C'mon, I expect this kind of sensationalist reporting from mainstream media, written by those who don't even bother to understand what they are actually writing about. Techdirt can do better.
The Customer Experience Improvement Program has been around a long time (Since WinXP, if memory serves). It's not some evil privacy invading spyware, it's there to capture telemetry about Windows which gets sent back to MS so they can improve the product. Things like details about when and why an application crashed, or a driver that fails, or what percentage of users actually access specific features of windows, etc. It's not sending back your address book, or your email from Aunt Sue, or (heaven forbid!) your browser history.
These patches are just adding that telemetry monitoring to bits of windows that couldn't be monitored before. Lots of things have been added or changed in Win7 since it came out, and MS has certainly come up with new ways to analyze CEIP data in the interim. If a few additional data points about how my OS is performing will help them to develop a patch that makes things respond faster for me in the future, I'm all for it.
More importantly, while I'm all for it, you don't have to. CEIP is optional. You don't have to participate. Windows ASKS whether you want to participate, and you have to say yes or no. If you choose not to participate, this isn't an issue*.
On top of that, these aren't mandatory patches for win7/8. (Windows 7 and 8 don't even have mandatory patching like win10 does...) They aren't listed as critical updates, but rather as Recommended or Optional updates. If you don't want your system to get the update to collect these additional telemetry points, simply don't install the patches. Even when automatic updates are enabled, updates classified as "Recommended" aren't installed automatically unless you check the box to install Recommended updates along with the critical updates. Updates classified as "Optional" don't even get lumped in then, they will only be installed if you explicitly check the box for that update and click install.
Seriously, this is a non-issue, made into a big deal by people who can't be bothered to read the descriptions of these updates. I'm disappointed that Techdirt apparently falls into that category as well.
----------- * Yes, I know that there have been reports of Windows 10 still sending back a minimal amount of "probably harmless" data to Microsoft even with all settings configured for privacy. The data in that case wasn't the same kind of thing that these updates apply to, and I've seen no indication that these updates cause Windows 7/8.1 to send additional data to MS when CEIP is disabled.
We pretty much use lenovo products exclusively in my company, but since we load a custom image on them I don't know if any of ours originally shipped with this software. I do know though that their consumer models tends to come with lots of 'free software' that isn't included (or wanted) on their business models.
From the descriptions I've read, this sounds like the kind of product that I might expect to find installed on lenovo's consumer line products. Does anyone know if this was occurring in "Think" branded products, or only in "idea" branded products?
I agree with sdf. I used google notebook and ended up transitioning everything to Evernote when Google shuttered their Notebook product. I've been pretty happy with Evernote, so I'm not looking for a new provider. Even if I was, why would I expect Google to keep the new notebook product around any longer than they did the first incarnation. . .
The article seems to say that because Texas hasn't implemented an opt-out system, everyone's data is subject to be sold for solicitation & marketing purposes. Reading the law linked to from the article, it seems to say just the opposite.
As I understand it, the federal law says the data can be sold for surveys & solicitation only if the state has given drivers the opportunity to opt out. If the state hasn't implemented such an opt-out system, then they can't sell the information to companies who will use it for such purposes.
Techdirt has not posted any stories submitted by Steve Whitcher.
Really Techdirt? You should be better than this
C'mon, I expect this kind of sensationalist reporting from mainstream media, written by those who don't even bother to understand what they are actually writing about. Techdirt can do better.
The Customer Experience Improvement Program has been around a long time (Since WinXP, if memory serves). It's not some evil privacy invading spyware, it's there to capture telemetry about Windows which gets sent back to MS so they can improve the product. Things like details about when and why an application crashed, or a driver that fails, or what percentage of users actually access specific features of windows, etc. It's not sending back your address book, or your email from Aunt Sue, or (heaven forbid!) your browser history.
These patches are just adding that telemetry monitoring to bits of windows that couldn't be monitored before. Lots of things have been added or changed in Win7 since it came out, and MS has certainly come up with new ways to analyze CEIP data in the interim. If a few additional data points about how my OS is performing will help them to develop a patch that makes things respond faster for me in the future, I'm all for it.
More importantly, while I'm all for it, you don't have to. CEIP is optional. You don't have to participate. Windows ASKS whether you want to participate, and you have to say yes or no. If you choose not to participate, this isn't an issue*.
On top of that, these aren't mandatory patches for win7/8. (Windows 7 and 8 don't even have mandatory patching like win10 does...) They aren't listed as critical updates, but rather as Recommended or Optional updates. If you don't want your system to get the update to collect these additional telemetry points, simply don't install the patches. Even when automatic updates are enabled, updates classified as "Recommended" aren't installed automatically unless you check the box to install Recommended updates along with the critical updates. Updates classified as "Optional" don't even get lumped in then, they will only be installed if you explicitly check the box for that update and click install.
Seriously, this is a non-issue, made into a big deal by people who can't be bothered to read the descriptions of these updates. I'm disappointed that Techdirt apparently falls into that category as well.
-----------
* Yes, I know that there have been reports of Windows 10 still sending back a minimal amount of "probably harmless" data to Microsoft even with all settings configured for privacy. The data in that case wasn't the same kind of thing that these updates apply to, and I've seen no indication that these updates cause Windows 7/8.1 to send additional data to MS when CEIP is disabled.
Consumer line only?
We pretty much use lenovo products exclusively in my company, but since we load a custom image on them I don't know if any of ours originally shipped with this software. I do know though that their consumer models tends to come with lots of 'free software' that isn't included (or wanted) on their business models.
From the descriptions I've read, this sounds like the kind of product that I might expect to find installed on lenovo's consumer line products. Does anyone know if this was occurring in "Think" branded products, or only in "idea" branded products?
Re: Remember google notebook
I agree with sdf. I used google notebook and ended up transitioning everything to Evernote when Google shuttered their Notebook product. I've been pretty happy with Evernote, so I'm not looking for a new provider. Even if I was, why would I expect Google to keep the new notebook product around any longer than they did the first incarnation. . .
Isn't that backwards?
The article seems to say that because Texas hasn't implemented an opt-out system, everyone's data is subject to be sold for solicitation & marketing purposes. Reading the law linked to from the article, it seems to say just the opposite.
As I understand it, the federal law says the data can be sold for surveys & solicitation only if the state has given drivers the opportunity to opt out. If the state hasn't implemented such an opt-out system, then they can't sell the information to companies who will use it for such purposes.