I maintain one baremetal Windows install that gets fairly regular use. It’s on a major OEM business class workstation with a legit Windows 10 pro license.
Recently, I had to wipe and reset and goddamn do they try and trick you into choosing all the worst spyware settings AND even if you successfully duck and weave past them, they’ll just cheat and enable them, or reinstall shit like co-pilot during an update.
They just made me sign into that shitty M365 app to install a legit subscription of Office, and on the next reboot, it converted the local user account into an online user account.
Make no mistake, Recall is going to be enabled by hook, or by crook, for the vast majority of Windows 11 users in due time. No matter how many times they disable it, or opt out.
Why the hell wasn’t it opt-in from the beginning?
It’ll be opt-in, till it isn’t.
For the same reason it used an unprotected DB. Because they don’t give a shit about your privacy or security.
I like daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaata
– Microsoft
As a reminder this was the go-to play for Facebook when they were caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Default it off until nobody’s looking and change it slightly so it was named ‘differently’ and on it went again.
opt-in until next update when it will be enabled “magically”
Let me tell exactly what will happen.
- Step 1 - It’s opt-in. Everyone chill
- Step 2 - It’s opt-in but the opt-in button is advertised during startup
- Step 3 - “opting in in crucial for your safety and comfort” advertised everytime during startup
- Step 4 - it’s opt-out now but it can be turned off in settings
- Step 5 - it’s opt-out but the off button is hidden below 3 layers
- Step 6 - the opt-out button is gone but can be turned off with a registry edit
- Step 7 - sorry, it’s a core component of W11
We are currently at Step 1
This comment is taken from another lemmy post but I forgot the username. Apologies.
If you don’t opt in you will miss essential security updates and you will become a terrorist
I mean even if it is not mandatory but automatically enabled once, odds are %80 of the users won’t even bother turning it off so win for windows in any case
Too late Microsoft, I jumped into the Linux pool and the water is fine.
Exactly. Running fedora desktop and I am thinking why the move does.not do more poeple. The only Microsoft junk I am using is the corporation laptop and that I am sure wont get this function.
How about you promise to remove your build in spyware?
Musnt anger the shareholders
“we will change nothing but announce it like we did”
They’ll always play right on or just over the line to see when/how people push back. They knew what they were doing, they started at a 9 intentionally so that people push back to and live with a 7
I mean… Yeah? That’s kind of the point isn’t it? Test the waters and figure out just how far they can push it? Find the limit of acceptance and ride that?
How do you “fix” the security issues of a program that is literally designed to spy on you?
I’ve just switched to Linux Mint and I’m not ever coming back. That’s how I “fixed it.”
Opt-in but you get an annoying full screen popup every boot, like for the windows11 upgrade. It’s only a matter of time, til they sell AI recall features as Win12 and then beg you to upgrade for free, pretty please!
Or “(totally unrelated feature) is not available unless you activate AI recall. Click here to activate.”
“Click cancel if you do not want to not activate it”
I don’t even care if it’s opt-in. I don’t want dormant malware on my PC either.
To be clear. I actually like Windows 11. I don’t care about the general telemetry, though I disabled the typing data crap. Most of the things in the last few months about ads in Windows, about blocking apps, etc have been overblown and aren’t actually big problems in isolation. Even this is a little overblown right now as it requires an NPU which the vast majority of systems don’t have. But, this is just so tone-deaf and an obviously terrible idea that it needs to be put down hard.
Yeah, they’re so focused on screwing me over that I’m worried eventually I’ll miss something.
Most of the things in the last few months about ads in Windows, about blocking apps, etc have been overblown and aren’t actually big problems in isolation.
Any telemetry sent without a very clearly informed opt in is malicious. Any ad in an OS is malicious. There is no valid justification for either.
as it requires an NPU which the vast majority of systems don’t have
Don’t have at the time. I agree with you but argument that it’s not an issue for many people right now will bite the majority eventually
I don’t want *dormant* malware on my PC either.
“Why not?”
–Micro$oft, probably
Trust is difficult to earn and easy to lose.
When did they earn it last time?
XP was made stable to counter Linux, it wasn’t something like trying to earn trust IMO.
deleted by creator
How did that earn them trust?? Making something that works?
security issues as in its very existence?
There is no way I’m going to use a machine where they can turn on something remotely through a update or some other fashion. I probably won’t even have a 11 vm at home now. I’ll keep the 10 vm for its minor uses until it can no longer do the few things I use it for but that is it for me. Remove that garbage or lose more of us macroshaft.
It boggles the mind this isn’t an external download you have to specifically navigate to their website to download and install. The fact it is soon to be on Win 11 systems, just a toggle away, is terrifying. Particularly since lots of people handle your personal data, while data collectors like this are on their machines (and many of those machines will have the collector turned on).
It feels like these huge ass companies are just testing people’s reactions before they do something these days.
