4 ms·

Microsoft _still_ does not let me turn off "Basic usage data/telemetry" being sent to them. I tried to call them about it a month ago and they hung up on me. T

• walterbell 8y ago
  You need Win10 Enterprise LTSB, even Pro is not enough to get out of Microsoft telemetry capture, including crash dumps (memory with sensitive info), keystrokes, screen grabs.
  • reitanqild 8y ago
    My guess: Will probably stay that way unless they suffer a major breach an this data starts showing up in wrong places.
  • hadrien01 8y ago
    Windows 10 Enterprise is enough to disable tracking, you don't need LTSB for that (for those who don't know, LTSB/LTSC is a version of Windows without "modern" apps, like the Store or Edge)
  • TheCapeGreek 8y ago
    It used to be that Pro was enough when you could still turn the telemetry off (I seem to remember that being a thing in W10's early days, correct me if I'm wrong). But in the end, why should the user have to spend even more for a feature set that they'll never use to just protect their privacy? Greed and dark patterns are not acceptable.
    • tyfon 8y ago
      Can you even buy enterprise as a private person? All I can see on their webpage is "request a quote" and the form requires a business name.
      • walterbell 8y ago
        There's a 90-day trial, could be useful in a VM: https://www.howtogeek.com/273824/windows-10-without-the-cruft-windows-10-ltsb-explained/ https://www.howtogeek.com/273824/windows-10-without-the-cruf...
      • cpburns2009 8y ago
        When I was researching this for personal use a while ago it looked like there should be a way to get a subscription for Windows 10 Enterprise E3 for $7/mo/user via third-party sellers [1] (CSP?). It looks like you can buy a subscription from CDW [2] (I've never used them). [1]: https://blogs.windows.com/business/2016/09/01/windows-10-enterprise-e3-now-available-as-a-partner-delivered-cloud-service/ https://blogs.windows.com/business/2016/09/01/windows-10-ent... [2]: https://www.cdw.com/product/windows-10-enterprise-e3-from-cdw/4378017 https://www.cdw.com/product/windows-10-enterprise-e3-from-cd...
  • criddell 8y ago
    > You need Win10 Enterprise LTSB The won't sell it to you. I asked about it a Microsoft store and they had no way of selling it to me.
    • cpburns2009 8y ago
      Please correct me if I'm wrong because Microsoft licensing is convoluted. I think the procedure is to acquire a Windows 10 Enterprise license, and then you install LTSB instead of the standard enterprise edition.
      • walterbell 8y ago
        It may also be available via MSDN, subject to MSDN terms.
• aembleton 8y ago
  Can you block it using a Pi-hole?
  • tyfon 8y ago
    Of course, I have long since added this list[1] to my openbsd firewall. That is besides the point, I can (and do) also block all crap in my browser via extensions. That doesn't make the crap they are pulling legal and I refuse to click "accept" on the popup that is currently locking the machine from being used. If it does not change soon I will reclaim the license money via microsoft directly or court. All my important machines run operating systems that do not have spyware built-in. [1] https://github.com/crazy-max/WindowsSpyBlocker https://github.com/crazy-max/WindowsSpyBlocker
  • kardos 8y ago
    That'll work while they continue to use dedicated hosts (eg, telemetry.microsoft.com) to collect the exfiltrated data. With a single update they can shift that collection stream to another host (windowsupdate.microsoft.com, or a skype host, etc) such that blocking it would break other stuff