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Obvious workaround to get off windows and use Linux… But do any popular linux distributions use an identifier? Ubuntu, Kali, Mint, Arch, etc? It seems an attr

Obvious workaround to get off windows and use Linux… But do any popular linux distributions use an identifier? Ubuntu, Kali, Mint, Arch, etc? It seems an attractive way for devs to work out telemetry. Awful in reality; but I imagine attractive.

moepstar 3mo ago
At least Debian and Ubuntu have /etc/machine-id, presumably easily changed - but it’s there.
- NotPractical 3mo ago
  I think the difference is that, on Windows, there are background services that constantly ping Microsoft with the device ID. A device ID on its own is not really harmful if it's not exposed to the internet.
  - Terr_ 3mo ago
    Right, the danger here isn't stable unique data itself--there's already plenty of that--but the OS "telemetry" which steals [0] it and reports to Big-Brother along with too much other betraying information. Every site you visit, every program you run, the serial numbers of all your hardware, etc. Even if the GDID were totally absent, it would still be a correlate-able privacy nightmare. Ultimately there's no informed consent here: The average consumer is disbelieving and surprised if you tell them what kinds of stuff Microsoft has/can put into a dossier. Nobody thinks: "Ah, Edge on a fresh Windows install, I'm glad Microsoft knows every site I visit, and can tell I'm a friend with someone because we use the same bluetooth speaker." [0] It seems wrong to use the verb "leaks" when it's so obviously intentional.
- capitainenemo 3mo ago
  I mean, there's a ton of unique identifiers on machines already tied to hardware and disks, but that must be a systemd thing since my Devuan machine does not have it. But given there's no cloud accounts on linux I would imagine it's trivially changed just like a NIC's MAC Also, seems unlikely it would be used for any single-signon with cloud services.
  - NotHereNotThere 3mo ago
    There are _some_ cloud accounts for linux such as Ubuntu One, which I would fear could have similar identification capabilities if ever forced by to do so by a 3-letter agency
    - giantrobot 3mo ago
      Any sort of online service you're logged into is going to have your IP and account correlated with a timestamp. Dropbox, GDrive, and even your e-mail provider. While a device identifier might be more useful it's not like the lack a device ID will keep you from being tracked.
  - oasisaimlessly 3mo ago
    I'm guessing Devuan still has /var/lib/dbus/machine-id.
    - 2b3a51 3mo ago
      TIL. /var/lib/dbus/machine-id Exists on Slackware64 15.0 but /etc/machine-id Does not.
    - capitainenemo 3mo ago
      You're right. I have no idea what it's for, but I'm guessing for distinguishing between deployment images. I'm certainly not going to get too concerned about it. The issue with the microsoft account was not unique IDs - tons of unique things on a machine.... it was a unique thing tied to an account and shipped to remote places.

moepstar 3mo ago

At least Debian and Ubuntu have /etc/machine-id, presumably easily changed - but it’s there.

NotPractical 3mo ago
I think the difference is that, on Windows, there are background services that constantly ping Microsoft with the device ID. A device ID on its own is not really harmful if it's not exposed to the internet.
- Terr_ 3mo ago
  Right, the danger here isn't stable unique data itself--there's already plenty of that--but the OS "telemetry" which steals [0] it and reports to Big-Brother along with too much other betraying information. Every site you visit, every program you run, the serial numbers of all your hardware, etc. Even if the GDID were totally absent, it would still be a correlate-able privacy nightmare. Ultimately there's no informed consent here: The average consumer is disbelieving and surprised if you tell them what kinds of stuff Microsoft has/can put into a dossier. Nobody thinks: "Ah, Edge on a fresh Windows install, I'm glad Microsoft knows every site I visit, and can tell I'm a friend with someone because we use the same bluetooth speaker." [0] It seems wrong to use the verb "leaks" when it's so obviously intentional.
capitainenemo 3mo ago
I mean, there's a ton of unique identifiers on machines already tied to hardware and disks, but that must be a systemd thing since my Devuan machine does not have it. But given there's no cloud accounts on linux I would imagine it's trivially changed just like a NIC's MAC Also, seems unlikely it would be used for any single-signon with cloud services.
- NotHereNotThere 3mo ago
  There are _some_ cloud accounts for linux such as Ubuntu One, which I would fear could have similar identification capabilities if ever forced by to do so by a 3-letter agency
  - giantrobot 3mo ago
    Any sort of online service you're logged into is going to have your IP and account correlated with a timestamp. Dropbox, GDrive, and even your e-mail provider. While a device identifier might be more useful it's not like the lack a device ID will keep you from being tracked.
- oasisaimlessly 3mo ago
  I'm guessing Devuan still has /var/lib/dbus/machine-id.
  - 2b3a51 3mo ago
    TIL. /var/lib/dbus/machine-id Exists on Slackware64 15.0 but /etc/machine-id Does not.
  - capitainenemo 3mo ago
    You're right. I have no idea what it's for, but I'm guessing for distinguishing between deployment images. I'm certainly not going to get too concerned about it. The issue with the microsoft account was not unique IDs - tons of unique things on a machine.... it was a unique thing tied to an account and shipped to remote places.