
Cortana: The spy in Windows 10 - CrankyBear
http://www.computerworld.com/article/3106863/microsoft-windows/cortana-the-spy-in-windows-10.html?nsdr=true
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Someone1234
> When it’s working as your virtual assistant it’s collecting your every
> keystroke and spoken syllable.

So is a Google Search.

Whenever you type into the Google Search Box it is "collecting your every
keystroke" or when you use voice search it is listening to your every "spoken
syllable."

You can word stuff that way to make anything sound like a keylogger. Heck even
Hacker News is "collecting my every keystroke!"

> But Cortana doesn’t stop there. With the recently released Windows 10
> Anniversary Update, hereafter Windows 10 SP1, you can’t shut Cortana off.

Misleading.

You can turn off all the web integration functionality of Cortana and turn it
into glorified Windows Search. What Microsoft removed was a specific slider
that never really did anything, all the other privacy controls (including
disabling web search entire) still exist either in the Privacy Settings panel
or in Cortana's own settings.

> Maybe you don’t mind Microsoft listening to your every word so it can catch
> when you say, “Hey, Cortana.” I do. Yes, I want the coolness factor of being
> able to talk to my computer. But I want the reassurance that it’s not
> listening when I don’t need it to be. I want a simple on/off switch. Windows
> 10 SP1 doesn’t have one. This is interesting, though: Windows 10 Education
> does.

This is just outright untrue. "Hey, Cortana" can be disabled in Cortana's
settings on all versions of Windows 10 with or without the anniversary update
installed.

~~~
spdustin
> Heck even Hacker News is "collecting my every keystroke!"

Not until you press _return_

> > But Cortana doesn’t stop there [...] you can't shut Cortana off.

> Misleading.

No, I don't think it is. You can tell her to "stop getting to know me", but
you can't turn her off, because her offline services are basically rebadged
offline desktop search. Cortana as the personification of search cannot be
disabled, and heretofore unspecified telemetry regarding your search behavior
is still sent to Microsoft. There is no way to disable or block this telemetry
without third party tools.

~~~
Xyik
> Not until you press return

Maybe true for HN, but not necessarily true for other sites like google search
/ FB search. It's common practice to send all keystrokes to the server to
speed up searches.

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kelvin0
Ah yes, I suddenly have bout of nostalgia from the IE Monopoly Era. I remember
when IE was claimed by MS as being intimately linked to Windows and if removed
would hinder core functionalities.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Microsoft_Cor...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Microsoft_Corp).

Specifically: "Microsoft stated that the merging of Microsoft Windows and
Internet Explorer was the result of innovation and competition, that the two
were now the same product and were inextricably linked together and that
consumers were now getting all the benefits of IE for free. Those who opposed
Microsoft's position countered that the browser was still a distinct and
separate product which did not need to be tied to the operating system"

I know this is not the same situation, Cortana is not part of a 'monopoly'
technology, however the fact that some features which users deem optional that
end up embedded in the OS is similar.

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hughw
I'm comfortable with the privacy-compromises I accept with my phone (iOS). I
put my computer in a different category. It's not a social or entertainment
device, although I do use it for that a lot. It's primarily where I work, and
where I store sensitive or bulky information I've never carried on a phone. I
need control over my computer. I can accept non-free compromises like macOS,
as long as they continue to maintain the social contract with users. If you
can't turn off key loggers and on your PC, that OS is unusable for me.

~~~
AnonymousPlanet
I feel the same way. Sadly, there is a growing crowd that will point at your
mobile device and say "<Android|iOS> does it, so stop complaining!".

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sahaskatta
I'm not so sure this article is entirely accurate. I have Windows 10
Anniversary Update on my Surface Pro 4 and the switch to turn "Hey Cortana"
off takes just 2-3 clicks.

Screenshot: [http://imgur.com/a/EI57H](http://imgur.com/a/EI57H)

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pjmlp
Looking forward to similar articles about Siri and Google Now.

~~~
vetinari
I don't know about Siri, but you can disable Google Now (actually, you have to
enable it, if you want it).

There seems to be news, that since Anniversary Edition you cannot disable
Cortana anymore.

Plus, I have to agree with hughw above, that there is a difference between
phone and computer, what kind of data you have loaded on each. Windows 10, as
it is currently, is simply unacceptable.

~~~
contextfree
The Cortana features analogous to Google Now are still opt-in after the update
(i.e., you have to enable them if you want them). However, web search through
the search box can no longer be disabled through a supported method AFAIK.

------
divbit
From the article:

> Shouldn’t the new and improved Windows 10 be immune from the bugs that
> affect Windows 7, 8 and 8.1?

I'm not sure code works like that...

~~~
Sylos
What you quoted was sarcasm...

Microsoft is claiming that Windows 10 would be so much more secure than
Windows 7/8, and he's saying that if Windows 10 would be much more secure,
then it shouldn't be suffering from largely the same bugs and vulnerabilities.
So, Microsoft's claims are quite obviously bullshit.

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benologist
It's hardly alone. When I started examining my home network DNS traffic I
quickly identified a bunch of software to remove or keep closed when I'm not
using.

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wtbob
Y'know, a lot of government organisations use Windows; I wonder how they feel
about having all their information going to Microsoft …

~~~
jdmichal
First, they're likely not on Windows 10 yet. Second, they all likely have
enterprise management, where telemetry features can be fully disabled.

------
contextfree
This update moved Cortana from an all-or-nothing permissions model, where you
have to grant a whole bunch of permissions before you can use any Cortana
features at all, to a more granular model where the permissions are broken up
into a handful of categories and you only have to enable the ones required for
the specific features you want to use. These permissions are off by default as
well (this includes microphone access and listening for "hey Cortana"), but
you'll be asked to grant the relevant permissions when you try to use a
feature that requires them.

However, it's also true that there's no longer a supported way to turn off web
searches in the search box (at least as far as I know).

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excalibur
Last fall's "November Update" was the first post-release change to Windows 10
that was dramatic enough to fit the description of a Service Pack. The
"Anniversary Update" should be looked at as Windows 10 SP2.

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Theodores
I don't believe that a simple registry setting or two necessarily disables
Cortana. It might just pretend to be deaf but still be listening.With closed
source software you never know.

~~~
Infinitesimus
I suppose the same argument will hold true for Siri, Google Now,
Desktop/Phone/Browser search?

~~~
marcosdumay
KDE search does not send data over the network. Neither does Windows 7 search,
as far as I know.

About Siri, and Google Now, people know not to let it access sensitive
information. Now, people must learn the same about Windows 10.

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Terr_
I always find it darkly amusing that Microsoft named their application after a
type of AI doomed to become a megalomaniac control-freak.

