Serious Question: Is Windows 10 trustworthy and safe?

[AnxiousGuy]

Hi guys, I'm currently running Windows 8.1 Pro and I was literally about to update to Windows 10 Pro, but then this thought crossed my mind:

Can I trust Windows 10 with my privacy? Microsoft Windows is the one piece of software that has BY FAR the most intimate access to all of my most personal files including my work files and my most private thoughts.

I'm not being paranoid because none of the other apps I've installed have anywhere near the access that Microsoft Windows has.

Thanks for any help!

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Most of the privacy-invading stuff has already been backported to 7 and 8.1.

It depends on whether you're worried about MS and the govt seeing your info.

 

[SBMfromLA]

There are settings for turning off some of the privacy-invading features... but there is a catch.. some of the O/S features are built into them... so you would be turning off some options as well...

But in this day and age... there is no such thing as privacy... don't expect it.. and don't think you're safe... once you accept that... it will make things much easier for you.

 

[AnxiousGuy]

Okay, but is there a difference with user privacy on Windows 8.1 Pro to Windows 10 Pro?

Thanks for the replies!

 

[Mxhawthy]

Okay, but is there a difference with user privacy on Windows 8.1 Pro to Windows 10 Pro?

Thanks for the replies!

Windows 10 is no less private than Windows 8, so you just need to learn to live with that I'm afraid. With so much terrorism and cyber-crime that is going on around the world, governments are pretty much watching and reading everything that we do.

All I can say it that Windows 8 is the worst version of windows out of the last 3 iterations.

Out of Win 7, Win 8, and Win 10, W8 is the worst. So by upgrading to 10, you will get an improvement in interface, optimizations, etc, etc, and is equally as private and as trustworthy as Windows 8.1

Personally, I upgraded from W7 to W8 when it came out, and hated it. went back to W7. Then win 10 came and I waited for a bit to see people's thoughts before I made the leap. Eventually I upgraded to W10 and I still preferred W7, so I've since downgraded to W7 again.

Windows 7 FTW!

 

[AnxiousGuy]

I guess I've got no choice in trusting Microsoft with my personal privacy? I'm just VERY worried that Microsoft collects data. I'd never do anything illegal, but I store all of my most personal information on my PC...

 

[Mxhawthy]

I guess I've got no choice in trusting Microsoft with my personal privacy? I'm just VERY worried that Microsoft collects data. I'd never do anything illegal, but I store all of my most personal information on my PC...

Not really, no. And yes, I have absolutely no doubt that Microsoft do collect data. But they have billions of consumers, so unless you are doing something dodgy, they won't care about your personal information.

 

[AnxiousGuy]

I'm still worried about Microsoft collecting my personal and private information...

As I said, I'd never do anything illegal of course. I've also never used pirated Microsoft software before and have always bought my software legitimately.

Last question:
I just learned that the Windows 10 Pro license key is tied to my motherboard so if my motherboard died, would it be easy for me to use this same Windows 10 Pro license key on a new motherboard I'd need to buy? If it makes a difference, the Windows 8 Pro DVD I bought was an OEM when I built my PC.

 

[Mxhawthy]

I'm still worried about Microsoft collecting my personal and private information...

As I said, I'd never do anything illegal of course. I've also never used pirated Microsoft software before and have always bought my software legitimately.

Last question:
I just learned that the Windows 10 Pro license key is tied to my motherboard so if my motherboard died, would it be easy for me to use this same Windows 10 Pro license key on a new motherboard I'd need to buy? If it makes a difference, the Windows 8 Pro DVD I bought was an OEM when I built my PC.

If your Windows 10 key is OEM then yes, it is tied to your motherboard, and therefore it would not work if you had to buy a new motherboard.

However, I think that Microsoft understand that people sometimes need to replace hardware, and so if you phone their support team and explain that you had to buy a new motherboard, I believe they will give you a new key. But that's only from what I remember reading from the forums here on Tom's. It might not be true.

 

[me7alftw]

If you are using facebook you must be already knowing that there is no such privacy thing. No one will search your personal files for naked pics and such, there is almost no privacy at all. If people want to know something about you, they'll do it thru skype, thru facebook, thru instagram, twitter,amazon, windows, xbox live, your own smart tv and much more.

 

[Mxhawthy]

If you are using facebook you must be already knowing that there is no such privacy thing. No one will search your personal files for naked pics and such, there is almost no privacy at all. If people want to know something about you, they'll do it thru skype, thru facebook, thru instagram, twitter,amazon, windows, xbox live, your own smart tv and much more.

Well, not really. Other consumers, peers, friends, and family can be blocked from seeing your data on sites like Facebook, which actually offer very good protection from hackers, as well as privacy options against people that you don't want to be able to see your information.

What I'm getting at, is that the corporations themselves can see all your information, if they so wished. And Microsoft probably do. That doesn't mean that your old school bully or your next-door neighbour can find out all your intimate details, because (if you have any sense) you will have strict privacy settings enabled.

Basically you are safe from other users seeing your details, but you're not safe from companies/organisations from seeing your details, if you're using their software/website.

 

[SBMfromLA]

I guess I've got no choice in trusting Microsoft with my personal privacy? I'm just VERY worried that Microsoft collects data. I'd never do anything illegal, but I store all of my most personal information on my PC...

Not really, no. And yes, I have absolutely no doubt that Microsoft do collect data. But they have billions of consumers, so unless you are doing something dodgy, they won't care about your personal information.

It's NOT so much a person doing anything dodgy... it's more to have information available and on record... for the future.. Say in a few years you want to run for office...

 

[Math Geek]

you can turn off a lot of the spying win 10 does with a program such as spybot's anti-beacon.

it'll turn off almost all the paths MS has to communicate with the pc and block the majority of the reporting it does. this of course assumes you do not intend to use cortana or one drive. if you use those services then there is nothing you can do to stop windows watching as it is built into those features.

i have watched my pc pretty closely and am pretty happy with anti-beacon and what it is blocking right now. as time goes by they will only get better at blocking and removing these features from windows just like older versions. there are already programs that will let you uninstall parts of windows from your install disk so it never even makes it to your pc. it will only get better in time as the developers get deeper into the os and figure out what it is doing.

 

[AnxiousGuy]

Okay, but is there a difference with user privacy on Windows 8.1 Pro to Windows 10 Pro?

Thanks for the replies!

Windows 7 FTW!

But do you know Windows 7 is no longer supported??? Have a look: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/lifecycle

 

[AnxiousGuy]

you can turn off a lot of the spying win 10 does with a program such as spybot's anti-beacon.

I've never heard of an app that can disable the ability for Windows to report data back.

Is it really effective?

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Okay, but is there a difference with user privacy on Windows 8.1 Pro to Windows 10 Pro?

Thanks for the replies!

Windows 7 FTW!

But do you know Windows 7 is no longer supported??? Have a look: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/lifecycle

'Mainstream support' means you can call them up and ask questions about it, and there's still new features being added.

It's extended support that's important. That's bugfixes, security fixes etc.

7 is still perfectly well supported.

 

[AnxiousGuy]

Oh, ok. So now that "Mainstream Support" has ended it just means you can't call Microsoft and ask for help?

Security fixes and bugfixes will continue until 2020 for Windows 7???

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Pretty much.

 

[Math Geek]

you can turn off a lot of the spying win 10 does with a program such as spybot's anti-beacon.

I've never heard of an app that can disable the ability for Windows to report data back.

Is it really effective?

so far as i can tell it is working pretty good. don't know it if is blocking 100% of everything yet but i'm satisfied it is doing what it says it is. i have not been doing any packet sniffing lately but network logs i have looked at don't show anything in it i was not expecting to see.

 

[AnxiousGuy]

Wouldn't it be more secure to be running Windows 10 instead of Win7 or Win8 because it's much newer and therefore hackers have had less time to find security holes to exploit?

 

[basroil]

Wouldn't it be more secure to be running Windows 10 instead of Win7 or Win8 because it's much newer and therefore hackers have had less time to find security holes to exploit?

Yes and no. Most of the Windows functions targeted by hackers are the same for all versions, and why you'll usually see "critical" security patches being released for all three supported OSes simultaneously. At the same time, Win 10 is far more secure, not because it's new, but because it changed how some things are handled, from boot to playing removable media. If you check Windows Defender scores on AV, it's actually better than most "free" AV programs at stopping malware, simply because Win 10 is that much better at it (hence why the same Windows Defender/MSE definitions on Win8/7 are much lower scoring)

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Wouldn't it be more secure to be running Windows 10 instead of Win7 or Win8 because it's much newer and therefore hackers have had less time to find security holes to exploit?

Not really. The opposite argument is that people have had years to pick over 7 for bugs, and for MS to fix them, so all the easy pickings are gone. 10 has loads of new code to have potential bugs in, and has had less effort aimed at it.

 

[AnxiousGuy]

Thanks so much for your replies!

I love the idea of how "Windows 10 handles things" differently, but does anyone have a link I can look at to learn more about how Windows 10 is more secure?

 

[mathewbouma]

If you are really that worries about privacy, dual boot with Linux and use that for everything except the stuff that only works on Windows. I would recommend elementaryos.

 

[basroil]

Thanks so much for your replies!

I love the idea of how "Windows 10 handles things" differently, but does anyone have a link I can look at to learn more about how Windows 10 is more secure?

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt601297%28v=vs.85%29.aspx?f=255&MSPPError=-2147217396
https://blogs.windows.com/business/2014/10/22/windows-10-security-and-identity-protection-for-the-modern-world/