Is Win 7 more privacy-friendly than win 10?

[iKratos]

Hello, I don't just rely on windows defender so I have Bit Defender 2019 premium + Malware bytes paid version. And I don't open shady sites, no porn sites and nothing.
 

My work is youtube + making sites + heavy browsing (related to work) + editing only.

 

I know win 7 is old but I still see many people and company rocking Win XP and Win 7 with latest service packs and with strong antivirus and anti-malware software and don't open any "entertainment sites". Only strict work purpose.
 

Also, the current windows 10 update made my system slow. Many users are complaining.
 

So, I wanted to know that is Win 7 more privacy-friendly than Win 10 and what problems can I face on Win 7 if I'm careful with browsing and such like I said above? 
 

Looking for opinions and what windows are you using for your work nowadays?

PS: I DON'T like windows updates. How can my pc get affected with malwares if I don't open any shady sites and dont click on random links?
I dont do anything else other than youtube + making sites + heavy browsing (related to work) + editing.

[Princess Luna]

Windows 10 all the way, best OS Microsoft ever made provided that you take a few hours of your time to edit it to behave more like 7 did with classic shell and other tweaks.

[mortino]

17 minutes ago, iKratos said:

I don't open shady sites, no porn sites and nothing.

 

Obvious troll account.

I still use windows 7 on my desktop, win xp is unusuable with modern hardware. I only use windows defender and I use shady sites all the time. I run malwarebytes like maybe once a month and every 6 months I install an antivirus and do a virus scan, never have anything show up. The only real downside of not using windows 10 is lack of dx12.

[iKratos]

10 minutes ago, Princess Cadence said:

Windows 10 all the way, best OS Microsoft ever made provided that you take a few hours of your time to edit it to behave more like 7 did with classic shell and other tweaks.

I know and I still think that even after tweaking those telemetry privacy things via those 1 click softwares, it still aint enough. Win 10 is like a private details sender to MS lol. Anything you write is being sent as telemetry or something to enhance user experience. I see your beasty rig and it's 100% true that as of now win 10 is the BEST for gaming on PC and with that kind of specs, win 7 won't be able to utilize the full power but that's for gaming. When I get my gaming pc like that, I will definitely go for Win 10 but for privacy and work, it's a no and no. The whole internet till date is filled with complains about win 10 privacy issue.

Don't know who told you it's the BEST OS MS ever made.

The best OS MS ever made was XP and then Win 7. And slowly started screwing up. You would certainly be amazed after knowing that MORE people, still to this day, uses win 7 more than win 10.

 

9 minutes ago, mortino said:

Obvious troll account.

I still use windows 7 on my desktop, win xp is unusuable with modern hardware. I only use windows defender and I use shady sites all the time. I run malwarebytes like maybe once a month and every 6 months I install an antivirus and do a virus scan, never have anything show up. The only real downside of not using windows 10 is lack of dx12.

u mean I am a troll? 

And I dont need dx12 because I dont play games.

[Princess Luna]

2 minutes ago, iKratos said:

Don't know who told you it's the BEST OS MS ever made.

I don't need any one telling me any thing, you asked what we think of and to me Windows 10 is by far the best, specially tweaked to behave more like 7 it is an enhanced experience in every way.

 

Telemetry? I did do the basic stuff to limit it but being honest I don't give a shit about it.

[TheBean]

windows 7 is MUCH more privacy-friendly, but windows 10 is better IMO.

[iKratos]

2 minutes ago, Princess Cadence said:

I don't need any one telling me any thing, you asked what we think of and to me Windows 10 is by far the best, specially tweaked to behave more like 7 it is an enhanced experience in every way.

 

Telemetry? I did do the basic stuff to limit it but being honest I don't give a shit about it.

Alright.

[mortino]

2 minutes ago, iKratos said:

u mean I am a troll? 

And I dont need dx12 because I dont play games.

Either a troll or in denial. It's 2018 dude everyone watches porn and nobody cares.

I'd go win7 without question in that case. Win10 has a couple modern features win7 doesn't but It hasn't affected me negatively yet except for dx12 only games which if I want to play I just use my laptop.

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

Calling @Delicieuxz.  He's the authority here when it comes to Windows Telemetry and how to avoid it.

[iKratos]

1 minute ago, mortino said:

It's 2018 dude everyone watches porn and nobody cares.

 

I have a GF. I don't need to watch porn to satisfy my hunger.  

[mortino]

2 minutes ago, iKratos said:

I have a GF. I don't need to watch porn to satisfy my hunger.  

Try watching it with her.

[BigDamn]

9 minutes ago, Princess Cadence said:

I don't need any one telling me any thing, you asked what we think of and to me Windows 10 is by far the best, specially tweaked to behave more like 7 it is an enhanced experience in every way.

 

Telemetry? I did do the basic stuff to limit it but being honest I don't give a shit about it.

So Windows 10 is only good if you tweak it and make it like Windows 7. Gotcha.

 

Or you could just use Windows 7 which doesn't need any tweaks to make it like Windows 7.

 

I have used both Windows 7 and Windows 10 extensively and Windows 7 is superior to 10 in many ways. Windows 7 is far more privacy-friendly, its stable, and it doesn't have OS breaking updates every year. Windows 7 also doesn't have duplicates for every fucking application it has. Windows 10 has Settings and Control Panel, Groove and Media Player, Photo Viewer and Photos, etc. like fucking decide ffs.

 

Oh and @iKratos, stop lying. We all know you crank your willy to hardcore porn.

[iKratos]

4 minutes ago, BigDamn said:

So Windows 10 is only good if you tweak it and make it like Windows 7. Gotcha.

 

Or you could just use Windows 7 which doesn't need any tweaks to make it like Windows 7.

 

I have used both Windows 7 and Windows 10 extensively and Windows 7 is superior to 10 in many ways. Windows 7 is far more privacy-friendly, its stable, and it doesn't have OS breaking updates every year. Windows 7 also doesn't have duplicates for every fucking application it has. Windows 10 has Settings and Control Panel, Groove and Media Player, Photo Viewer and Photos, etc. like fucking decide ffs.

 

Oh and @iKratos, stop lying. We all know you crank your willy to hardcore porn.

There is a reason why MS put so many entertainment and other things into win 10. Because people always want more and more and when these people downloads, installs and uses these things, their data is telemetered in some way that no one knows. Even after using those 1 click privacy enable softwares, our data is still being sent as a way to improve user experience lmao.

[duncannah]

Acquire LTSC (formerly LTSB) from somewhere

[mortino]

1 minute ago, duncannah said:

Acquire LTSC (formerly LTSB) from somewhere

lol somewhere, wonder where the might be ha.

[iKratos]

Just now, duncannah said:

Acquire LTSC (formerly LTSB) from somewhere

Good idea. Can you tell if every software and apps will run normally in this LTSC version? Also, I plan to get a gaming rig separately very soon, so I can play games too in Win 10 LTSC version?

[duncannah]

1 minute ago, iKratos said:

Good idea. Can you tell if every software and apps will run normally in this LTSC version? Also, I plan to get a gaming rig separately very soon, so I can play games too in Win 10 LTSC version?

I haven't seen anyone having problems with it. You can install the Store and Xbox apps (not included in LTSC) manually if a game requires them

[Delicieuxz]

As others have said, Windows 7 is more privacy-friendly. However, an earlier version of Windows 7 is a lot more privacy-friendly than a newer version of Windows 7. That's because Microsoft started back-adding telemetry into Windows 7 in 2015, and continued to do so ever since.

 

I have a June 2015 ISO of Windows 7 Ultimate 64 for download in this post, which you'll need a Windows 7 Ultimate license key to use:

 

 

That is generally from  before Microsoft started back-adding telemetry to Windows 7, though there have been identified a couple of updates that need to be manually uninstalled after Windows 7 is installed from the ISO. Those updates are KB3035583 and KB3150513, which both relate to updating the OS to Windows 10, and probably contain some telemetry that identifies whether a computer is going to be compatible with the Windows 10 update. Microsoft pushed those updates in April 2015, though I think that they didn't start pestering people about Windows 10 until later on.

 

Those updates can be uninstalled by doing the following:

1. Select the Start  button, then select Settings  > Update & security   > Windows Update    > Advanced options > View your update history > Uninstall updates.
2. Select the update you want to remove, then select Uninstall.

If you see a message about the free update to Windows 10 after installing Windows 7 from the above linked-to ISO, it's because of those two updates. And removing those two updates will remove any mention in Windows 10 of Windows 7.

 

 

Windows 10 is not very private at all: In Windows 10 Home and Pro, the OS is continuously harvesting personal and personally-owned data from over 3,500 individual data-harvesting points - and that's at the most minimal configuration telemetry can be set to in Windows 10 Home and Pro.

 

The Enterprise and LTSB / LTSC versions of Windows 10 can have telemetry reduced a bit more, but Windows 7 without the telemetry back-added to it is a more private OS.

 

Windows 7 is also still more solid and reliable than Windows 10 Enterprise and even LTSB / LTSC.

 

Windows 10 Enterprise and LTSB / LTSC licenses can be bought on eBay or reddit, or maybe Craigslist for pretty cheap (around $15). But, still, Windows 7 without the telemetry back-added to it is a more private OS. A Windows 7 Ultimate license can be bought through eBay, reddit, or Craigslist for $5 - $10.

 

 

 

You also mention that you don't like Windows Update. In that case, Windows 7 makes even more sense for you, since it can be disabled easily and simply in Windows 7 and it shouldn't ever turn itself back on.

 

 

Windows 7 is also a more secure OS than Windows 10.

 

Number of security vulnerabilities discovered per Windows OS per year:

https://www.cvedetails.com/top-50-products.php?year=2016

 

            1999----2000----2001----2002----2003----2004----2005----2006----2007----2008----2009----2010----2011----2012----2013----2014----2015----2016----2017

---95      13-------31------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---98      11-------15--------7---------12------------------12------17--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

98se      -----------6--------6----------12---------------------------18--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---NT      64-------28-------24--------23--------18-------24--------------------------------------16-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2000      18-------31-------43--------42--------31-------41------68-------42--------30-------24-------75-------45---------------------------------------------------------------------------

--ME     ----------------------7---------10----------------------------15--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---XP     ---------------------10--------34--------22-------44------66-------56--------34-------34-------89-------98------101-------43-------87--------------------------------------------

Vista      -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------31-------29-------76-------86-------95-------42-------95----------34------136------125----------

-----7     --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------64------102-------44-------99----------36------147------134------197

-----8     ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------58----------38------146------134------229

---8.1     -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------38------151------154------225

----10    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------53-------172------268

 

             2018 (as of May)

-----7     --47--------

---8.1    --44--------

----10    --61--------

 

 

However, if you use a June 2015 ISO to install Windows 7 and then disable Windows Update, you will have some extra vulnerabilities in the OS that you wouldn't otherwise have - but, you might also not have some that you would if you installed newer Windows updates from Microsoft. If you have safe browsing habits, or, if you have an anti-virus and anti-malware program installed, you should be good.

 

My Windows 7 OS has had Windows Update disabled since 2015 and it's had no problems, with no virus or malware found.

 

8 hours ago, Captain Chaos said:

Calling @Delicieuxz.  He's the authority here when it comes to Windows Telemetry and how to avoid it.

Cheers.

[iKratos]

5 hours ago, Delicieuxz said:

As others have said, Windows 7 is more privacy-friendly. However, an earlier version of Windows 7 is a lot more privacy-friendly than a newer version of Windows 7. That's because Microsoft started back-adding telemetry into Windows 7 in 2015, and continued to do so ever since.

 

I have a June 2015 ISO of Windows 7 Ultimate 64 for download in this post, which you'll need a Windows 7 Ultimate license key to use:

 

 

That is generally from  before Microsoft started back-adding telemetry to Windows 7, though there have been identified a couple of updates that need to be manually uninstalled after Windows 7 is installed from the ISO. Those updates are KB3035583 and KB3150513, which both relate to updating the OS to Windows 10, and probably contain some telemetry that identifies whether a computer is going to be compatible with the Windows 10 update. Microsoft pushed those updates in April 2015, though I think that they didn't start pestering people about Windows 10 until later on.

 

Those updates can be uninstalled by doing the following:

1. Select the Start  button, then select Settings  > Update & security   > Windows Update    > Advanced options > View your update history > Uninstall updates.
2. Select the update you want to remove, then select Uninstall.

If you see a message about the free update to Windows 10 after installing Windows 7 from the above linked-to ISO, it's because of those two updates. And removing those two updates will remove any mention in Windows 10 of Windows 7.

 

 

Windows 10 is not very private at all: In Windows 10 Home and Pro, the OS is continuously harvesting personal and personally-owned data from over 3,500 individual data-harvesting points - and that's at the most minimal configuration telemetry can be set to in Windows 10 Home and Pro.

 

The Enterprise and LTSB / LTSC versions of Windows 10 can have telemetry reduced a bit more, but Windows 7 without the telemetry back-added to it is a more private OS.

 

Windows 7 is also still more solid and reliable than Windows 10 Enterprise and even LTSB / LTSC.

 

Windows 10 Enterprise and LTSB / LTSC licenses can be bought on eBay or reddit, or maybe Craigslist for pretty cheap (around $15). But, still, Windows 7 without the telemetry back-added to it is a more private OS. A Windows 7 Ultimate license can be bought through eBay, reddit, or Craigslist for $5 - $10.

 

 

 

You also mention that you don't like Windows Update. In that case, Windows 7 makes even more sense for you, since it can be disabled easily and simply in Windows 7 and it shouldn't ever turn itself back on.

 

 

Windows 7 is also a more secure OS than Windows 10.

 

Number of security vulnerabilities discovered per Windows OS per year:

https://www.cvedetails.com/top-50-products.php?year=2016

 

            1999----2000----2001----2002----2003----2004----2005----2006----2007----2008----2009----2010----2011----2012----2013----2014----2015----2016----2017

---95      13-------31------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---98      11-------15--------7---------12------------------12------17--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

98se      -----------6--------6----------12---------------------------18--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---NT      64-------28-------24--------23--------18-------24--------------------------------------16-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2000      18-------31-------43--------42--------31-------41------68-------42--------30-------24-------75-------45---------------------------------------------------------------------------

--ME     ----------------------7---------10----------------------------15--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---XP     ---------------------10--------34--------22-------44------66-------56--------34-------34-------89-------98------101-------43-------87--------------------------------------------

Vista      -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------31-------29-------76-------86-------95-------42-------95----------34------136------125----------

-----7     --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------64------102-------44-------99----------36------147------134------197

-----8     ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------58----------38------146------134------229

---8.1     -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------38------151------154------225

----10    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------53-------172------268

 

             2018 (as of May)

-----7     --47--------

---8.1    --44--------

----10    --61--------

 

 

However, if you use a June 2015 ISO to install Windows 7 and then disable Windows Update, you will have some extra vulnerabilities in the OS that you wouldn't otherwise have - but, you might also not have some that you would if you installed newer Windows updates from Microsoft. If you have safe browsing habits, or, if you have an anti-virus and anti-malware program installed, you should be good.

 

My Windows 7 OS has had Windows Update disabled since 2015 and it's had no problems, with no virus or malware found.

 

Cheers.

First, you have no idea how many times I wanna say "Thanks" to you for the clear and detailed explanation mate.
You're awesome.

Second, other than the paid version of malware bytes, what antivirus do you recommend? I'm looking at bit defender internet security 2019. Is it good or you wanna recommend any other good one?

Third, do you recommend a dedicated firewall software?

Fourth, when we use any office app like Word, excel, outlook, the contents which I write are being sent to MS, correct? So how do I avoid it? I need Word, Excel, and powerpoint for my daily work. Which year of office do you recommend, 2010, 2013, 2016 or 2019?

Fifth, I see office 2019 and 2016 keys are sold for dirt cheap on eBay. I know some are scraped from other PCs and some are made possible via .edu emails. In the case of .edu emails, the organization has control over office apps. They can do anything at any time so no privacy and some are scraped from other PCs so it can get blacklisted. What is the way to get office for a bit cheap? I only need word, excel, and powerpoint.

Waiting for your reply mate and thanks for the win 7 iso link too

Regards.

[Delicieuxz]

1 hour ago, iKratos said:

First, you have no idea how many times I wanna say "Thanks" to you for the clear and detailed explanation mate.
You're awesome.

Second, other than the paid version of malware bytes, what antivirus do you recommend? I'm looking at bit defender internet security 2019. Is it good or you wanna recommend any other good one?

Third, do you recommend a dedicated firewall software?

Fourth, when we use any office app like Word, excel, outlook, the contents which I write are being sent to MS, correct? So how do I avoid it? I need Word, Excel, and powerpoint for my daily work. Which year of office do you recommend, 2010, 2013, 2016 or 2019?

Fifth, I see office 2019 and 2016 keys are sold for dirt cheap on eBay. I know some are scraped from other PCs and some are made possible via .edu emails. In the case of .edu emails, the organization has control over office apps. They can do anything at any time so no privacy and some are scraped from other PCs so it can get blacklisted. What is the way to get office for a bit cheap? I only need word, excel, and powerpoint.

Waiting for your reply mate and thanks for the win 7 iso link too

Regards.

I suspect the free versions of anti-virus software like Avast, AVG, Malware Bytes should be all that's needed.

 

I've ran my Windows Update-disabled Windows 7 OS without any AV or anti-malware program for years without issue. I have the free version of Malware Bytes installed, though it doesn't run in the background. I checked the health status of my OS a bit ago by installing an AV, and it didn't find anything. I also have my system backed up - so, I can deal if anything serious happens.

 

If wanting to avoid MS Office telemetry, I would use an earlier version that doesn't need updating. For me, they all work to accomplish the things I do, and so I could use the oldest version I have, which is 2010, installed from the original disc that I have. You could also use a newer version and block any of its connections in your firewall or router.

 

Here are two text files that provide a list of IPs and firewall rules to block Microsoft connections:

 

https://mega.nz/#!NlNGxYbL!RCv92DZn7duhQKz_DuzaWoQwwxs9QX_GdXG31AzL2XU

 

Those lists were made for Windows 10 and I'm unsure if Windows 7 uses the same servers, though I'm guessing they are the same.

 

The Windows 10's hosts file and firewall ignores blocked Microsoft domains, so you'd have to use a 3rd-party firewall software if using Windows 10, but I think that doesn't apply to Windows 7. I haven't read any confirmation about it, though. I guess that blocking Microsoft IPs in your router is ideal, if you're able to (ISP-provided routers often don't have that ability).

[iKratos]

4 minutes ago, Delicieuxz said:

I suspect the free versions of anti-virus software like Avast, AVG, Malware Bytes should be all that's needed.

 

I've ran my Windows Update-disabled Windows 7 OS without any AV or anti-malware program for years without issue. I have the free version of Malware Bytes installed, though it doesn't run in the background. I checked the health status of my OS a bit ago by installing an AV, and it didn't find anything. I also have my system backed up - so, I can deal if anything serious happens.

 

If wanting to avoid MS Office telemetry, I would use an earlier version that doesn't need updating. For me, they all work to accomplish the things I do, and so I could use the oldest version I have, which is 2010, installed from the original disc that I have. You could also use a newer version and block any of its connections in your firewall or router.

 

Here are two text files that provide a list of IPs and firewall rules to block Microsoft:

 

https://mega.nz/#!NlNGxYbL!RCv92DZn7duhQKz_DuzaWoQwwxs9QX_GdXG31AzL2XU

 

By the way, Windows 10's hosts file and firewall ignores blocked Microsoft domains, so you'll have to use a 3rd-party firewall software. Or, best of all, block Microsoft IPs in your router, if you're able to.

You're a god living among humans. Thanks a lot for the IPs list.

Thank you for the host file tip too.

And, once you install Office 2010, it does not require any kind of updates through all these 8 years or so, right? Is it the same with standalone versions of 2013, 2016, and 2019 also?
Because a couple of months ago I had a chat with an MS support agent and she told me that office 365 requires us to log in to use as it is subscription based but office 2016, 2013 and beyond which is one time fee only for the standalone full version would NOT require us to log in to use.

[Delicieuxz]

8 minutes ago, iKratos said:

You're a god living among humans. Thanks a lot for the IPs list.

Thank you for the host file tip too.

And, once you install Office 2010, it does not require any kind of updates through all these 8 years or so, right? Is it the same with standalone versions of 2013, 2016, and 2019 also?
Because a couple of months ago I had a chat with an MS support agent and she told me that office 365 requires us to log in to use as it is subscription based but office 2016, 2013 and beyond which is one time fee only for the standalone full version would NOT require us to log in to use.

Office 365 is subscription-based, but the other editions aren't and don't require a login - at least for the older versions. I have 2016 installed on my Windows 10 OS and am logged into it, but haven't tried using it without being logged in.

 

I think updates for Office aren't needed if your use of it is basic like mine: I open up a document and type into it, then save it, print it, send it, whatever. I would probably be just as served by Office 2007.

[iKratos]

2 minutes ago, Delicieuxz said:

Office 365 is subscription-based, but the other editions aren't and don't require a login - at least for the older versions. I have 2016 installed on my Windows 10 OS and am logged into it, but haven't tried using it without being logged in.

 

I think updates for Office aren't needed if your use of it is basic like mine: I open up a document and type into it, then save it, print it, send it, whatever. I would probably be just as served by Office 2007.

Correct. So, I just install office and block those IPs and put every office app into firewall and block and I'm good to go, right?

[Delicieuxz]

Just now, iKratos said:

Correct. So, I just install office and block those IPs and put every office app into firewall and block and I'm good to go, right?

I guess so. I didn't compile those texts of Microsoft IPs and firewall rules, and I don't know whether there are additional efforts needed for Windows 7 and older Office programs, or if they still try to only connect to the same Microsoft servers.

 

I wouldn't worry about things with an older version of Office, like 2010. Microsoft wasn't unilaterally collecting any telemetry back then, anyway. And that program isn't going to auto-update itself.

[iKratos]

4 minutes ago, Delicieuxz said:

I guess so. I didn't compile those texts of Microsoft IPs and firewall rules, and I don't know whether there are additional efforts needed for Windows 7 and older Office programs, or if they still try to only connect to the same Microsoft servers.

 

I wouldn't worry about things with an older version of Office, like 2010. Microsoft wasn't unilaterally collecting any telemetry back then, anyway. And that program isn't going to auto-update itself.

Alright mate, thanks for all the help today.

Cheers.