• New, improved privacy in Win10 1803 may not be what you think

    Posted on January 31, 2018 at 05:32 CST by • Comment in the Forums

    I’ve been reading the wave of mainstream articles that followed Marisa Rogers’s publication last week of an official Microsoft notice about new privacy features in the next version of Windows.

    Being the skeptic that I am, the articles sounded to me like Microsoft Press Releases bouncing around the blogosphere — long on accolades, short on real-world experience. Sadly, we’re seeing a whole lot of “reporting” like that these days.

    So it heartens me to see a hard-boiled look at the new feature, from my old friend Preston Gralla. In his Computerworld opinion piece Don’t believe Microsoft’s latest privacy hype, Gralla hit it right on the nose:

    Microsoft got plenty of kudos for the new tool. For the company, that was mission accomplished. But it was anything but that for users. The Diagnostic Data Viewer is a tool that only a programmer could love — or understand. Mere mortals, and even plenty of programmers, will be baffled by it, and they won’t gain the slightest understanding of what data Microsoft gathers about them.

    His conclusion:

    Microsoft should change this. It should release a simple-to-use tool that shows in granular detail and in plain English exactly what diagnostic information is being sent to Microsoft. People should then be allowed to opt in or out for every type of diagnostic information that is sent. And everyone should be able to do that, not just those who have a specific version of Windows 10.

    With the EU apparently poised to do some real privacy protection — I’m not talking about the glossy installation switches in Win10 1703 and later, which are all hat and no cattle — the topic’s going to get heated in the next few months.

    If you want to know the real, nitty-gritty story on Win10 privacy — which settings do what, and how it all fits together — take a look at Martin Brinkmann’s The Complete Windows 10 Privacy Guide: Windows 10 Fall Creators Update version. I have a link to it over on the right side of this page.

    That’s the meat. Don’t settle for the sizzle.

    Windows News ,
DON'T MISS OUT!
Subscribe to the Free Newsletter
We promise not to spam you. Unsubscribe at any time.
Invalid email address

View the Forum

  • Recent Replies
  • My Replies
  • My Active Topics
  • New Posts in the Last day
  • Private Messages
  • Knowledge Base
  • How to use the Forums
  • All Forums

    • Recent Topics

    My Profile

    April 2025
    S M T W T F S
     12345
    6789101112
    13141516171819
    20212223242526
    27282930  

    Remembering Woody

     

    Want to Advertise in the free newsletter? How about a gift subscription in honor of a birthday? Send an email to sb@askwoody.com to ask how.

    Mastodon profile for DefConPatch
    Mastodon profile for AskWoody

     

    Home • About • FAQ • Posts & Privacy • Forums • My Account
    Register • Free Newsletter • Plus Membership • Gift Certificates • MS-DEFCON Alerts

    Copyright ©2004-2025 by AskWoody Tech LLC. All Rights Reserved.