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Let's clarify: disabling smartscreen for privacy reasons is different that keeping it enabled for security reasons. Smartscreen sends urls you visit to Msoft, a

Let's clarify: disabling smartscreen for privacy reasons is different that keeping it enabled for security reasons. Smartscreen sends urls you visit to Msoft, and since Win8, it sends filenames of downloaded files to Msoft too. As for the security argument, smartscreen only works in IE, so for those of use who don't want any of that turned on, and use FF (instead of chrome), where we download the blacklist instead of sending it outside our network, we can still maintain the same level of security while adding a layer to our privacy. The same for cloud based Defender. There is no reason I shouldn't be able to turn it off if I have an approriate replacement that protects my privacy. Which also means you are wrong when you say "if you run any AV or use any browser, you're already doing this". Nope, not at all, and either you are unaware of what you speak of or you are being disingenuous.

drzaiusapelord 11y ago
>The same for cloud based Defender. There is no reason I shouldn't be able to turn it off if I have an approriate replacement that protects my privacy. Your AV is doing exactly what Smartscreen does and so do many security products. Its a common feature, where are the privacy guides for that? Oh right, there's a double standard for MS. Also, the author didn't disable Defender because he is using a different AV. He left it on and just disabled the cloud definitions feature, meaning he's not going to be up-to-date on definitions. Cloud defs are a bit different than what you get via WU. Its a dynamic list of suspicious hashes that's constantly being updated via honeypots and such. The author clearly does not understand what he is recommending.
- arca_vorago 11y ago
  "Your AV" you don't know what AV I'm using, and you're wrong. I have setup a local update server which regularly downloads updates from the vendor and then updates endpoints on the LAN with no traffic going from LAN->Cloud for that. "so do many security products. Its a common feature" That also is why I don't use those products, and many others would agree. "where are the privacy guides for that?" I don't know, but are you trying to pretend there are none? If you are asking did you even do a couple of searches? I doubt it. "Oh right, there's a double standard for MS." Nope, same standard for all things. I don't like it if you send any of my or my computers info to servers without my knowledge of the content or purpose and I explicitly approve. "Also, the author didn't disable Defender because he is using a different AV. He left it on and just disabled the cloud definitions feature, meaning he's not going to be up-to-date on definitions." Once again... wrong. The cloud feature is for sending info about what is on your computer to MS so they can use it to update the definitions, it does not provide the definitions itself. "Cloud defs are a bit different than what you get via WU. Its a dynamic list of suspicious hashes" if this is true, then I would be wrong on the previous section, but I have seen no documentation that specifies this. Care to provide a source for this info?

drzaiusapelord 11y ago

>The same for cloud based Defender. There is no reason I shouldn't be able to turn it off if I have an approriate replacement that protects my privacy. Your AV is doing exactly what Smartscreen does and so do many security products. Its a common feature, where are the privacy guides for that? Oh right, there's a double standard for MS. Also, the author didn't disable Defender because he is using a different AV. He left it on and just disabled the cloud definitions feature, meaning he's not going to be up-to-date on definitions. Cloud defs are a bit different than what you get via WU. Its a dynamic list of suspicious hashes that's constantly being updated via honeypots and such. The author clearly does not understand what he is recommending.

arca_vorago 11y ago
"Your AV" you don't know what AV I'm using, and you're wrong. I have setup a local update server which regularly downloads updates from the vendor and then updates endpoints on the LAN with no traffic going from LAN->Cloud for that. "so do many security products. Its a common feature" That also is why I don't use those products, and many others would agree. "where are the privacy guides for that?" I don't know, but are you trying to pretend there are none? If you are asking did you even do a couple of searches? I doubt it. "Oh right, there's a double standard for MS." Nope, same standard for all things. I don't like it if you send any of my or my computers info to servers without my knowledge of the content or purpose and I explicitly approve. "Also, the author didn't disable Defender because he is using a different AV. He left it on and just disabled the cloud definitions feature, meaning he's not going to be up-to-date on definitions." Once again... wrong. The cloud feature is for sending info about what is on your computer to MS so they can use it to update the definitions, it does not provide the definitions itself. "Cloud defs are a bit different than what you get via WU. Its a dynamic list of suspicious hashes" if this is true, then I would be wrong on the previous section, but I have seen no documentation that specifies this. Care to provide a source for this info?