Windows 11: a spyware machine out of users' control?

[captaincranky]

Dual boot is an option - probably less convenient.

You have to partition the drive before the install. After which the GRUB boot loader will take over. when you install Windows. In stock configuration the machine will always boot into Linux after a 30 second delay for the user to select Windows instead. It's sort of annoying when you forget about that, and walk away to get coffee, then coming back to find you're booted into to Linux. It's a bit annoying, but not insurmountable.

If you want to troll Linux forums, and deal with some command line dogma, GRUB can be convinced to boot Windows first. It's not for the feint of heart though.

 

[hahahanoobs]

Everything spies on you. An OS change won't do jack.

 

[brucek]

"Oh no, this is outrageous!" - Posted from my Google® Android™ smartphone

I get the joke, and maybe to the younger generation their phone really is their main workstation, but to me I've always seen a clear distinction between a phone and a desktop.

To me the phone is not for serious work and anything that's sensitive never has to be on it. I didn't expect my request for the nearest gas station to be secret in the first place.

That's not true of my expensive desk workstation and it's expensive Pro or Enterprise windows edition. Whatever records & documents are being created on it, I expect to stay on it. Windows machines are used in hospitals, doctors offices, banks, army bases, and probably inside plenty of environments that include classified secrets. The idea that the world's most common operating system can not keep its mouth shut is an unsettling one.

 

[BuckarooBonzaii]

Ms will do what they want because they can and nothing will change because data collection is big business especially for Governments.

 

[passwordistaco]

You have to partition the drive before the install. After which the GRUB boot loader will take over. when you install Windows. In stock configuration the machine will always boot into Linux after a 30 second delay for the user to select Windows instead. It's sort of annoying when you forget about that, and walk away to get coffee, then coming back to find you're booted into to Linux. It's a bit annoying, but not insurmountable.

If you want to troll Linux forums, and deal with some command line dogma, GRUB can be convinced to boot Windows first. It's not for the feint of heart though.

Valid observations.

The most effective dual boot I've used is separate drives with boot priority selected in the BIOS.

 

[wpontius]

So do drivers, apps, software, browsers, cell phones, tablets, Alexa, Cortana...etc, our whole economy and society is one big spying apparatus. It has been proven over and over, settings can and are ignored and bypassed. Now days privacy is a unicorn, pure myth!

 

[captaincranky]

The most effective dual boot I've used is separate drives with boot priority selected in the BIOS.

That's probably the "safer way", of doing it. I confess my solution is more, "budget oriented"..

Linux will read NTFS, but writes in exFAT. That kinda left me scratching my head when transferring files from one OS to the other. "Why is this damned file only reporting 606 MB in Windows, but 636 MB in Linux. What did I do wrong?"

 

[captaincranky]

Now days privacy is a unicorn-hole, pure myth!

Fixed.... 🤣

 

[Celilo]

Don't have to charge for upgrades if your selling your customers data without their knowledge.

 

[Joey Rakas]

I get the joke, and maybe to the younger generation their phone really is their main workstation, but to me I've always seen a clear distinction between a phone and a desktop.

To me the phone is not for serious work and anything that's sensitive never has to be on it. I didn't expect my request for the nearest gas station to be secret in the first place.

That's not true of my expensive desk workstation and it's expensive Pro or Enterprise windows edition. Whatever records & documents are being created on it, I expect to stay on it. Windows machines are used in hospitals, doctors offices, banks, army bases, and probably inside plenty of environments that include classified secrets. The idea that the world's most common operating system can not keep its mouth shut is an unsettling one.

Well said and 100% agreed. Couldn't have said that any better. It is quite disturbing how much people rely on their smart phones for critical information and data. Not much redundancy in that department.

 

[about30ninjas]

Have tried the switch many times. If I could get a newer version of office to run on linux I would use it. Unfortunately I am dependent on the office ecosystem (desktop versions) because of work. I think if office was made to work on linux, either officially or unofficially, windows would die.

Office online? Works on literally any OS with a browser. =)

 

[AxelAminoff]

I no longer use Windows as my main OS - it literally only gets used for games that require it now. VR for example. Everything else gets done on Linux. Would recommend the same for everyone, Linux is just better for your day to day stuff.

Same here, and I have Windows 11 as a virtual machine without a network connection for a few cases that require Windows software. Linux Mint works really well on my laptop and runs Steam for my favorite games, so for me there are no trade-offs using Linux. I have been using Linux on and off since 1998, mostly using it a basis for Windows VMs. Saved me countless hours reinstalling Windows, since I could just start a "fresh" copy of a system and having to do an actual install, including software.

 

[MaXtor]

Everything spies on you. An OS change won't do jack.

It will stop your OS from spying on you.

"Everything causes cancer, quitting smoking won't do jack." 👀

 

[Badvok]

While I'm sure that Microsoft do use Windows 11 to gather too much telemetry data, TPCSC seem to have really messed this up. "a freshly-installed copy of Windows 11" - probably not. The results they get appear to be what you'd expect on a just-purchased laptop with all the bloatware that comes pre-installed.

 

[Tantor]

I dearly wish that were the case, but the experiences of myself and a good number of friends and co-workers says differently. Linux cannot automatically find Windows network servers, a critical ability for some. Its not quite as stable as Windows 7 or later versions no matter what anyone says. Its noticeably slower launching applications and you see inexplicable lag. I've tried many distros based on Ubuntu, Arch, Slack, you name it. Linux has made some major advances in the past decade but it still has a ways to go as a daily OS for average users, or even for Windows "power users". Truthfully, I think Mac users would be more comfortable with Linux - most Linux apps have a look and feel closer to to OSX than Windows. Linux on an M1 or M2 Mac would probably be amazing, though.

???

Gadzook, do you really think so?

Neither Gnome nor native KDE look anything like OSX. KDE is easily an order of magnitude more usable and better designed than Windows. I haven't noticed that Linux is any slower launching apps.

My wife and I finally gave up on Windows. We can do everything we need in Linux. As we left Windows, I told her to not look back lest she turn into a pillar of salt.

 

[trieste1s]

Somebody really should start making spyware servers IP lists so we can block them on router level

Or just use NextDNS and add the relevant filterlists.

 

[Benchsalyst]

I think we can add windows 10 in spyware 😁

 

[Benchsalyst]

I uses W10 and have 3"5 hard drive , not SSD, too expansive for normal uses, so I can see HD activities .Lot of times , there are S****** HD access that slower and freeze PC , by whatever software and lot of time windows processus. It would be surprising there are not communications with MS servers and mmore .

 

[Avro Arrow]

This is about as surprising as when an article about the RTX 4090 Ti called it "Fast, Power-Hungry and VERY Expensive!" which means, not in the least.

Every time that Microsoft has pushed hard for people to "upgrade" to the next generation of Windows, they always gave the same inane reasons of "Speed, security, blah...blah...blah" but in every instance that I've seen them REALLY push to get people to adopt the next one, the reason was always something that they DIDN'T talk about in their promotional materials.

This is the REAL reason that MS wants everyone to "upgrade". Yeah, no. I'm honestly considering switching to Linux if I can get a good enough PC gaming emulator for it. Windows has become ridiculous. The only reason why I use Windows to begin with is because I'm a gamer.

 

[MaXtor]

This is the REAL reason that MS wants everyone to "upgrade". Yeah, no. I'm honestly considering switching to Linux if I can get a good enough PC gaming emulator for it. Windows has become ridiculous. The only reason why I use Windows to begin with is because I'm a gamer.

Gaming has come a long way in Linux. Most Steam games now play very well (albeit, none with kernel level anti-cheats). You can check compatibility of the games you play at:

https://www.protondb.com/

 

[authorjasonblair]

Thanks to Proton, for the most part Linux Gaming works well now. You can use the Nobara distro and run things through Lutris for everything else. Most things can run fine off system WINE though.

I'm sorry, but that's not quite accurate and I'm tired of the "Linux" world trying to decieve people into believing this. There are A LOT of games that can't run on Linux (ie. the new King's Quest, Helldorado, GTA 5) and that's just a few of them. Plus, Photoshop doesn't work (don't even try telling me about GIMP because GIMP sucks compared to Photoshop).

 

[MaXtor]

I'm sorry, but that's not quite accurate and I'm tired of the "Linux" world trying to decieve people into believing this. There are A LOT of games that can't run on Linux (ie. the new King's Quest, Helldorado, GTA 5) and that's just a few of them. Plus, Photoshop doesn't work (don't even try telling me about GIMP because GIMP sucks compared to Photoshop).

When is the last time you tried? Have you looked at ProtonDB for any potential work-arounds? I play GTA5 just fine and ProtonDB reports that most Linux gamers have no issue though some systems require tweaks.

https://www.protondb.com/app/271590

I haven't played King's Quest, but recent reviews suggest it plays perfect with no tweaks.
https://www.protondb.com/app/345390

Helldorado doesn't have many reports, but 3 out of 4 reviews say it also plays well.
https://www.protondb.com/app/18470

But you're right, gaming on Linux is definitely not as seamless as on Windows, often requiring a little tweaking, but most games (that don't use a kernel level anti-cheat) play very well. And Steam has Proton built in, making it that much easier when you can check ProtonDB and repeat tweaks others have made.

 

[Lionvibez]

Somebody really should start making spyware servers IP lists so we can block them on router level

That is already done if you are using an Asus router with merlin firmware. We use an add on call diversion.

https://diversion.ch/

I have most of these blocked at the router level.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Gaming has come a long way in Linux. Most Steam games now play very well (albeit, none with kernel level anti-cheats). You can check compatibility of the games you play at:

https://www.protondb.com/

Thanks for that. I'll definitely give it a look!

 

[Guillermo Belli]

Linux is not for majority of consumers, not for everyone.

I dont wanna spend hours of trial and error looking for some drivers or workaround on github and forum just to make some simple tasks/features work, or just to play some games.

Even a power user like Linus finds Linux difficult to use.

No thanks, I'm staying with Windows.

If you are used to Window then anything that is different will be "difficult". I put Manjaro in my parent's computer about 6 years ago and they've had no problems using it. The computer is also very old, and it runs fine.