A Privacy Advocate Gives You the Facts About Windows 10

For everyone using Windows 10 or thinking about upgrading to Windows 10

It’s a bad situation when misinformation rules so much of the Web. Not many cared about Windows 8 because it was such a flop. But Windows 10 is being adopted at a record rate – there are more Windows 10 users after just over 2 weeks since its release than there are Windows 8x user – and it’s been available for over 2 years. Success is like a target, it draws arrows. There is a lot of money to be made by scaring people. We’re about tired of bloggers and journalists, alarmists and conspiracy theorists, scaring people with misinformation and using spin, not facts, to make Windows 10 look like a tool of the NSA. It’s not – but every day someone sends us a link from some news site or some blogger who has scared them into sharing the link to the article with everyone they know…and that is exactly what these alarmists want. They use spin to take the most benign things and turn it into a tool of the devil – or maybe even worse — the NSA.

We are not Microsoft lovers – but we’re not Microsoft haters; we like facts and we love the truth. And the truth is what Microsoft is doing what Apple has been doing for years and years. Nothing worse. Yet you don’t see anyone writing about Apple reading your email and collecting your data and being the next worst thing to the NSA. You know why? It’s not cool to attack Apple – like it’s not cool to attack Starbucks or Panera or Chipotle — the cool places and the cool computer company are almost sacred to their fans and no one wants to upset them. But Microsoft? It’s been a punching back since Windows XP. Yes…when XP was released there was a furor over how XP was stealing your privacy. But that died out and XP went on to become the most beloved and the most popular version of Windows ever. Now it looks like Microsoft has another hit with Windows 10 and some people just can’t stand that.

The truth is that Microsoft isn’t do anything new at all. Apple and Google have been doing it with their operating systems for years. It’s really hard to find the truth about Windows 10 out there right now, but this article from Lifehacker is based on fact. You’ll learn a lot about Windows 10 from it – and you’ll learn that what we have been telling you all along is true: Microsoft is not in cahoots with the NSA and they are not reading your emails or stealing your personal information or data.

We hope you read this article by Lifehacker. If you do you’ll learn a lot and you’ll learn not to help the alarmists and conspiracy theorists and bloggers and journalist who use scare tactics to get you to read what they write and share what they write by email or social networking.

I’m a Privacy Advocate, but I Still Use Windows 10 and Google Now
(from LIfehacker, August 13, 2015)

“Privacy is important, and we should fight for it. I’ve said that many times. But when Windows 10 launched, I welcomed Cortana despite some concerns from privacy activists. It sounds hypocritical, but it’s an easy disconnect to resolve, once you understand how privacy works as currency. Here’s how I continue to advocate for a safer, privacy-focused Internet and still use these awesome free tools.

It’s no secret that advertising is the juice in the engine of the internet today. Along with advertising, and the economies built on the back of getting ads in front of your face (of which this blog is included,) is the massive data trade that happens behind the scenes. The ability to collect information about you to make sure those ads are relevant and interesting to you—products you might actually like or want to buy—is serious. It’s made blinking banner ads for low-rate loans a thing of the past, replaced with dynamic Amazon ads that show you products you’ve searched for, or related to items you’ve purchased.

After all, personalized ads are, after all, better than random, intrusive, and irrelevant ones, right? But that’s not enough. Getting ads in front of you that you don’t mind seeing is only part of the battle. The rest is convincing you that the information you give up is a small price to pay for those ads, not for any actual service or product delivered.

See that distinction? You’re trading away your privacy for nothing but the right to see relevant ads. And yet, people swallow that logic. They even trot it out as a defense when questioned.

There’s another side to this too—when you block ads completely and blacklist everything, you’re saying “you don’t get anything from me, but I’m going to take everything from you.” It’s similarly problematic, because it encourages the arms race between the companies eager to hoover up your data and the privacy technologies designed to protect you. It’s also the reason your favorite content creators, YouTubers, webcomic authors, and yes, humble bloggers beg you to whitelist them in your ad blocker so they can get paid for the work they do.

Part of the problem is we’ve been conditioned to believe that our data has no value. We’re getting these services “for free.” You’ve heard it before: “Well Facebook/Google/Apple/Microsoft/[insert company] gives it away, so stop complaining.” That limited definition of “free” keeps us from understanding the real exchange we make when we use “free” services. Just because your data seems to have no value (especially when aggregated with others) doesn’t mean it doesn’t. If it were truly worthless, advertisers wouldn’t want it, and they wouldn’t be willing to essentially pay the salaries of developers, bloggers, DBAs, data scientists, “growth hackers,” and PR pros to get it. Keep that in mind the next time you sign up for something that’s “free,” whether it’s that Windows 10 upgrade, the upcoming El Capitan upgrade for OS X, or even something like an email newsletter.

Your Privacy (and Your Data) Is Currency, So Spend It Wisely

In a perfect world, privacy would be an opt-out experience instead of an opt-in one. Put more simply: I wish companies would operate from a position of privacy by default, and only intrude on it when necessary, and after your consent. Of course, we don’t live in a perfect world. Most services say “sign up now for awesome benefits” and (often purposefully) obfuscate the compromises you make when you join the club. In some cases it’s innocuous, like the number of friends or followers you have when you install a new Twitter app. In others, it’s more invasive, like real-time location tracking for a smartphone game, or access to your entire inbox for an anti-spam tool.http://lifehacker.com/what-windows-1…

But both of those “more invasive” examples that I just mentioned? They’re awesome tools in their own right, and I actually use them both. When Windows 10 came out, many (rightfully) brought up the privacy implications of a desktop operating system that’s always connected, includes a personal assistant that records your voice, and gives itself permission to capture a ton of data and send it home to Microsoft. We discussed similar concerns when OS X Yosemite came out. And Google Now and Siri got the same treatment, after they asked for constant access to our emails, location, and apps, and sending our data back to their parent companies. We were—and are—concerned with how long those companies keep that data, and what else it might be used for.http://lifehacker.com/lets-talk-abou…

So how do I live with myself and still happily use Windows 10 on one computer, Yosemite on another, and say “Okay Google Now” every time I need to set a reminder? Well, it starts with understanding that “privacy,” and “personal data” are essentially currency in today’s Internet economy. In all of these cases, I’m trading away bits of information for services that I feel give me some return on the value of the information I’m giving up. In short, I’m “buying” Windows 10, “paying for” Google Now, and “subscribing to” Unroll.me. Instead of opening my wallet, I’m paying in information. It’s not a perfect tradeoff, but it’s one I go into with both eyes open.

Make Educated, Intelligent Decisions About How You “Spend”

Now that you understand your privacy is currency, you should spend it where it matters to you. Spend it where you get the most benefit for making the trade, and do it consciously after deciding whether the benefit you’ll get from the exchange is worth it…”

Excerpted from I’m a Privacy Advocate, but I Still Use Windows 10 and Google Now
http://lifehacker.com/im-a-privacy-advocate-but-i-still-use-windows-10-and-g-1723611163?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews

—————————————————————————————-

Get two Cloudeight Direct Computer Care repair keys for just $99 – you save $51.
Available for a limited time only. Get yours now!