Windows is getting disgusting

[DimitriP]

Potential solution is to have one Windows 10 machine on your network without any applications or other software installed and then immediately block any IP address it is trying to communicate to for all other PCs  on your local network. I think you can do it with an IDS software like Snort.

Time for a new breed of routers with snort built in a'la :  http://elatov.github.io/2015/08/running-snort-on-dd-wrt/

[rdl]

Also downgrading to previous versions of Windows won't save you.

Why is that?

I wouldn't trust Windows 8, but I thought Windows 7 was okay as long as those few well known (and any future) telemetry backporting updates were avoided.

[Mechanical Menace]

Time for a new breed of routers with snort built in a'la :  http://elatov.github.io/2015/08/running-snort-on-dd-wrt/

Why on earth would you need that for this? Not bad mouthing Snort or this project at all but it just seems overkill when all you need to do is find out what IPs/URLs and ports to block.

[AF6LJ]

Count me among those who think Microsoft Windows was always disgusting. So was DOS btw.

Microsoft: "Let's put all categories of configuration and state information for everything in the Windows OS, GUI and user applications, all mixed together in one giant central database. But with most of it undocumented. Oh, and we'll break it into arbitrary parts, give them ridiculous names, keep the only current version in memory, make sure there's no easy way to save and restore it as a simple, single compact file, and provide a really crap utility to search/edit/debug it. We'll make the data structures it contains arcane and poorly documented, all the better to hide things (like our deliberate 'look and feel' UI cripples - icon position data, cough.) By obfuscation we'll ensure it always grows ever larger and cruftier over time. Essential linkages will be inscrutible numeric CLSIDs, rather than containing any human-comprehensible descriptive text. The mixing of OS and user-app config data will make your working environment of installed software tools totally uncloneable, thus forcing you to frequently waste hours and days rebuilding it all. The operating system and most applications will critically depend on it, which will make it a central point of failure able to take down a whole machine via the slightest corruption. If that should by unlikely chance ever happen, bwahahaha! Not that we insist you regularly buy a new PC and OS or anything!
 We'll call it The Windows Registry. We originally wanted to call it the Microsoft BOGU (Benign Object for Greater Utility) but Mr Gates vetoed that for some reason."

Could go on for pages listing the unacceptable things in Windows and Microsoft's OS development path concepts, but there's no point. Not going to change anyone's views.

The thing I find most amazing about Windows, is that the great majority of users just go along with it, and from either ignorance or confirmation bias, convince themselves that it's mostly wonderful.  As opposed to recognizing Windows is an evil pile of malformed, deliberately obfuscated, bloated, spying crippleware, for which Microsoft should be destroyed with maximum prejudice.

The Windows registry files has always been my main beef with Windows.
I preferred the .nix and OS/2 way of doing things.. Configuration files were easy to edit, you could comment them and move on. The five registry files are security through obscurity.

[Lightages]

What I would like to know is how Microsoft is getting away with this behavior? It is illegal, I think, in most of the world to tamper with a person's computer to gain access to their data. They are even trying to do against my express wishes to avoid their intrusion.

[Mechanical Menace]

What I would like to know is how Microsoft is getting away with this behavior? It is illegal, I think, in most of the world to tamper with a person's computer to gain access to their data. They are even trying to do against my express wishes to avoid their intrusion.

Most likely we agreed to it when we pretended we read the EULA to get the OS to install

[Lightages]

EULAs are not valid in some countries, and I don't think the EULA for WIN7 said anything about MS allowing them to install spying software and access to all your files.

[HAL-42b]

What I would like to know is how Microsoft is getting away with this behavior? It is illegal, I think, in most of the world to tamper with a person's computer to gain access to their data. They are even trying to do against my express wishes to avoid their intrusion.

They are getting away with it because they are an American corporation doing what the American government tells them to do.

America has fought wars for their corporations. I thought this was well known in South America.

[Lightages]

Alexei.Polkhanov:
Any idea if any site has a constantly updated list of IPs to block?



More:
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/16/02/06/1550249/even-with-telemetry-disabled-windows-10-talks-to-dozens-of-microsoft-servers

[Lightages]

They are getting away with it because they are an American corporation doing what the American government tells them to do.
America has fought wars for their corporations. I thought this was well known in South America.

Of course I know that part of it.  The world is a bit bigger than the Americas and many other countries have ruled against EULAs and Microsoft in the post. I think the USA should change its name to UCA, United Corporations of America.

[AlxDroidDev]

Is there anyway to permanently prevent Win10 from getting into my hard drive?

Yes. Try this:

GWX Stopper
http://blog.ultimateoutsider.com/2015/08/using-gwx-stopper-to-permanently-remove.html

[miguelvp]

Is there anyway to permanently prevent Win10 from getting into my hard drive?

Yes. Try this:

GWX Stopper
http://blog.ultimateoutsider.com/2015/08/using-gwx-stopper-to-permanently-remove.html

[Lightages]

I don't think is any one method to fix this problem permanently. The tools I have been using up until now include:
https://voat.co/v/technology/comments/459263/new
http://ultimateoutsider.com/downloads/
https://github.com/WindowsLies/BlockWindows

and checking the information about each update that is available before installing it or hiding it. Even then, the hidden updates seem to pop up again later and need to be killed again. MS updates is the new whack a mole game.

[cimmo]

Pretty much everything else I need can be done with Linux. I am not looking forward to converting 8 TB of data files on six drives from NTFS though.

Why would you need to?
Linux reads and writes to NTFS volumes with no dramas whatsoever (and allows formatting and all sorts of disk management as well).

I don't know why knowledgable folks here cannot learn the lesson that Micro$oft is preaching. The only solution to Windows is some other operating system and Linux (in whatever flavour suits) is a perfectly valid alternative for almost everyone.

Just a few weeks ago I built a skylake machine and installed Ubuntu Mate 15:10. A few minor tweaks and it's rock solid, no worries.
And it boots in <9 seconds.

BTW, I HAD to build this machine from parts because it is now impossible to buy a new pre-built PC from a branded manufacturer WITHOUT Windows pre-installed (and licence fee paid). This sort of market manipulation/monopoly abuse is just not on and I will not be a party to it (MS provides lower cost licences to these OEMs on the proviso that they do not offer for sale any PC with an alternative OS).

[Alexei.Polkhanov]

BTW, I HAD to build this machine from parts because it is now impossible to buy a new pre-built PC from a branded manufacturer WITHOUT Windows pre-installed (and licence fee paid). This sort of market manipulation/monopoly abuse is just not on and I will not be a party to it (MS provides lower cost licences to these OEMs on the proviso that they do not offer for sale any PC with an alternative OS).

You know you can return the license for refund at least in Europe. I would be very interested to hear of cases and step by step instructions on how to do it in North America.

[cimmo]

BTW, I HAD to build this machine from parts because it is now impossible to buy a new pre-built PC from a branded manufacturer WITHOUT Windows pre-installed (and licence fee paid). This sort of market manipulation/monopoly abuse is just not on and I will not be a party to it (MS provides lower cost licences to these OEMs on the proviso that they do not offer for sale any PC with an alternative OS).

You know you can return the license for refund at least in Europe. I would be very interested to hear of cases and step by step instructions on how to do it in North America.

Perhaps such a thing is possible.
And the Acer US website also says it is  possible to get a Windows licence refund.
But this is how they want to do it:
"It is possible to receive a refund for the Microsoft Windows Operating System that shipped with your computer. You will need to contact Acer support and schedule the computer to come to our service center.

The computer will need to be shipped to our facility at your expense. We will then remove the Operating System from the hard disk drive and remove the Certificate of Authenticity from the computer.  The computer will then be shipped back to you, and you will be able to install the Operating System of your choice."

Sure, you can get possibly get a refund (and pay the shipping both ways to get it done), but buying a PC in the first place WITHOUT Windows?
Nope. That's apparently too hard - which is precisely the way Micro$oft wants it to be.
 

[rdl]

I haven't bought a factory built PC with Windows pre-installed since 1996. Anyone of reasonable intelligence that can operate a screwdriver can easily do the same. However, it's hard to beat the price of a Walmart special, assuming it lasts more than a year or so. These days most people probably consider a PC as disposable anyway.

[rdl]

Who would voluntarily use Windows 8?

I'm actually not at all sure what you're trying to say in response to my post.

[rdl]

As far as I know, Microsoft sells the Windows license at a discount price only to very large OEMs (in exchange for them conforming to many restrictions). They probably pay $50 or less. I believe smaller system builders pay the same price for an OEM disk as anyone else, which is about $140. So I guess I don't see a cost advantage. Doesn't matter much any more since Microsoft no longer offers an operating system worth using (actually, Windows 7 OEM disks are still available, but probably not for much longer).


edit: Okay, I see now where you say "M$ certified dealer", maybe those do get a better price.

[AlxDroidDev]

I haven't bought a factory built PC with Windows pre-installed since 1996. Anyone of reasonable intelligence that can operate a screwdriver can easily do the same.

My thoughts exactly. In Brazil this is called "grey market" and there are many shops that will assemble a PC to your spec, using the parts you choose as long as they can buy them.  Most the times they ship these PCs with Ubuntu, but pirated copies of Windows are also quite common.

The only factory-built PC I ever bought was a Gateway 2000 386DX/25, exactly 23 years ago. After that I have always built my own PCs. I fugyure I can get a much better "bang per buck" if I buy all the components myself and just screw them together. I've even made some money on the side doing this for family and friends.

BTW, I am still using Windows 7, and I have no plans to move from it.

[AF6LJ]

What I would like to know is how Microsoft is getting away with this behavior? It is illegal, I think, in most of the world to tamper with a person's computer to gain access to their data. They are even trying to do against my express wishes to avoid their intrusion.

Most likely we agreed to it when we pretended we read the EULA to get the OS to install

Me thinks you are right....

[AF6LJ]

What I would like to know is how Microsoft is getting away with this behavior? It is illegal, I think, in most of the world to tamper with a person's computer to gain access to their data. They are even trying to do against my express wishes to avoid their intrusion.

They are getting away with it because they are an American corporation doing what the American government tells them to do.

America has fought wars for their corporations. I thought this was well known in South America.

This is also known to those of us who are living here and are awake and paying attention to what goes on...

[SeanB]

Here at one time MS was selling the OEM version of XP if you were doing a hardware upgrade, so as to reduce the amount of pirate copies of XP ( 1000 computers, one copy of XP on them all with the same key). Discounted, so you would go buy a MS Intellimouse, and get a Cd and COA for a very low price, provided it was for a PC you were not using yourself. So take a friend to pay with your money..........

Did toss away some Win98SE packs away recently, never used and never opened, but bought just in case we needed extra PC's and wanted a key for them. Just bought enough copies so we dropped to the bulk price, was around 25 copies IIRC. Of course doing the assembly and install it was a lot faster to Ghost a single drive rather than run the CD, so was busy for a few minutes testing each assembled unit doing some quick regedit work to put in the key as a initial Qc check.

[rdl]

I have one computer that's been running Windows 7 in 30 day trial mode since 2012. It gets updates and everything. If I hadn't paid for the OEM disk, it would have been free.

[rdl]

I have one computer that's been running Windows 7 in 30 day trial mode since 2012. It gets updates and everything. If I hadn't paid for the OEM disk, it would have been free.

Only with black desktop saying your windows is not a genuine copy.

One non-essential service must be disabled and then it will run indefinitely without the non-genuine warning or black screen, but they will appear after a restart if the 30 day limit has been exceeded.

All you do then is issue the rearm command. It can only be rearmed 3 times (120 days total). After that a (very slightly) more complicated set of commands must be used to gain another 120 days of use. Repeat as necessary to keep running. No 3rd party software is needed, it's all part of a standard Windows 7 install.