Windows 10 is collecting your data whether you like it or not

Posted by David Bernstein

 

With everything being “connected” these days we all expect there to be some loss of privacy when we are online with our computers, smartphones and tablets. But for the most part we assume control over what our devices are sending to who…or at least some control.

With the new Windows 10 out in full force Microsoft is pushing hard to get it on as many devices as possible as you may have noticed from the constant upgrade popups on your Windows 7 or Windows 8 computer. But with the new operating system comes some new privacy concerns it seems. If you do a clean installation yourself you will notice that there are many privacy settings you can turn off or on to help keep your data to yourself. There are settings for location data, contact information, error reporting and so on. If you turn all these off you would think that your information is not going anywhere. Apparently that is not the case.

Even with all the privacy setting in place it seems that Windows 10 is talking to Microsoft servers and sending them information thousands of times per day. Even when using a third party tool called DisableWinTracking Microsoft was still able to “phone home”. So you may be thinking that you didn’t sign up for this but apparently you did. The Microsoft end user license agreement (EULA) you sign to when you install Windows 10 states they have the right to collect user data from your computer and we all know that nobody reads those to begin with. But this doesn’t mean that Microsoft should have the right to track our computer usage especially after saying they aren’t.

Microsoft claims the tracking is to gather data on how Windows is running and to report on things such as performance and system crashes. But only they know the whole story of exactly what kind of data they are collecting and for what purpose.

Microsoft downloading Windows 10 setup files to computers

 Posted by David Bernstein

Most of you who use Windows know what Automatic Updates are and how they work. If you don’t then it’s a process where Microsoft will download security and other updates to your computer and install them as needed. Of course there are settings where you can choose to just have the files downloaded and you can install them when you are ready or you can simply be notified of new updates and then download and install them when you want to.

If you are running Windows 7 or 8 you are eligible for the free Windows 10 upgrade which will be installed via Windows Update. When your computer is ready for its turn you will see a Windows icon in your system tray by your clock telling you that you can reserve your free copy of Windows 10 and then eventually you will be able to do the upgrade. Now this is fine and dandy if you want to actually upgrade but what if you don’t?

It turns out Microsoft is automatically downloading the installation file to end users computers to stage the upgrade so the files won’t have to be downloaded at the time of installation. The problem is many users don’t want to do the upgrade now if ever and are getting these large files (3GB to 6GB) dumped on to their hard drives without them knowing which can be filling up valuable storage space. Plus if you have an internet plan that allows only a certain amount of data to be downloaded (who still has that?) then you might be at risk of going over your limit and incurring some extra charges on your next bill.

There is a way to remove these files and that’s by finding the hidden folder called $Windows.~BT in the root of your C drive. But the problem is that it will keep coming back when it checks for updates. In that case you will need to uninstall Windows update KB3035583 from Programs and Features. Keep in mind if you decide to upgrade you may need this update back.

Windows 10 to be the last version of Windows

Posted by David Bernstein

As we are sure you know there have been various versions of Windows each with their own unique name. Many of them coincide with the year they came out such as Windows 98 or in the case of Windows 8 it’s the next number after Windows 7. Next up for Microsoft will be Windows 10 which sort of combines the friendly interface of Windows 7 with the new features of Windows 8. And if you already have Windows 7 or Windows 8 then it will be a free upgrade for you as well.

Now Jerry Nixon from Microsoft is saying that Windows 10 will be the last version of the desktop operating system. This doesn’t mean that Windows will be going away any time soon but rather they will keep adding on or upgrading Windows 10 on an ongoing basis rather than coming out with a new version every few years. So if you were planning on waiting for Windows 11 before you upgraded then don’t hold your breath.

Part of the reason for doing this is because in the past Microsoft developers would sit down and start on a new operating system and then 3 years later it would be released. The main problem with this is that it would already be 3 years old and not include all the features and functionality that users would be expecting and already have on their other devices. So if this happens Microsoft will have to stay on top of things and keep adding features as the need arises in addition to the usual Windows updates that occur on a regular basis.

New Spartan Browser to Replace Internet Explorer

Posted by David Bernstein

 If you have been following the news of the new upcoming Windows 8 replacement called Windows 10 (yay!) then you are probably aware of how it combines the functionality of Windows 7 with the look and feel of Windows 8. And we are hoping this will be a version of Windows we will want to use this time. You may also have heard that Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for users of Windows 7 and Windows 8 and should be out this summer.

For those of you who hate Internet Explorer (and there are many), Microsoft plans to introduce an entirely new web browser into Windows 10 codenamed Project Spartan. Since IE has been getting worse and worse over the years this will be a welcome change to Windows users who want to try something new or users who never install a different browser on their computer because they don’t want to or didn’t know that they could.

Spartan will have a whole new look and many new features, some of which are new to web browsers in general. One of the most talked about is the ability to make annotations on a web page with a stylus pen and then send those notes to other users via Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud storage. Then these users can view the changes and make their own notes and send them on to others. There will also be a digital assistant that helps you track things such as flights and deliveries all from a bar within the browser. One interesting feature will be the ability to group and categorize your open tabs so you don’t just have a long line of open web pages cluttering your browser window.

We assume Internet Explorer will also be included in Windows 10 for backwards compatibility and for applications that are made to run on IE that may not work on Spartan. We don’t even know if Spartan will be the official name but so far we kind of like it!

Spyware found in new Lenovo PCs

Posted by David Bernstein

It seems that nowadays the biggest threat to your computer is from spyware that you can get from just about anywhere. Whether it’s from downloading some free software or even visiting certain websites its way to easy to get infected these days. When you buy a new computer you expect it to be perfectly clean and free of spyware for the most part. Of course it will come with all the extra software you don’t really want or need but at least it shouldn’t be stealing your information.

A researcher in the financial services technology industry field named Peter Horne discovered that new Lenovo computers were being shipped with spyware called Superfish which is used to harvest data from a user’s computer via web browser. Horne noticed that data was being redirected from his computer to a website called best-deals-products.com. The point of this spyware is to collect information so it can place ads it thinks you will be interested in on webpages as you are browsing but can also compromise secure sites making it easier for hacker to do their thing with your data.

When confronted about the Superfish spyware Lenovo responded by saying its used “to help customers potentially discover interesting products while shopping.” But shortly after this finding went public in January Lenovo said they stopped including it on their new computer. So if you bought a Lenovo computer between September and December 2014 you most likely have Superfish installed on it.