Should I finally go to Windows 10?

[Alurior]

With the tech quickies news bit about Microsoft dropping windows 7, should I finally update to win10? I've been holding off, mainly for the initial security/privacy reasons, but I'm wondering if now is the time to upgrade, since it's apparently free (or not? Not sure).

I plan to upgrade my rig in the not so distant future, so perhaps upgrading now so I can just drop the old drive in as a backup/spare drive is a good idea?

[Enderman]

If you're using the internet you already have no security or privacy.

[Alurior]

6 minutes ago, Enderman said:

If you're using the internet you already have no security or privacy.

As true as that is, doesn't really answer the question. I remember hearing shit loads of criticism from people about win10 on early release.

[Enderman]

Just now, Alurior said:

As true as that is, doesn't really answer the question. I remember hearing shit loads of criticism from people about win10 on early release.

Yeah that's cause windows 10 actually told you about all the stuff they take which made some people mistakenly think they hadn't been taking it already.

 

 

You shouldn't do the upgrade process, that will likely break your OS sooner or later.

Just do a clean install.

If you have windows 7 right now you can use a key finder to get your windows 7 key and activate windows 10 with it.

[Ashiella]

Microsoft may have only just dropped support for win7, but tons of other programs have been doing that for the last couple years.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

2 hours ago, Enderman said:

If you're using the internet you already have no security or privacy.

I'm sick and tired tired of hearing that. True, total security and privacy is not longer possible to achieve but that doesn't mean you hqae to roll over and take it. It's defeatist attitudes like yours, along with people who do not realize how and how much they are being spied on, etc. that has allowed the loss of security and privacy to get as bad as it has.

 

The fact is one can minimize privacy invasion and maximize security to quite a large degree if they are willing to work at it. I won't go into how since it is a huge topic and would take this thread too far off topic but people need to quit just accepting the loss of security and privacy that is so prevalent now and just do something about it.

[Worstcaster]

Yes, if you are using Windows 7 it's time to switch.  Steam has been doing a lot of good things with proton their Linux compatibility layer.  If you are switching your OS, then this might be a good time to give that a try.  You have less data collection (if you stay away from Ubuntu).  Right now I'm using Mint and very happy with it.  Manjaro is good too.  It might pleasantly surprise you.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

54 minutes ago, Worstcaster said:

...Right now I'm using Mint and very happy with it...

Same here. I still have a lot to learn but I'm already fuctional on it despite switching over only a month ago.

[Enderman]

7 hours ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

I'm sick and tired tired of hearing that. True, total security and privacy is not longer possible to achieve but that doesn't mean you hqae to roll over and take it. It's defeatist attitudes like yours, along with people who do not realize how and how much they are being spied on, etc. that has allowed the loss of security and privacy to get as bad as it has.

 

The fact is one can minimize privacy invasion and maximize security to quite a large degree if they are willing to work at it. I won't go into how since it is a huge topic and would take this thread too far off topic but people need to quit just accepting the loss of security and privacy that is so prevalent now and just do something about it.

Realist, not defeatist.

It's definitely possible to have privacy, although you pretty much need to stop using the internet and cell phones and go off-grid.

Althought that won't change the fact that the government already has most of your personal info, and their servers are not the most secure.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

35 minutes ago, Enderman said:

Realist, not defeatist.

It's definitely possible to have privacy, although you pretty much need to stop using the internet and cell phones and go off-grid.

Althought that won't change the fact that the government already has most of your personal info, and their servers are not the most secure.

No, it's defeatist; you are going down without a fight, like the rest of the sheeple in the world. Granted, you can't have complete privacy but there is no need to give up any more than you have to or to just hand all your data over on a silver platter.

 

There are plenty of ways to protect your data on the internet. The easiest way is to just not give out your personal data whenever possible. Avoid sites and promotions whose sole purpose is data collection. Firewalls are very helpful. Some browsers are far more secure than others (ironically, the most snoopy one, Google Chrome, is also the most popular). Ad blockers can avoid ads that also spy on you. Using addresses other than your home address. I use the Brave bowser.

 

Some search engines, most notably Google.com. are very snoopy. I avoid anything Google like the plague. Duck Duck Go and Start Page are excellent private broiwsers (I use Start Page).

 

Some OSes are more secure than others. I recently left the Microsoft environment for various reasons (I'm now on Linux), not least of which was for security reasons. Don't knock Linux, either. I've barely started to learn how to use it and, so far, it has done everything for me I wanted it to do once I learned how to do it.

 

I don't have a smart phone mostly because I can't justify the expense of having and using one but also because they are insecure and siphon off data like crazy. I have a dumb phone (a flip phone that isn't subject to butt dialing; I also turned off the GPS) on a pay as you go plan and it stays turned off to keep phone scammers from running up my monthly bill. I turn it on only when I need it, which is rarely (I got it for emergency use).

 

Before you start throwing out the word Luddite, I'm not afraid of new technology. I eagerly embrace it when it will benefit me cost effectively, which smart phones will not on my retirement income. I do not need an electronic umbilical cord nor do I need a device to entertain me every spare waking moment.

 

I use a mail service to receive my mail and packages for me to avoid mail theft and packages being stolen by porch pirates. I do not give out my home address unless absolutely necessary.

 

I ditched my land line and replaced it with a home phone system that connects to the Verizon cellular network so I can use the cordless phones I have scattered around the house. That eliminated all the political calls and 99 44/100% of the spam calls. Pretty much everyone I know complain about the number of spam calls they get in a day. Until recently, when auto dialers became more prevalent, I didn't get but one spam call a month. Now, I might get one or two a week. 

 

The low number of spam calls is due to me almost never giving out my phone number (same for the mobile phone) and becasue robo calls are illegal to send to a cell phone. I also screen my calls. If I don't recognize a phone number on my caller ID (only numbers in my "phonebook" will show a caller name), I let it go to voice mail (answering a spam call will tell the spammer my number is live number which will get sold to other phone spammers). If it's important, the caller will leave a message. I also do not always answer the phone when it rings. If I'm busy with something (watching TV, eating, sleeping, whatever), with few exceptions, I'll let it go to voice mail. I own the phone, it doesn't own me!

 

When vendors insist on having a phone number, I give a phone number that will go to directory assistance if they are stupid enough to try to call it. The same goes for store discount cards and accounts that use a phone number to ID them,. I also own a phone number that isn't in service (it gets me a bundle discount on my internet bill tha saves me more than the unused phone number costs) so I can use it for the rare jerk vendor that recognizes the fake phone number I use is a fake and demands a real one (I also tend to avoid vendors like that). I'm also selective of which vendors I use.

 

I get very little email spam because I do not freely give out my email address.

 

None of these measures have crippled my life in any way, either. In a way, it's actually liberating.

 

To those who have caved or just don't care, thanks for nothing for making it so easy for the world to spy on me so easy.

[Enderman]

2 hours ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

 

But you put your location info on a public forum and also have your name at the bottom of every post? 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

1 hour ago, Enderman said:

But you put your location info on a public forum and also have your name at the bottom of every post? 

Big deal. AZ is a big State. There are a lot of Jeannies in AZ. Good luck doing anything with that info, laughing boy.

[Beerzerker]

I'm one that will never have WinSpy 10 on their machine.

And speaking of spying and all else it does....

 

Alexa was indeed classified as Spyware for years because that's what it did period as intented right from the beginning up until today and it still snoops, gathers and reports info harvested on YOU.

 

I've noticed now it's no longer shown to be such with a search , instead it's now that "Assistant" they want you to have.....

 

They made sure the next gen would be unaware of it's true nature and just accept it.

Programs such as Spybot Search and Destroy didn't have it named as a positive within their list of spyware/malware definitions at that time for no reason, that I can promise you.

 

It was always intended right from the beginning to do what it's doing now, it's just that in the early days they were studying and finding ways to make it attractive so people would readily accept it and ways to make it so you can't be rid of it, accepted or not.

 

https://www.consumerwatchdog.org/privacy-technology/how-google-and-amazon-are-spying-you

https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-echo-alexa-skill-spying/

https://gizmodo.com/the-terrible-truth-about-alexa-1834075404

 

The defeatest attitude is acceptance (Just go ahead and bend over already? ), realist attitude is to defy it and never give up that fight - If they want your info, make 'em work for it at the very least.

 

Do as you wish but in my case, that's what Linux is for.

Good luck.

[Curious Pineapple]

The paranoia here is truely crazy.

[lloose]

I agree. Its one thing to not want to use an OS because it collects telemetry, its another to blow it out of proportion and try and make anyone who doesn't agree with you feel stupid for not agreeing. The moment I read "sheeple" the conversation is over and you have lost all accountability.

[Donut417]

On 1/14/2020 at 4:14 AM, Alurior said:

ecurity/privacy reasons

Lets be clear here. pretty much about every tech company collects info about you. The NSA has a big ass file on you, so does China and Russia. So privacy should be less of a concern. The main concern with Windows 10 is if an Update is going to kill your system. Because thats a real possibility. Mainly the Creators updates, but I have heard of a few minor ones taking a sytem out. Also will be driver support on older machines. In some cases the drivers are just horrible and dont work or are non existant. In that case you might have issue. 

[wasab]

On 1/14/2020 at 4:20 AM, Enderman said:

If you're using the internet you already have no security or privacy.

You have anonymity 

[Enderman]

5 hours ago, wasab said:

You have anonymity 

Nope.

You have a google account, or even if you don't your ISP has all your info like name and address.

Also your government has all your personal info already.

[wasab]

33 minutes ago, Enderman said:

Nope.

You have a google account, or even if you don't your ISP has all your info like name and address.

Also your government has all your personal info already.

Identity forgery is easy. Randomizing your identity online, way easy. 

[Fin_Guns]

If you do not need Windows 10, then why ??
All the data that they need they already have. DO NOT worry about this.

it all depends on your requirements from the OS.

[Barnack]

It make me laugh how many people paranoid about windows 10 collecting info don't think twice before installing chrome and performing a google search...

Disable what you can disable, live with the rest.

 

Also i'd like to point out that not all data-collection is against the user's interest. Anonymous crash logs ARE data collection and they are useful in bugfixing.

[Retrodex Gaming]

I could not give a toss what data is being collected to be fair. I've got absolutely nothing to hide and my finances are protected. I've had scammers steal money from accounts and people buy fake items to try and commit identity fraud. All resolved in good order.

 

As far as usability W10 has been an absolute breeze for me. One older machine broke on an update but a fresh install fixed that. If you're not keeping backups of data that's your folly!

[jdfthetech]

The only correct answer is yes.

 

If you have not upgraded to Win 10, you should absolutely do so unless your machine is completely insulated from the internet.  Windows 10 has it's faults, but Win 7 is completely open for many attack vectors at this time.

[inalone]

Being the Linux shill I am, I'll always advocate for switching to Linux if you can, but yes moving to Windows 10 is certainly better than sticking to Windows 7. I recommend finding out how to disable as much telemetry as humanly possible on Windows 10, but if you've been keeping your Windows 7 up to date then the change in telemetry is fairly minimal.

[doommood]

Windows 10 is stable since 1703 build. I run Windows 10 Pro and LTSB on two laptops for 3 years. No major problems.

In case you would consider switching to Linux, consider try OpenSuse. It has a nice installer but also ships wit KDE Plasma configured in a way Windows user would found it familiar.