8 ms·

> should never be used to install telemetry or spyware or to re-enable it if it was previously switched off I lost track of the number of times a friendly Wind

by kl4m 6y ago

> should never be used to install telemetry or spyware or to re-enable it if it was previously switched off I lost track of the number of times a friendly Windows 10 (and 7) update has re-enabled telemetry. Either that or there is yet another, completely different post-update Wizard for advertisement, telemetry, default applications, and other privacy stuff (There sure is a lot of effort put in moving settings around each update!) As usual in Microsoft wizards, you have to check/uncheck the exact opposite of all the defaults for a good experience.

gruez 6y ago
>I lost track of the number of times a friendly Windows 10 (and 7) update has re-enabled telemetry. Either that or there is yet another, completely different post-update Wizard for advertisement, telemetry, default applications, and other privacy stuff (There sure is a lot of effort put in moving settings around each update!) ...and that's why I'm using LTSC, because it's limited to security updates and supported for 10 years, rather than regular windows which gets "feature" updates every 6 months. For office, the equivalent would be perpetual (2016 or 2019) instead of 365.
- the_pwner224 6y ago
  https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18156955 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18156955 Works great and rock solid, even with new hardware released after LTSC. Missing the Windows Store but if you search the web there's a github repo which has an installable version.
- bilegeek 6y ago
  I've read[1] that it's possible to legally obtain LTSC without volume licensing by purchasing a few other Microsoft thingies. Is such a method how you did this, or did you unfurl your sails? Btw (rant incoming), this isn't a spiel against piracy. If Microsoft complains that people pirate LTSC without providing an easy legal way to obtain it, they can cry me a river. I just switched over to Linux from Win7 early this year; between spying on you, stability and data loss issues from firing their QA department, the auto-installation of Candy Crush, and the intentional difficulty in getting LTSC which doesn't have these problems, they lost me from ever switching to Windows 10. Which is an absolute shame, because if it weren't for those dealbreakers, it would actually be a good OS, and I would be using it on my desktop. Maybe someday I'll spin up a QEMU gaming VM, but if they ever make LTSC impossible to obtain, I'll just try to forget Windows 10 exists entirely. [1]https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/2167558-explicit-instructions-for-purchasing-a-windows-10-ltsc-license https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/2167558-explicit-inst...
  - gruez 6y ago
    >Is such a method how you did this, or did you unfurl your sails? Neither. Ended up using a msdn key.
    - bilegeek 6y ago
      If it's safe to say so - I don't wanna jeopardize your methods here - how did you obtain it? As far as I can tell, normal consumers can't buy them "legit", but they are "illegitimately" resold anyways, which makes rejection of their "validity" during activation a possibility (assuming Microsoft finds out, of course).
      - gruez 6y ago
        >which makes rejection of their "validity" during activation a possibility (assuming Microsoft finds out, of course). AFAIK Microsoft doesn't revoke existing activations, so you should be fine unless you need to reinstall. If you dont want that risk, a locally hosted kms server (running in a VM for maximum security) achives the same thing.
        bilegeek 6y ago
        Good to know. Also, I never knew about kms servers; TIL.
      - Tijdreiziger 6y ago
        It's not illegal to resell software (at least in the EU).
        bilegeek 6y ago
        Illegal != breach of contract. They control the activation servers, they can just refuse activation if they felt you've violated the contract.
        Tijdreiziger 6y ago

by kl4m 6y ago

gruez 6y ago

>I lost track of the number of times a friendly Windows 10 (and 7) update has re-enabled telemetry. Either that or there is yet another, completely different post-update Wizard for advertisement, telemetry, default applications, and other privacy stuff (There sure is a lot of effort put in moving settings around each update!) ...and that's why I'm using LTSC, because it's limited to security updates and supported for 10 years, rather than regular windows which gets "feature" updates every 6 months. For office, the equivalent would be perpetual (2016 or 2019) instead of 365.

the_pwner224 6y ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18156955 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18156955 Works great and rock solid, even with new hardware released after LTSC. Missing the Windows Store but if you search the web there's a github repo which has an installable version.
bilegeek 6y ago
I've read[1] that it's possible to legally obtain LTSC without volume licensing by purchasing a few other Microsoft thingies. Is such a method how you did this, or did you unfurl your sails? Btw (rant incoming), this isn't a spiel against piracy. If Microsoft complains that people pirate LTSC without providing an easy legal way to obtain it, they can cry me a river. I just switched over to Linux from Win7 early this year; between spying on you, stability and data loss issues from firing their QA department, the auto-installation of Candy Crush, and the intentional difficulty in getting LTSC which doesn't have these problems, they lost me from ever switching to Windows 10. Which is an absolute shame, because if it weren't for those dealbreakers, it would actually be a good OS, and I would be using it on my desktop. Maybe someday I'll spin up a QEMU gaming VM, but if they ever make LTSC impossible to obtain, I'll just try to forget Windows 10 exists entirely. [1]https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/2167558-explicit-instructions-for-purchasing-a-windows-10-ltsc-license https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/2167558-explicit-inst...
- gruez 6y ago
  >Is such a method how you did this, or did you unfurl your sails? Neither. Ended up using a msdn key.
  - bilegeek 6y ago
    If it's safe to say so - I don't wanna jeopardize your methods here - how did you obtain it? As far as I can tell, normal consumers can't buy them "legit", but they are "illegitimately" resold anyways, which makes rejection of their "validity" during activation a possibility (assuming Microsoft finds out, of course).
    - gruez 6y ago
      >which makes rejection of their "validity" during activation a possibility (assuming Microsoft finds out, of course). AFAIK Microsoft doesn't revoke existing activations, so you should be fine unless you need to reinstall. If you dont want that risk, a locally hosted kms server (running in a VM for maximum security) achives the same thing.
      - bilegeek 6y ago
        Good to know. Also, I never knew about kms servers; TIL.
    - Tijdreiziger 6y ago
      It's not illegal to resell software (at least in the EU).
      - bilegeek 6y ago
        Illegal != breach of contract. They control the activation servers, they can just refuse activation if they felt you've violated the contract.
        Tijdreiziger 6y ago