back to article 70% of Windows 10 users are totally happy with our big telemetry slurp, beams Microsoft

Microsoft claims seven out of ten Windows 10 users are happy with Redmond gulping loads of telemetry from their computers – which isn't that astounding when you realize it's a default option. In other words, 30 per cent of people have found the switch to turn it off, and the rest haven't, don't realize it's there, or are …

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      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: MSFT and Facebook

        I get tracked by MS when I use their OS, I get tracked by Google when I use pretty much any internet site, on any device that doesn't have no-script stopping Google Analytics and a cookie filter.

        So explain to me again how MS are worse than Google.....

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: MSFT and Facebook

          ...because NoScript can block Google, only heroic effort can block MS tracking?

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: MSFT and Facebook

            "...because NoScript can block Google, only heroic effort can block MS tracking?"

            No - the Spybot app can block Windows 10 spying. So a single app, just the same. And no script only blocks the browser, not the rest of Googles spyware by default....

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: MSFT and Facebook

        and what evidence do you have to support this? I have plenty that says otherwise.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: who are both transparent with what's collected and honest about rentention

      Yeah, of course they are.

  1. Teiwaz

    Most People

    Most people when they get a new 'whatever' just click through and accept defaults unless they know and understand what they want.

    Most people just want their new system to be up and running and ready to use WOW or Facebook or whatever as quick as possible and with little thought as possible.

    Low hanging fruit is just easy, not necessarily preferred...

    1. Elmer Phud

      Re: Most People

      just WTF's wrong with WOW or FaceAche?

      O.K. you don't like them, not everyone jumps in with all ports blazing and blindfolds on.

      I wonder how much data is spunked out all over the place by those who are so bloody smug.

    2. Baldrickk

      Re: Most People

      Exactly, most people will just "next> next> next>" their way through the installation and configuration.

      The default setting will be perfectly fine, right?

      For something like this, 30% is actually a pretty significant number.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What is the position on W7?

    There was a list of patches to remove that had retrofitted the telemetry to some extent. Have the rolled up "security" patches sneaked some back in?

    1. ph0b0s

      Afraid so..... MS went to a cumulative model for Win 7 / 8 updates. So you get one 'quality update' a month that includes all new updates and previous ones. The only way not to get those updates is to install the security only cumulative update from the MS catalog. Then you just get security updates not function updates. Does not stop MS from deciding that telemetry updates are needed as part of the security updates as well.

      Essentially MS have retroactively made the deciding what updates you want a nightmare....

  3. Timmy B

    Most people.....

    This is a telling thing. And a reason that massive comapnies like Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Google, Amazon, etc exist and operate. They cater for most people. Most people don't care about sharing what websites they view, or what they buy, or where they go. They don't care because having other people know, or governments know, or companies know just isn't as important as doing these things at a price that makes them convenient and easy. They, mostly subconsiously, make the decision that a kind of trade is going on where they give up some privacy for ease, convenience and cost. This is the trade that makes saying "Alexa play my favorite songs" so appealing. I don't think it will ever change and I don't think it's a totally bad thing - I do think it'll increase, though. Ford will track journeys to make sat-navs and autonomous cars better for example.

    All I think is needed is simple rules that makes what they gather clear in the T&Cs and then you have a choice to use it or not. This is kind of like the current rules changes in the UK to do with marketing mail.

    1. Adam 52 Silver badge

      Re: Most people.....

      That's what we have now, supposedly.

      It's not working, hence the new rules.

    2. DropBear

      Re: Most people.....

      I don't necessarily condemn those who accept this "deal" consciously - but I really doubt most do. Funnily enough, we take it for granted that the warning "you have the right to remain silent, anything you say can be used against you in a court of law" is NOT optional, yet the exact same thing outside the judicial context suddenly becomes a "no need to talk about it" deal...

    3. HollyHopDrive

      Re: Most people.....

      Yes that's true, but for Google I get email, search etc in return for letting them know my browsing and purchasing habits, some of my privacy is the payment (they also let me see what they know). With Microsoft I *PAY* them for my overpriced licence therefore I expect I get at least the option to maintain my privacy. But I'm not given the option. The phrase "Cake and eating it" springs to mind.

      I can't help but notice there that the enterprise option gets a very minimal option (less than basic) so they know the big corporates wouldn't upgrade if anything of real value was spaffed out so it's a case of we'll listen to the big corporates but fuck the rest of you.

    4. FuzzyWuzzys
      Coat

      Re: Most people.....

      Get your coat and get out Timmy, we don't like your sensible, well considered posting type antics in the Reg forum! Leave and never come back sir!

      1. Timmy B
        Pint

        Re: Most people.....

        For you Mr Fuzzy....

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Most people.....

      I was on a Apple forum the other day (sorry), and people were genuinely excited that the next generation of apple watch might be able to measure your blood chemistry, nobody seemed to worry what that might do for health insurance etc etc.....

      I bought a heart rate monitor recently and the computer interface took the readings straight to Osram - no opportunity to store my data on my machine .... so I sent it back.

      IMHO - where possible we should all try to reject this encroachment ...

  4. djstardust

    It's easy .....

    All you need to do is install DWS lite and Spybot anti-beacon.

    Between the two of them it kills slurp stone dead in Windows 10.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: It's easy .....

      "All you need to do is install DWS lite "

      Were you aware that disables Windows Update?. Not a good idea unless you want to become the next ransomware victim!

      See https://www.howtogeek.com/273513/why-you-shouldnt-use-anti-spying-tools-for-windows-10

    2. Jonathan 27

      Re: It's easy .....

      I'm assuming you're never accessing any web sites as well then? Because that's where the real data gathering is.

      1. TheVogon

        Re: It's easy .....

        "I'm assuming you're never accessing any web sites as well then? Because that's where the real data gathering is."

        uBlock Origin and other similar options are now available as Edge extensions in case you were not aware...

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    spends most of its time updating

    Biggest mistake ever upgrading to it, spends half its time switching itself off as its decided to update, right in the middle of what am doing. Then the other half it spends slamming the disk so not much works, hardly ever use it now because its unusable.

    1. Elmer Phud

      Re: spends most of its time updating

      Soooooo . . . .

      Someone who has yet to set up W10 then.

    2. Timmy B

      Re: spends most of its time updating

      "spends most of its time updating". A serious question... "What have you done?" I have half a dozen w10 PCs at home and use one full time at work. I don't see this at all on any of them. Or is that just hyperbole? Is this an upgrade? From what? What software is running?

      1. Peter2 Silver badge

        Re: spends most of its time updating

        To be fair, the less often that you use a bit of software like Winx the worse it gets. If you only turn it on for an hour a month then it downloads and starts installing all of the updates, you turn it off in disgust as it's used half of that updating and then try again a month later and it does the same thing then your going to have a pretty poor view of it.

        1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

          Re: spends most of its time updating

          "If you only turn it on for an hour a month then it downloads and starts installing all of the updates, you turn it off in disgust as it's used half of that updating"

          The great mystery to many of us is why it needs to do updates this way. Earlie todayr I got an alert that my system had one update. The system's discovering that had no noticeable effect on performance. I don't set the system to autoupdate so a few moments ago I ran the update. One package was updated: 258kB downloaded at 636 kB/s and installed with no noticeable effect on performance. The whole update took seconds of elapsed time.

          Clearly there'd be many more packages to update if I left it to be a monthly task. Even so I know from large updates, say the mass that occur when, as you describe, an infrequently used box is switched on, that it doesn't take anything as long as the equivalent Windows update, it doesn't impede performance to any noticeable extent, it stops and restarts any services which have had an update without reboots, it doesn't require long delays to shut down after an update nor on the consequent restart and, in fact, the only sort of update that requires a reboot at all is when the kernel itself has been updated.

          FreeBSD is pretty similar (it's a while since I tried PC-BSD, based on FreeBSD and found it to be inexplicably similar to Windows in this respect).

          So why is it that Windows updates are such a major production?

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: spends most of its time updating

      "spends half its time switching itself off as its decided to update, right in the middle of what am doing"

      You know you can set up to 18 hours a day as "active hours" when it won't try and install anything?

    4. BobChip
      Happy

      Re: spends most of its time updating

      Linux Mint. This is how updates SHOULD work. Fast, silent, no reboot, keep on working throughout etc.etc. 'Nuf said.

  6. Adam 52 Silver badge

    Windows privacy portal

    I've never been. It involves creating a Microsoft online account, agreeing to the terms and associating your pc with it.

    My Mrs did. All it achieved was Microsoft spam to her email address, she wasn't happy but rather than file a complaint with the ICO she took it out on me.

    1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      Re: Windows privacy portal

      "All it achieved was Microsoft spam to her email address"

      Set up an address beforehand specifically for this. Then discontinue it or at least ignore it forever afterwards. Added bonus, make it a HotLiveOutmail address and let Microsoft store their own spam indefinitely.

      1. Adam 52 Silver badge

        Re: Windows privacy portal

        With Windows 10 your Microsoft account is your Windows login. So it's quite hard to dispose of it. We did eventually migrate to a new Windows account to avoid all the linked account rubbish.

        1. Rattus Rattus

          Re: Microsoft account is your Windows login

          Mine isn't. I told Windows to get stuffed every time it tried to tell me I should create a Microsoft account instead of a local one, and every time it said I should "upgrade" to one. This means I cannot use Windows Store apps, so it's a win-win really.

        2. TheVogon

          Re: Windows privacy portal

          "With Windows 10 your Microsoft account is your Windows login. So it's quite hard to dispose of it."

          That's completely optional though. You can still choose to use local accounts. However anything from the Windows Store that requires a license won't work in that case...Just like on OS/X / Android, etc you need to be signed in for the App Store to work fully.

  7. Bloodbeastterror

    How-to

    No doubt Reg readers know already (and no doubt can expand on this if there's more), but for those who don't...

    Windows-R, services.msc, double-click "Connected User Experiences and Telemetry", stop the service, disable the service.

    I remember reading of another item to disable - maybe someone can add it if they know?

    And check occasionally that it hasn't been re-enabled by updates, as happened with mine when the Creator's Update hit my laptop.

    1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      Re: How-to

      "check occasionally that it hasn't been re-enabled by updates"

      That's the rub.

      Eternal paranoia is the price of freedom. Vigilance is not enough.

    2. Wade Burchette

      Re: How-to

      (1) If you are using Windows 8 or 10, install Classic Shell.

      (2) After install, click the start button for the now proper and logical start menu, right-click 'This PC' or 'Computer' in Win7, then left-click Manage.

      (3) Find System Tools, then expand Task Scheduler, then Task Scheduler library, then Microsoft, then Windows.

      (4) Find the 'Application Experience' task list and 'Customer Experience Improvement' one and disable all tasks therein.

      1. Adam 52 Silver badge

        Re: How-to

        "(1) If you are using Windows 8 or 10, install Classic Shell"

        Doesn't work - Windows Update automatically removes Classic Shell as "incompatible".

        1. TheVogon

          Re: How-to

          "Doesn't work - Windows Update automatically removes Classic Shell as "incompatible"."

          Classic Shell has supported Windows 10 since August 2015.

  8. Aristotles slow and dimwitted horse

    I did it another way...

    I just Wiresharked my PCs network interface and after my own piece of investigatory fun blacklisted all of the suspect Microsoft telemetry domains and IP addresses on my router. Seems to do the job.

    1. Adam 52 Silver badge

      Re: I did it another way...

      Would you share please.

      1. Stumpy

        Re: I did it another way...

        +1 for a share.

      2. cd / && rm -rf *

        Re: I did it another way...

        "Would you share please"

        127.0.0.1 a-msedge.net

        127.0.0.1 a.ads2.msads.net

        127.0.0.1 adnexus.net

        127.0.0.1 aidps.atdmt.com

        127.0.0.1 az361816.vo.msecnd.net

        127.0.0.1 az512334.vo.msecnd.net

        127.0.0.1 b.ads1.msn.com

        127.0.0.1 b.ads2.msads.net

        127.0.0.1 c.atdmt.com

        127.0.0.1 c.msn.com

        127.0.0.1 cdn.atdmt.com

        127.0.0.1 cds26.ams9.msecn.net

        127.0.0.1 db3aqu.atdmt.com

        127.0.0.1 ec.atdmt.com

        127.0.0.1 feedback.microsoft-hohm.com

        127.0.0.1 flex.msn.com

        127.0.0.1 g.msn.com

        127.0.0.1 h1.msn.com

        127.0.0.1 lb1.www.ms.akadns.net

        127.0.0.1 live.rads.msn.com

        127.0.0.1 m.adnxs.com

        127.0.0.1 msedge.net

        127.0.0.1 msnbot-65-55-108-23.search.msn.com

        127.0.0.1 msntest.serving-sys.com

        127.0.0.1 preview.msn.com

        127.0.0.1 reports.wes.df.telemetry.microsoft.com

        127.0.0.1 sO.2mdn.net

        127.0.0.1 schemas.microsoft.akadns.net

        127.0.0.1 secure.flashtalking.com

        127.0.0.1 settings-win.data.microsoft.com

        127.0.0.1 statsfe2.ws.microsoft.com

        127.0.0.1 telemetry.appex.bing.net

        127.0.0.1 wes.df.telemetry.microsoft.com

        plus probably others.

        Also be aware that Slurp's "telemetry" bypasses the hosts file and talks direct to the relevant IPs, so you need to block in an external firewall or your router.

        Another vote for Spybot Anti-Beacon here. Re-run after any updates. You'll see how Slurp resets all the privacy settings you've carefully and laboriously set.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Unhappy

          Re: I did it another way...

          adnxs.com and flashtalking.com are, unsurprisingly, ad parasites. Microsoft is truly vile.

        2. poopypants

          Re: I did it another way...

          I had no problem with the minimum telemetry setting until I tried to record sound from a microphone onto my PC. It turns out on my system the telemetry causes the audio device driver to fail to fill all the input buffers, causing audio drops. That's when I added some rules to the firewall, and now audio recording works fine. The fact that I had to go out of my way to disable something just so that my PC could function correctly is, to put it mildly, annoying.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: I did it another way...

            The NSA has noted the absence of your real time audio feed, and has scheduled you for enhanced data collection.

          2. DropBear

            Re: I did it another way...

            I have seen network activity obliterate basic audio usability before, although in that case it was _any_ network activity. I don't remember the details, only that it wasn't a simple "just make sure drivers are up to date" issue - it's all the more annoying considering those two functions are often both implemented using Realtek chips so one would expect them to get along better. I blame it on the modern "everything is software-only" mantra which makes things that need to happen at the same time totally fail to do so whenever the programming is sub-par (which is just to say "practically always").

        3. Electron Shepherd

          A (possibly better) and certainly longer list

          See http://someonewhocares.org/hosts/

          That's around 13,000 entries, covering telemetry and a lot of other spyware / ad serving and generally unpleasant domains.

        4. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: I did it another way...

          "Would you share please"

          That list contains lots of entries completely unrelated to telemetry. I would suggest using the Spybot app as a safer option.

          1. Mark 85

            Re: I did it another way...

            Indeed it does contain lots of entries unrelated to telemetry to MS. But those other entries are worth blocking, IMO. They block ad, data collection to the ad throwers, etc. Well worth the minimal time and effort to install.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: I did it another way...

              "They block ad, data collection to the ad throwers, etc."

              Which the Spybot app will also block. There are things in that list that will break other stuff too...

              Strongly suggest you don't just pick stuff at random but use a list from someone that has actually researched what you actually need to block...

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