Windows 10? - Page 112

dorcelfan · July 21st, 2016, 10:39 AM

Thanks for the advice fellas.

My laptop is about 4 years old and running 8.1.

Spoke to a mate in the pub last night who works in IT and he said pretty much what has been said here....keep what you've got as there could be some serious compatibility issues so looks like a No Go for me!

Cheers again

D

**Isegrim** · July 21st, 2016, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick Danger

... Since Windows Media Center is gone from Windows 10, and it's replacements (Groove Music and Windows Movie and TV) are really not viable options if you are maintaining your own media collection (IMHO), VLC is pretty much the only option. You should check out their webpage to see if there are any major issues with Windows 10 ...

You may also check SMPlayer. It's a free multi-platform player that works with linux and all relevant Windows versions and it's Open Source (!). It's in fact two players in one. A small version with only the basic functions and the version with all functions available. I use it with Windows XP and Windows 7 and I think it's a quite good piece of software ...

Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMPlayer
Sourceforge Website: http://smplayer.sourceforge.net/en/info

**Rick Danger** · July 22nd, 2016, 04:45 AM

Yes: Microsoft, Apple, Google, Verizon Wireless, ALL the technology providers collect data. Some do it openly, some not. Some let you "opt out" of the data collection. But Windows 10 has been criticized since day one for being intrusive in a way that previous versions were not.

Earlier in the day I was reading the dialog written by a corporate IT support manager stating that issues with Windows 10 data collection were contrary to his company's information protection standards. Then I encountered this article written by Nick Heath for TechRepublic.com.

French authorities are weighing in on this issue, and are giving Microsoft only three months to remediate issues with data collection and security.

TechRepublic

Software
Windows 10 collects too much user data, lacks security says watchdog
Microsoft has been told to reduce the data Windows 10 collects about users and tighten up the OS security or risk facing sanction for breaching data protection rules.

By Nick Heath
July 21, 2016, 6:13 AM PST

Windows 10 is insecure and surreptitiously collects excessive data about what users do on their computer, according to a French authority.

Microsoft's flagship OS violates the French data protection act, according to the country's Chair of the National Data Protection Commission (CNIL), which highlighted the "seriousness of the breaches".

Microsoft has three months to change how Windows 10 collects data about users in order to comply with the act. Failure to do could result in a fine of up to €150,000.

Windows 10 breaches user privacy in several areas, according to CNIL, which says the data the OS collects about users is "excessive".
Windows 10 transmits user data back to Microsoft by default, with users of Home and Pro versions only able to reduce data collection to the "Basic" level. On this setting, Windows 10 collects information about security settings, quality-related info (such as crashes and hangs), and application compatibility. Users of Enterprise, Education, and IoT core editions are able to reduce the data collection further, to what Microsoft calls the "Security" level.

Given Microsoft says that the data collected at the "Security" level is the bare minimum necessary to keep Windows machines "protected with the latest security updates", the collection of any data above and beyond this is not needed, the CNIL says in its formal notice.

"It is apparent that some of these data are not directly necessary for the operating system to work," it states.

"Most of the data included in the basic level are not essential for the system to operate so collecting such data is excessive with respect to this purpose."

Windows 10 also breaches the act in how it associates an advertising ID with each user, the watchdog said. This unique identifier allows a profile to be built of which apps are used and how.

Microsoft doesn't "validly obtain users' consent" for associating them with this ID, CNIL said, due to the way the ID is activated by default when the operating system is installed.

Windows 10 also downloads advertising cookies to users' machines without informing them or seeking permission, according to CNIL.

The authority also takes issue with how Microsoft handles Windows 10 user data, questioning why it is being transferred out of the EU under the terms of Safe Harbor, the data-sharing agreement declared "invalid" by the European Court of Justice in October.

Windows 10 does not ensure security
Beyond its data privacy failings, the CNIL also criticised Windows 10 for the poor security of allowing Windows users to log in using a four-figure PIN.

Windows 10 users who have associated their Microsoft account with a Windows 10 machine can then log into that machine using a PIN.

CNIL described this four-figure PIN as a "weak password" and said Windows did not lock the account after 20 attempts to guess the PIN — only requiring a reboot after five unsuccessful attempts.

These failings combined do "not ensure the security of confidentiality of the data that can be accessed using the PIN on the user's computer", it states.

CNIL is concerned that entering the PIN also automatically authenticates the user to use that device to connect to all of the online services linked to that Microsoft account — providing access to email and information about "store purchases and the payment instruments and devices used".

Addressing CNIL's concerns, Microsoft VP and deputy general counsel David Heiner committed the company to working with the authority over the next three months.

"We built strong privacy protections into Windows 10, and we welcome feedback as we continually work to enhance those protections. We will work closely with the CNIL over the next few months to understand the agency's concerns fully and to work toward solutions that it will find acceptable," he said.

Heiner said Microsoft would also work towards conducting transatlantic data transfers under the terms of the newly agreed Privacy Shield agreement.

**Isegrim** · July 22nd, 2016, 12:11 PM

Rick Danger
(the next post I cannot quote ...)

"... French authorities are weighing in on this issue, and are giving Microsoft only three months to remediate issues with data collection and security ..."

Two letters: EU. What ever France will do, Microsoft will appeal to EU courts and you know what this means: some wannabe Solomon of a judge will tear all to pieces ...

Big Business goes always for citizen rights in our oh so democratic Europe.
Sounds pretty much like short term political propaganda for me. Aren't there elections in France soon and aren't the Nationalists eager for an Frexit? Could become a boomerang then ...

**Slayer80** · July 22nd, 2016, 07:43 PM

i stay with my win7. why? because i can! i have no problems with win7 and you know, never touch a running system.
and as long as i don't get any critical issues i stay with 7. works fine for me

it has nothing to do with "win 10 is evil and it spies us all", i simply have no interest in win 10 and i'm too lazy to work in 10.

RowanMooreFan · July 22nd, 2016, 09:32 PM

Microsoft (Google isn't any better) has been attacked by the EU many a time. The only question up to this day: have they already paid one single EUR of the multitude of fines they have gathered since then? I don't know. Maybe someone can help me out. Europe is a very small dog that barks a lot and continuously fools its population into believing they have a saying on the international forum. They have not. They have to listen most carefully and are bathing in fear for the US. The US rule the world everywhere and they fool their population into believing they are not, but they are.

Over here people have entirely lost faith in politicians.

**seany65** · July 22nd, 2016, 09:54 PM

Didn't the EU fine microsoft because it included windows mediaplayer in WinXP for free and thus harmed the profits of the makers of other media playing software, and made microsoft add a bit to the price of XP so that windows media player wasn't actually free any more?

If so, the EU forced microsoft to charge more for their product than they actually would've done, and thus make a bit more money than they would've done, and perhaps helped them pay off their fine quicker than they would've done and maybe helped them make a bit more profit than they would've done.

Thus helping a big company make more money out of the general public than they would've done.

If all that's true, then all I can is "Yay for the EU!"

Not.

**Misrule** · July 23rd, 2016, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RowanMooreFan

Microsoft (Google isn't any better) has been attacked by the EU many a time. The only question up to this day: have they already paid one single EUR of the multitude of fines they have gathered since then? I don't know. Maybe someone can help me out. Europe is a very small dog that barks a lot and continuously fools its population into believing they have a saying on the international forum. They have not. They have to listen most carefully and are bathing in fear for the US. The US rule the world everywhere and they fool their population into believing they are not, but they are.

Over here people have entirely lost faith in politicians.

Yes, Microsoft has paid the EU fine. After the initial judgement, MS deposited $600M in an escrow account pending an appeal. They lost the appeal and the fine was increased. They appealed that and it was upheld with a small reduction in the fine to €860M which has been paid.

**Isegrim** · July 24th, 2016, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RowanMooreFan

... Europe is a very small dog that barks a lot and continuously fools its population into believing they have a saying on the international forum. They have not. They have to listen most carefully and are bathing in fear for the US ...

Much worse! Our politicians are not urged to do so, they act out of free will, for the sake of transatlantic 'partnership' (of american and european criminals, that is). How else could they even think of TTIP. Tieing a bunch of little an middle size states envious to each other so tight to a market of over 300 million people well organized in one state - we will finally become a colony (not only a banana republic like now) without the least influence over our own affairs. But isn't that already the ultimate reason of the EU itself. All this talking about democracy ... how can you have democracy without a nation. And the foolish ultra chauvinist idea of a European nation reminds me rather to the serbian nationalists who talked about a Jugoslawian nation in three tribes (Serbs, Croats, Slovenes). We all know the results! Let's hope this isn't our future as well ...

**Isegrim** · July 24th, 2016, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slayer80

... it has nothing to do with "win 10 is evil and it spies us all" ...

No Windows 10 is not evil, but the irresponsible american attitude towards personal data and privacy is. And Windows 10 is just a another tool of it ...

July 22nd, 2016, 04:45 AM	#1113
Rick Danger Vintage Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: In the Chill lounge..... Posts: 1,725 Thanks: 6,794 Thanked 31,225 Times in 1,714 Posts	French Government hammers Microsoft on Windows 10 data collection, security Yes: Microsoft, Apple, Google, Verizon Wireless, ALL the technology providers collect data. Some do it openly, some not. Some let you "opt out" of the data collection. But Windows 10 has been criticized since day one for being intrusive in a way that previous versions were not. Earlier in the day I was reading the dialog written by a corporate IT support manager stating that issues with Windows 10 data collection were contrary to his company's information protection standards. Then I encountered this article written by Nick Heath for TechRepublic.com. French authorities are weighing in on this issue, and are giving Microsoft only *three months* to remediate issues with data collection and security. TechRepublic Software Windows 10 collects too much user data, lacks security says watchdog Microsoft has been told to reduce the data Windows 10 collects about users and tighten up the OS security or risk facing sanction for breaching data protection rules. By Nick Heath July 21, 2016, 6:13 AM PST Windows 10 is insecure and surreptitiously collects excessive data about what users do on their computer, according to a French authority. Microsoft's flagship OS violates the French data protection act, according to the country's Chair of the National Data Protection Commission (CNIL), which highlighted the "seriousness of the breaches". Microsoft has three months to change how Windows 10 collects data about users in order to comply with the act. Failure to do could result in a fine of up to €150,000. Windows 10 breaches user privacy in several areas, according to CNIL, which says the data the OS collects about users is "excessive". Windows 10 transmits user data back to Microsoft by default, with users of Home and Pro versions only able to reduce data collection to the "Basic" level. On this setting, Windows 10 collects information about security settings, quality-related info (such as crashes and hangs), and application compatibility. Users of Enterprise, Education, and IoT core editions are able to reduce the data collection further, to what Microsoft calls the "Security" level. Given Microsoft says that the data collected at the "Security" level is the bare minimum necessary to keep Windows machines "protected with the latest security updates", the collection of any data above and beyond this is not needed, the CNIL says in its formal notice. "It is apparent that some of these data are not directly necessary for the operating system to work," it states. "Most of the data included in the basic level are not essential for the system to operate so collecting such data is excessive with respect to this purpose." Windows 10 also breaches the act in how it associates an advertising ID with each user, the watchdog said. This unique identifier allows a profile to be built of which apps are used and how. Microsoft doesn't "validly obtain users' consent" for associating them with this ID, CNIL said, due to the way the ID is activated by default when the operating system is installed. Windows 10 also downloads advertising cookies to users' machines without informing them or seeking permission, according to CNIL. The authority also takes issue with how Microsoft handles Windows 10 user data, questioning why it is being transferred out of the EU under the terms of Safe Harbor, the data-sharing agreement declared "invalid" by the European Court of Justice in October. Windows 10 does not ensure security Beyond its data privacy failings, the CNIL also criticised Windows 10 for the poor security of allowing Windows users to log in using a four-figure PIN. Windows 10 users who have associated their Microsoft account with a Windows 10 machine can then log into that machine using a PIN. CNIL described this four-figure PIN as a "weak password" and said Windows did not lock the account after 20 attempts to guess the PIN — only requiring a reboot after five unsuccessful attempts. These failings combined do "not ensure the security of confidentiality of the data that can be accessed using the PIN on the user's computer", it states. CNIL is concerned that entering the PIN also automatically authenticates the user to use that device to connect to all of the online services linked to that Microsoft account — providing access to email and information about "store purchases and the payment instruments and devices used". Addressing CNIL's concerns, Microsoft VP and deputy general counsel David Heiner committed the company to working with the authority over the next three months. "We built strong privacy protections into Windows 10, and we welcome feedback as we continually work to enhance those protections. We will work closely with the CNIL over the next few months to understand the agency's concerns fully and to work toward solutions that it will find acceptable," he said. Heiner said Microsoft would also work towards conducting transatlantic data transfers under the terms of the newly agreed Privacy Shield agreement.

July 22nd, 2016, 07:43 PM	#1115
Slayer80 Vintage Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 4,534 Thanks: 12,986 Thanked 99,231 Times in 4,509 Posts	i stay with my win7. why? because i can! i have no problems with win7 and you know, never touch a running system. and as long as i don't get any critical issues i stay with 7. works fine for me it has nothing to do with "win 10 is evil and it spies us all", i simply have no interest in win 10 and i'm too lazy to work in 10. __________________ Links, covers or previews down? Feel free to repost them! -- Problems unpacking the file? Update winrar / 7zip! -- Request reup? Send me a PM with link to the post! *To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.*

July 22nd, 2016, 09:32 PM	#1116
RowanMooreFan Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 155 Thanks: 13,852 Thanked 7,286 Times in 151 Posts	Microsoft (Google isn't any better) has been attacked by the EU many a time. The only question up to this day: have they already paid one single EUR of the multitude of fines they have gathered since then? I don't know. Maybe someone can help me out. Europe is a very small dog that barks a lot and continuously fools its population into believing they have a saying on the international forum. They have not. They have to listen most carefully and are bathing in fear for the US. The US rule the world everywhere and they fool their population into believing they are not, but they are. Over here people have entirely lost faith in politicians. Last edited by RowanMooreFan; July 22nd, 2016 at 09:41 PM..

July 22nd, 2016, 09:54 PM	#1117
seany65 Vintage Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 3,651 Thanks: 80,415 Thanked 32,730 Times in 3,527 Posts	Didn't the EU fine microsoft because it included windows mediaplayer in WinXP for free and thus harmed the profits of the makers of other media playing software, and made microsoft add a bit to the price of XP so that windows media player wasn't actually free any more? If so, the EU forced microsoft to charge more for their product than they actually would've done, and thus make a bit more money than they would've done, and perhaps helped them pay off their fine quicker than they would've done and maybe helped them make a bit more profit than they would've done. Thus helping a big company make more money out of the general public than they would've done. If all that's true, then all I can is "Yay for the EU!" Not. __________________ <-- That's Emer Kenny and I want to be stuck in her front bottom. Quote from electrofreak : I'd rather have questions that can't be answered, than answers that can't be questioned.

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July 21st, 2016, 10:39 AM	#1111
dorcelfan Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: The sunny south Posts: 228 Thanks: 4,467 Thanked 1,936 Times in 219 Posts	Thanks for the advice fellas. My laptop is about 4 years old and running 8.1. Spoke to a mate in the pub last night who works in IT and he said pretty much what has been said here....keep what you've got as there could be some serious compatibility issues so looks like a No Go for me! Cheers again D

July 22nd, 2016, 12:11 PM	#1114
Isegrim Vintage Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Posts: 1,094 Thanks: 8,200 Thanked 11,679 Times in 1,099 Posts	Rick Danger (the next post I cannot quote ...) "... French authorities are weighing in on this issue, and are giving Microsoft only *three months* to remediate issues with data collection and security ..." Two letters: EU. What ever France will do, Microsoft will appeal to EU courts and you know what this means: some wannabe Solomon of a judge will tear all to pieces ... Big Business goes always for citizen rights in our oh so democratic Europe. Sounds pretty much like short term political propaganda for me. Aren't there elections in France soon and aren't the Nationalists eager for an Frexit? Could become a boomerang then ...