Virtual Machine. Lot less hassles.....
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Microsoft Fixes Botched Windows Security Patch Breaking Down Windows Security Apps.

Post by Whatacrock »

Microsoft Fixes Botched Windows Security Patch Breaking Down Windows Security Apps.

The number of botched updates shipped to Microsoft customers across the world has dropped significantly in the last few months, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that patches causing headaches have disappeared entirely.

In fact, one of the updates that were rolled out last month as part of Patch Tuesday was causing issues with security software installed on Windows computers, including not only Microsoft’s but also Symantec’s and other companies’.

Microsoft was quick to acknowledge the problem in August, and the company even provided a manual fix for the issue, admitting that the update was indeed causing these apps to freeze or fail to launch after the boot.

There was just a single problem with this fix: it required users to manually apply it and do all the work, so only a few people were actually aware of its existence. So today, the software giant has decided to ship a fully working patch via Windows Update in order to take care of everything and get the problem fixed on all impacted Windows computers.

“If security update 3076895 is installed on a Windows 7-based or Windows Server 2008 R2-based computer, install update 3092627. If update 3090303 is installed, customers already have the fix for the issue. Therefore, they don't have to install update 3092627. Update 3092627 is a broader GDR release of the fix in update 3090303,” Microsoft explains.
Patch now if you didn’t use the manual fix

In other words, if you already installed the original patch released in August and didn’t apply the fix, you need to get today’s fix. Otherwise, you’re good to go.

In case you’re wondering, the KB3076895 bulletin that Microsoft released last month affects all Windows versions and comes to address security vulnerabilities in the operating system and the Microsoft Office productivity suite.

Redmond explains:

“The vulnerabilities could allow information disclosure by either exposing memory addresses if a user clicks a specially crafted link or by explicitly allowing the use of Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) 2.0. However, in every case an attacker would have no way to force users to click a specially crafted link. An attacker would have to convince users to click the link, typically by way of an enticement in an email or Instant Messenger message.”

The patch is shipped via Windows Update, so fire it up and get it as soon as possible to make sure you’re on the safe side.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/microsof ... 0785.shtml
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DisableWinTracking Can Now Block Windows Defender and Wi-Fi Sense Data Collection

Post by Whatacrock »

DisableWinTracking Can Now Block Windows Defender and Wi-Fi Sense Data Collection

The Windows 10 privacy issue is far from coming to an end, and applications that can disable data collection services in the operating system keep reaching the web and receiving updates that are supposed to help protect users after the upgrade.

DisableWinTracking is one of these apps, and just as its name suggests, it was designed with a single goal in mind: enhance privacy in Windows 10 by disabling tracking services bundled by Microsoft.

An update released today comes to make this whole work even more effective, adding options to disable Windows Defender and Wi-Fi Sense data collection.
Windows Defender and Wi-Fi Sense

Both Windows Defender and Wi-Fi Sense can send personal information stored on your computer, but Microsoft guarantees that nothing leaves the PC unless you agree with it.

Here’s an excerpt from the official Microsoft privacy statement:

“If Windows Defender is turned on, it will monitor the security status of your device and will automatically send reports to Microsoft that contain data about suspected malware and other unwanted software, and it may also send files that could contain malware. If a report is likely to contain personal data, the report is not sent automatically and you'll be prompted before it is sent. You can configure Windows Defender not to send reports and suspected malware to Microsoft.”

As far as Wi-Fi Sense is concerned, this feature allows Windows 10 to automatically connect your device to a wireless connection and get access to the web without you having to manually input a password. Obviously, passwords are collected from your contacts with the same feature turned on, so many are concerned that Microsoft might actually store all these passwords on its servers.

That’s why DisableWinTracking comes in so handy thanks to this new update, especially if you care about privacy and don’t want to spend too much time setting everything up manually.

Overall, this update is definitely good news for users who want to protect their privacy in Windows 10, so they can download DisableWinTracking with the latest improvements right now.

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/Syst ... Tool.shtml

http://news.softpedia.com/news/disablew ... 0808.shtml
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Re: Microsoft Starts Collecting User Data from Windows 7 and Windows 8 PCs

Post by fragXpert »

Whatacrock wrote:Have done some homework and discovered the following updates are intrusive or phone home.

KB2952664 ----> available from Windows Update
KB2976978
KB2977759
KB2990214
KB3012973
KB3021917
KB3022345 -----> Superseded by KB3068708
KB3035583
KB3044374
KB3050265
KB3068707
KB3068708
KB3075249
KB3080149

Will update this list if further updates are involved or are available via Windows Update.
Advisable to uninstall any of the above, and hide update if you utilize Windows Update.
I, too, have been trying for some time to collect information (bad choice of words?) about these updates. Based on the useful articles I could find, I think this list compiled by Whatacrock is complete to date. I have a couple of remarks, though.

- I can't find any official info/article about KB3068707, can you guys point me in the right direction?

- KB3050265 is the June 2015 Windows Update Client update for Windows 7. Based on the description provided by Microsoft, I'm not sure it should be blacklisted, because it seems to be a compatibility update, not harmful by itself, and also because it adds "a new Group Policy object that enables you to block upgrades to the latest version of Windows" (which I think is very useful). BTW here is the list of recent Windows Update Client updates for both Win7 and Win8.1:
KB3050265 Windows Update Client for Windows 7 (June 2015)
KB3050267 Windows Update Client for Windows 8.1 (June 2015)
KB3065987 Windows Update Client for Windows 7 (July 2015)
KB3065988 Windows Update Client for Windows 8.1 (July 2015)
KB3075851 Windows Update Client for Windows 7 (August 2015)
KB3075853 Windows Update Client for Windows 8.1 (August 2015)
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Whatacrock
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Re: Microsoft Starts Collecting User Data from Windows 7 and Windows 8 PCs

Post by Whatacrock »

Updated the information from previous posting.

KB2952664 -----> via Windows Update only (compatibility update for upgrading Windows 7)
KB2976978 -----> via Windows Update only (compatibility update for Windows 8.1 and Windows 8)
KB2977759 -----> via Windows Update only (compatibility update for Windows 7 RTM)
KB2990214 (upgrade your computer from Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) to a later version of Windows.)
KB3012973 (Force Trigger Download and Install of Windows 10 Free Upgrade)
KB3021917 (performance improvements Windows 7 CEIP)
KB3022345 -----> Superseded by KB3068708
KB3035583 -----> via Windows Update only (installs Get Windows 10 app in Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 SP1)
KB3044374 (enables you to upgrade from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10)
KB3050265 (Windows Update Client for Windows 7)
KB3050267 (Windows Update Client for Windows 8.1)
KB3068707 (Update for customer experience and diagnostic telemetry)
KB3068708 (customer experience and diagnostic telemetry, Win 7, Win8.1)
KB3075249 (Update that adds telemetry points to consent.exe. Win 7, Win 8.1)
KB3080149 (customer experience and diagnostic telemetry. Win 7, Win 8.1)

All I was able to find for KB3068708 is this:

KB3068708: Update for customer experience and diagnostic telemetry - This update introduces the Diagnostics and Telemetry tracking service to existing devices. By applying this service, you can add benefits from the latest version of Windows to systems that have not yet upgraded. The update also supports applications that are subscribed to Visual Studio Application Insights. (Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1), and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1)

KB3022345: (replaced by KB3068708) Update for customer experience and diagnostic telemetry - This update introduces the Diagnostics and Telemetry tracking service to in-market devices. By applying this service, you can add benefits from the latest version of Windows to systems that have not yet been upgraded. The update also supports applications that are subscribed to Visual Studio Application Insights. (Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1), and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1)
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Re: Microsoft Starts Collecting User Data from Windows 7 and Windows 8 PCs

Post by ChrisJ »

fragXpert wrote:- I can't find any official info/article about KB3068707, can you guys point me in the right direction?
I get an error when searching for info on this update, it seems almost non-existent
:arrow: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3068707
ChrisJ
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Re: How to do a clean install of Windows 10 the easy way -- no upgrade required

Post by ChrisJ »

Anyone tried this or can confirm it works?
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Microsoft Releases Quiet Update for Windows 7, Says Nothing About Included Changes.

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Microsoft Releases Quiet Update for Windows 7, Says Nothing About Included Changes.

As part of the switch to Windows as a Service, Microsoft has also changed the way it documents updates for Windows 10 PCs, providing almost no information about the improvements they bring unless there’s something really important included.

It turns out that the very same strategy is now being used for Windows 7, as Microsoft has just shipped an update to computers running this OS version that brings improvements to the Windows Update client. What kind of enhancements is yet unknown though, as Microsoft is once again providing us with updates without actually offering any kind of release information.

KB3083324 is specifically aimed at Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 machines and “contains some improvements to Windows Update Client,” according to the information posted by Microsoft in the official KB article.
No change log unless there’s something big

The secrecy around Windows updates is happening because of Microsoft’s decision to detail the patches it releases to users only if they provide significant changes, so cumulative updates, bug fixes, and small patches are very likely to ship without any information.

“As we have done in the past, we post KB articles relevant to most updates which we’ll deliver with Windows as a service. Depending on the significance of the update and if it is bringing new functionality to Windows customers, we may choose to do additional promotion of new features as we deploy them,” a Microsoft spokesperson was quoted as saying last month.

This isn’t obviously the best approach, given the fact that users need to know what they install on their computers, so posts on UserVoice that call for the company to provide change logs for every update have already received thousands of votes.

In the meantime, Microsoft doesn’t seem to be willing to change its strategy regarding Windows update information, and it has only said that, at some point in the future, enterprise customers could indeed get some release notes, but only for certain updates.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/microsof ... 0903.shtml
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