A new chapter opens regarding Windows 10 and its “details” about privacy. The latest update to the terms of use for Microsoft Services only added fuel to the fire, and consequently, reactions from various groups have been registered, including private BitTorrent trackers. The case of iTS was the loudest, officially announcing that all Windows 10 users will be blocked, due to the “enormous” amount of information that the operating system shares.
I said it on the first day: Microsoft should find a way to defuse the privacy bomb before it explodes in its face. Needless to say, the bomb not only exploded, but we are still picking up the pieces. Configuration guides, dedicated applications to “neutralize” the sending of information, changes to the terms of use, and the possibility of disabling its own products if they are illegal created a real storm around Windows 10. The functionality problems that affected its predecessor have now turned into rejection of Microsoft manipulating our data and sharing it with someone else. Granted: The Redmond giant is not alone in that activity. Apple, Google, Facebook... none escapes the user's suspicions. The difference is that Windows 10 manages to amplify this with its enormous relevance, and the official silence adds fuel to the fire.
Who is now joining the rejection of Windows 10? None other than private BitTorrent trackers. Recently, the iTS tracker was one of the first to announce that it would block Windows 10 users, and would provide in return a YouTube link with a video that points out all the privacy problems in the new operating system. Even so, the main reason for the block is that Microsoft shares information with several anti-piracy groups, including MarkMonitor, which offers its services to Redmond, Mountain View, Cupertino, and others. iTS's message goes so far as to say that Windows 10 can transmit a list of the disk contents to MarkMonitor's servers.
Perhaps iTS’s vision is a bit out of control, but the truth is that other private trackers have imitated its actions, or are thinking of doing so, such as FSC. It’s estimated that iTS’s block is more symbolic than anything else due to its number of users (around 1,200 or so). So far there is no evidence, and I repeat, none, that Windows 10 does what this group suggests, and as an additional fact, Microsoft has been working with MarkMonitor for many years long before Windows 10 was in its developers’ minds. Anyway, the genie is out of the bottle, and no one can put it back in. To be continued.
