[Njtechdiv] stop Windows 10's prying eyes

Sun Aug 2 21:24:57 UTC 2015

saw this one and was going to post it
Thanks for keeping all of us in the loop
Good work
-----Original Message----- 
From: Mario via Njtechdiv
Sent: Sunday, August 02, 2015 5:03 PM
To: njtechdiv at nfbnet.org
Cc: Mario
Subject: [Njtechdiv] stop Windows 10's prying eyes

not to alarm anyone, but just be aware:

How to stop Windows 10's prying eyes
http://www.polygon.com/2015/7/31/9075531/windows-10-privacy-how-to

  By Samit Sarkar
  on Jul 31, 2015         at 12:30p

Windows 10 is here,
and Microsoft's latest operating system is designed for a mobile-first,
cloud-first future, as CEO Satya Nadella puts it. But that future relies
on big
data — your data — and by default, Windows 10 can track and share the
websites you visit, the purchases you make, the places you go, the words
you type,
the things you say and more.

You have the ability to control Windows 10's data collection, but it
takes some doing. The installation process lets you customize privacy
settings at
the end or go with the defaults in "express settings." We'd suggest
taking the extra two minutes to forgo the latter and make your own
choices here, or
adjusting the options after installation, because Microsoft's default
privacy settings might not be as private as you'd like.

The first page of settings lists four options that you can toggle on or
off, while the second page lists five items. All of them are on by default.

Under "Personalization," the first setting tailors your "speech, typing
and inking input" to the way you talk, type and write ... "by sending
contacts
and calendar details, along with other associated input data to
Microsoft." The next setting sends typing and inking data to Microsoft
to "improve the
recognition and suggestion platform."

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Some people may be comfortable with this usage; after all, third-party
smartphone keyboards like SwiftKey improve their autocorrect
functionality by learning
how you type. But for others, sharing "contacts and calendar details"
may be a bridge too far.

Next is a rather nebulous entry: "Let apps use your advertising ID for
experiences across apps." What this sentence doesn't quite explain is
that Windows
10 generates a unique advertising ID for each user. If this option is
enabled, it allows app developers and ad networks to profile you using
that ID and
serve you ads based on how you use your PC.

The final part of the first settings page concerns location. Your
computer may not have a GPS radio in it like your smartphone does, but
if you're connected
to the internet, your location can be tracked through your IP address.
With this option enabled, you're allowing Windows and apps to request
your location,
including your location history. That's useful for location-based
services like, say, telling a retailer's website where you are so it can
give you the
address of the nearest store.

However, the location setting also lets Windows 10 "send Microsoft and
trusted partners some location data to improve location services." That
part of
the equation may give you pause, especially since you have no say in
what Microsoft's "trusted partners" might be. (
ExtremeTech
  reports that the Windows 8 installation process included a similar
setting, but without the sharing of your data with so-called trusted
partners.)

Let's move to page two. The first toggle in the browser section enables
Microsoft's SmartScreen Filter, which protects you against "malicious
content and
downloads" in Windows browsers — Microsoft Edge, which debuts in Windows
10, and Internet Explorer — and Windows Store apps. That sounds pretty
good! Next
is a setting for page prediction, which sends your browsing data to
Microsoft to "improve reading, speed up browsing, and make your overall
experience
better in Windows browsers." You may have a similar feature enabled in
your existing web browser, such as Google Chrome.

Windows 10 Wi-Fi Sense settings screenshot 1068

The next two options govern the way your PC connects to wireless
networks, as part of a new Windows 10 feature called Wi-Fi Sense. The
first setting lets
you automatically connect to "suggested open hotspots," while the second
does the same for "networks shared by your contacts."

According to Microsoft's
Wi-Fi Sense FAQ,
the former setting relies on Microsoft's crowdsourced database of open
Wi-Fi hotspots. If enough people get a good-quality connection from a
hotspot, it'll
be added to the database.

The second setting is meant to eliminate the hassle of asking a friend
for their Wi-Fi password when you visit their place. If enabled, the
setting does
two things: (1) allows you to select Wi-Fi networks to share with your
Outlook.com contacts, Skype contacts or Facebook friends, and (2) lets
your PC automatically
connect to networks people have shared with you.

The way this works is that Wi-Fi passwords are shared through Wi-Fi
Sense. The passwords are encrypted, and Wi-Fi Sense only provides
internet access,
not file sharing access. But those encrypted passwords are stored on a
Microsoft server somewhere. And there's no granularity: If you click the
Facebook
check box, Wi-Fi Sense will allow all of your Facebook friends to
connect to networks you've selected for sharing.

The final setting during Windows 10's installation process lets your
computer "send error and diagnostic information to Microsoft." So if
something goes
wrong with your PC in the future, it can send details of the situation
to Microsoft, and the company can hopefully use that data to help find
you a solution
to the issue.

Windows 10 Settings menu screenshot 1060

Adjusting privacy after installing Windows 10

If you did just click "express settings" during the Windows 10
installation, that's OK: You can still change any of these settings
whenever you want. Microsoft
offers a
guide with a laughable lack of specifics
  on how to do this, so here are some details.

Instead of visiting the Control Panel, like you might be accustomed to
doing, open the Start menu (yes, it's back!) and click on Settings in
the lower
left area. (You can also reach the system settings by opening up Windows
10's new Action Center — click on the speech bubble near the right end
of the
taskbar, then click "All settings.")

Most of the aforementioned toggles can be found under Privacy. That
section also contains a host of other privacy settings, like options for
which apps
are allowed to access your PC's location, camera, microphone, contacts,
calendar and more. To get to the Wi-Fi Sense options, click Network &
Internet
in the system settings, then hit "Manage Wi-Fi settings" below the list
of available networks.

Hey, Cortana

Cortana, Microsoft's voice-powered digital assistant — and yes, she's
named after the Halo character — is
integrated directly into Windows 10.
She's undeniably useful, able to search your computer and the internet
through voice commands initiated with the phrase "hey, Cortana." She
also offers
Google Now-like features such as presenting you with news, sports
scores, alerts, reminders and more.

But like Google with Google Now, Apple with Siri and Amazon with the
Echo, Microsoft needs to collect a lot of data about you and how you use
the internet
in order to deliver that magical-seeming functionality. Here's a
relevant excerpt from
Microsoft's privacy statement:

block quote
To enable Cortana to provide personalized experiences and relevant
suggestions, Microsoft collects and uses various types of data, such as
your device
location, data from your calendar, the apps you use, data from your
emails and text messages, who you call, your contacts and how often you
interact with
them on your device. Cortana also learns about you by collecting data
about how you use your device and other Microsoft services, such as your
music, alarm
settings, whether the lock screen is on, what you view and purchase,
your browse and Bing search history, and more.
block quote end

Cortana also analyzes your speech data, of course, and that information
is "sent to Microsoft to build personalized speech models and improve
speech recognition."
Again, this kind of tracking is common to all these services, because
they couldn't function without it. But if you're not comfortable with
it, you can
click the search bar that's embedded in the Windows 10 taskbar, then
click the gear icon on the left side to access your Cortana settings.
There, you can
turn Cortana on or off, and
manage the information about you
  that Cortana keeps in the cloud.

Personalized advertising

The last piece of the privacy puzzle isn't in Windows 10 at all; it's
located
on a website,
as
Rock, Paper, Shotgun
  points out. On that site, Microsoft makes the case for tailoring ads
to your interests, and indeed, that's something you may want. But the
company lets
you
opt out of ad personalization
  in two separate situations: in your browser, and "wherever I use my
Microsoft account," which includes Windows, Xbox and other Microsoft
services.

Read the fine print

As we've noted above, online services that rely on the collection of
mounds of user data are only becoming more ubiquitous. These services
look to make
our lives easier by learning how we live, work and play so they can
anticipate our next move, satisfying our desires before we even express
them.

it's worth knowing what you're signing up for

There's a larger conversation to be had about whether, or to what
extent, we should be entrusting our ever-growing digital footprints to
corporations like
Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon. But whichever side of the
debate you fall on, it's worth knowing what you're signing up for when
you scroll
past the next end-user license agreement you see.

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(Eyes Closed Hearts Open)
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President National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey Technology Division
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