Windows 10 Reserves The Right To Block Pirated Games And 'Unauthorized' Hardware

from the Microsoft-being-Microsoft dept

While Windows 8 annoyed many users for its attempt to duct-tape two disparate computing styles (traditional Windows and a touch interface) together while demanding you stand impressed by the genius of such a move, Windows 10 initially appeared to be seeing some positive responses (at least among those who use Windows). That was, at least until people started to realize how nosy the operating system is, how frequently it feels the need to phone home to Redmond, and some of the more obnoxious language buried in the terms of service.

Not too surprisingly (this is Microsoft we're talking about) the OS opts users in to all manner of information sharing from the start, and there's some indication the OS doesn't really heed its own opt-out settings for many of these "services":

"Unfortunately for privacy advocates, these controls don't appear to be sufficient to completely prevent the operating system from going online and communicating with Microsoft's servers. For example, even with Cortana and searching the Web from the Start menu disabled, opening Start and typing will send a request to www.bing.com to request a file called threshold.appcache which appears to contain some Cortana information, even though Cortana is disabled. The request for this file appears to contain a random machine ID that persists across reboots.

While much of this phoning home appears to be innocuous, it's obviously annoying to users who expect an OS that operates quietly and securely on the network. Other ingrained features of the OS may or may not be more troublesome, depending on how seriously you'd like to take the Microsoft's fine print. One provision in particular appears to have caught the eye of numerous news outlets: namely that Microsoft has the ability and reserves the right to disable first-party (aka Microsoft) titles should they be found to be pirated. The TOS also notes that Microsoft reserves the right to block "unauthorized hardware":

"We may automatically check your version of the software and download software updates or configuration changes, including those that prevent you from accessing the Services, playing counterfeit games, or using unauthorized hardware peripheral devices. You may also be required to update the software to continue using the Services."

Comforting! It's possible Microsoft will never utilize this particular portion of its TOS, but its inclusion is understandably troubling all the same, and with the capability embedded, it's hard to think our friends at the MPAA and BSA won't urge Microsoft to include their products. Update: one commenter points out the TOS in question that has everyone in a tizzy refers to Windows services, not necessarily Windows 10. Windows 10 is covered by Microsoft Software License Terms. In short, while Microsoft could declare Windows 10 as a service, it still seems highly unlikely that the company is going to invite the wrath of millions by using Windows 10 as a piracy and device nanny, especially if they want the OS to succeed.

If you're looking for some additional bright side, Windows 10 at least blocks some of the more obnoxious, invasive flavors of DRM that have made the rounds over the last few years, including SecureROM and SafeDisc. Unfortunately, that means titles that used this DRM simply won't work on the new OS without a patch.

Either way, worries about Windows 10's spying and reporting habits appear to have freaked out a few BitTorrent trackers. One tracker by the name of iTS has decided to block all Windows 10 users entirely, redirecting them to this YouTube video explaining the perceived dangers of the new OS. In a post over at Reddit, tracker admins explain why they're not particularly welcoming of Windows 10 users:

"Many of you might have heard or read about the terrible privacy policy of windows 10 recently. Unfortunately Microsoft decided to revoke any kind of data protection and submit whatever they can gather to not only themselves but also others. One of those is one of the largest anti-piracy company called MarkMonitor. Amongst other things windows 10 sends the contents of your local disks directly to one of their servers. Obviously this goes way too far and is a serious threat to sites like ours which is why we had to take measures."

This is likely somewhat of an overreaction, since Microsoft has been working with MarkMonitor for many years now, in some instances to protect customers from phishing attacks. Still, it's understandable that Microsoft's decision to embed Windows 10 with all manner of chatty behaviors would raise a few eyebrows. If Redmond wants to avoid the fractured adoption issues that plagued earlier versions of Windows, hopefully executives there can be publicly pressured to ensure that opting out of the more chatty and invasive aspects of the new OS actually works.

Filed Under: control, infringement, ownership, pirated content, unauthorized hardware, windows 10
Companies: microsoft

Microsoft Launches Special 'Scott McNealy' Edition Of Windows

from the get-over-it dept

As you may have heard, a company called Microsoft has just launched version 10 of one of its products. Here on Techdirt, we don't do software reviews -- you might be able to find one or two online if you search a little -- but we do like to analyze privacy policies. In this respect, it seems that Microsoft is breaking new ground, as EDRi.org found when it looked at updated terms and conditions that came into effect on August 1, just in time for Windows 10:

We copied and pasted the Microsoft Privacy Statement and the Services Agreement into a document editor and found that these "straightforward" terms are 22 and 23 pages long respectively. Summing up these 45 pages, one can say that Microsoft basically grants itself very broad rights to collect everything you do, say and write with and on your devices in order to sell more targeted advertising or to sell your data to third parties. The company appears to be granting itself the right to share your data either with your consent "or as necessary".

If you want more details, the French site Numerama has picked out the key elements (original in French), summarized in English by EDRi:

When signing into Windows with a Microsoft account, Windows syncs some of your settings and data with Microsoft servers, for example "web browser history, favorites, and websites you have open" as well as "saved app, website, mobile hotspot, and Wi-Fi network names and passwords". Users can however deactivate this transfer to the Microsoft servers by changing their settings.

More problematic from a data protection perspective is however the fact that Windows generates a unique advertising ID for each user on a device. This advertising ID can be used by third parties, such as app developers and advertising networks for profiling purposes.

Other features include generating a recovery key when encrypting the drive that Windows is installed upon, which is automatically backed up online in the Microsoft OneDrive account. Microsoft's updated terms also state that it collects things about you, your devices, and app data, as well as information about the networks you connect to. Then there is Microsoft's personal assistant software "Cortana." If you use it, here's what it will gather:

Your device location, data from your calendar, the apps you use, data from your emails and text messages, who you call, your contacts and how often you interact with them on your device. Cortana also learns about you by collecting data about how you use your device and other Microsoft services, such as your music, alarm settings, whether the lock screen is on, what you view and purchase, your browse and Bing search history, and more.

And in case you thought that was everything, it also collects:

Your voice input, as well your name and nickname, your recent calendar events and the names of the people in your appointments, and information about your contacts including names and nickname.

Any one of these would be enough to raise serious privacy concerns, even if some can be turned off; put together, they look as if an executive order has gone out to harvest the maximum amount of personal information, and to disregard privacy issues completely. Back in 1999, when Sun's CEO Scott McNealy famously declared "You have zero privacy anyway, get over it," he could be forgiven for living in an innocent era when the harm that might flow from that situation seemed circumscribed. Today, in the post-Snowden world, putting "zero privacy" at the heart of your latest product in the way that Microsoft seems to have done with Windows 10, is not just foolish and anachronistic, but downright contemptuous of users and their safety.

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Filed Under: privacy, scott mcnealy, windows 10
Companies: microsoft

DailyDirt: Is It Time To Change Your Passwords (Again)?

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Passwords are an everyday part of life now, but so are stories of millions of people having their login credentials stolen. It's easy to say that everyone should use better passwords, but how many people really want to remember to constantly change their passwords or get a 2-factor authentication call regularly just to check their emails? Sure, there are some systems that make it a bit easier to deal with 2-factor authentication, but the vast majority of users don't want to be bothered with the hassle at all. Here are just a few more security-related links to push you into re-thinking password laziness.

• A password like "MargaretThatcheris110%SEXY" isn't that secure against offline high-speed password cracking. Humans are really bad at making up random passwords, but that's what you need to do to maximize the security of your passwords. So we're back to suggestions like "correct horse battery staple" and other random (and long) passwords. [url]
• If only ransomware used weak passwords to decrypt files, maybe some folks wouldn't be so inconvenienced. But if you're a victim of a ransomware scheme, there's at least one decryption program from Kaspersky Lab that might help you out. [url]
• Windows 10 is going to support biometric logins using face recognition, iris detection and fingerprint scanners. Does anyone think this is really a significant advancement? The challenge of using various biometric systems doesn't seem like a solved problem just yet. [url]

After you've finished checking out those links, take a look at our Daily Deals for cool gadgets and other awesome stuff.

Filed Under: biometrics, face recognition, fingerprints, passwords, ransomware, security, two factor authentication, windows 10
Companies: kaspersky lab, microsoft