And You Wonder Why People Don’t Trust Microsoft
The Windows Updater is supposed to patch your system against critical flaws and exploits. To make things easier for normal users, there's an "Express Install" button where you don't have to review each update one at a time and can just trust Microsoft to install only the most security critical patches.
Enter the Windows Genuine Advantage notification tool. It tool doesn't protect you or do anything at all to help your system, it collects data about your computer and declares your copy of Windows legal or not. In millions of cases, it wrongly identifies systems as being "pirated" and nags users repeatedly about having an illegal copy and how to contact Microsoft for a legitimate one. Even worse, it locks you out of further security updates until you do.
To make sure that you don't miss WGA, they slipped it into IE7, Windows Defender, and Windows Media Player 11. But the worst of all was issuing it as a "critical update" on Windows updater. This way, anyone who clicked the "Express Install" button would get it by default without knowing better.
It's because of practices like this that geeks don't like Microsoft. They slipped a tool onto your machine that spies on your system and disables functionality. Sounds like a virus to me.
So why am I posting such old news now? First, I haven't talked about this before and it really ticks me off. Second, the WGA made PC World's 20 all time most annoying tech products (at number 9).
Tags: Customer Abuse, Microsoft, Scams - Ripoffs - Dirty Tricks, Windows UpdateShare This
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My own thoughts on Microsoft and companies like Google, Facebook and others. Is that they assume that most people won’t mind data being collected about their devices, themselves, or how they use these devices and services. These companies conveniently leave a legal out by offering users a option to turn off much of this but its clearly not by default and not clearly expressed or provided to the end user. Microsoft in my opinion did just fine for decades not collecting data unless a specific fault was detected. Then it ask the user if that user wanted to send information to Microsoft about that fault. The gain a solution or to report it as a bug. This really should be all that Microsoft needs to make Windows function properly. Collecting daily data is of little use unless Microsoft has other uses for it? I do find it interesting that more people find what Microsoft is collecting more disturbing then what Google or Facebook collects? This is a much broader problem then just with Microsoft. The EU seems far more intent on limiting data collection on users then the US. Unfortunately the US users seem to be the least protected in terms of privacy. Right now much of your privacy has to be controlled by you the user, and taking matters about privacy on your own. If your uncomfortable with what these companies collect, and they offer little in solutions to increase privacy. Your only option would be to stop using these companies products. This is hardly a great solution or one many can accept and live with. But until government steps in to curb these privacy issues. You will have to take steps on your own.