Forbes are reporting on a recent Microsoft Blog post, claiming a 775% increase in Cloud Services uptake from regions that are enforcing social distancing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition, there's been a 3x surge in Remote Desktop use and the Number of Teams users has more than doubled to 44 Million since November 2019.
How has your use of on-line meetings changed since the pandemic hit?
takyon: Apparently Microsoft's Claim of 775 Percent Surge in Cloud Services Wasn't Really Accurate
The company has now made a correction, saying that the 775 percent increase was experienced by Microsoft Teams, not all of the cloud offerings, which isn't as surprising since the video calling app generated over 900 million meeting and calling minutes daily in a one-week period alone.
As it turns out the figure also only came from Microsoft Teams' users in Italy, where millions of people were put under lockdown. The corrected statement now reads:
"We have seen a 775 percent increase in Teams' calling and meeting monthly users in a one month period in Italy, where social distancing or shelter in place orders have been enforced." - Microsoft
(Score: 4, Insightful) by stormreaver on Tuesday March 31 2020, @10:59AM (7 children)
Because Windows 10 is the most prolific spyware ever created. Windows 10's built-in keylogger sends every key you press to Microsoft eventually.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 31 2020, @02:44PM (6 children)
While I have no reason to doubt this, it would mean that they are collecting usernames and passwords of everyone. Any proof of this? Any at all?
(Score: 2) by KritonK on Tuesday March 31 2020, @03:17PM
While they could be collecting user names and passwords (there's no way to know), all they need, in order to know that Remote Desktop usage has increased by 775%, is that for every 4 initiated Remote Desktop connections per day before the COVID-19 pandemic, there are now 35.
One could argue that this is anonymous information, but it is not so anonymous. If I suddenly started using Remote Desktop, they know that I'm probably working from home for some company. Coupled with the IP address of the remote desktop server, to which I connected, they can also know which company I'm working for, not to mention that I still have a job, and therefore still have an income to spend on advertised products.
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Tuesday March 31 2020, @06:47PM
No, it doesn't mean they need usernames and passwords. It means that when the system logs a remote services protocol event it echoes that event back to MS. Are you saying you need proof that MS collects system data as part of their QI program?
This sig for rent.
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Tuesday March 31 2020, @06:49PM (3 children)
Correction, AC, I see you were responding to the parent.
No, I don't think there is a straight up keylogger. But certainly anything you push through Cortana's oh-so-helpful typing feature makes its way back there. And yes, they do relay the kinds of info they need to make this kind of call I'm sure.
Welcome to 1984.
This sig for rent.
(Score: 2) by canopic jug on Wednesday April 01 2020, @04:13AM (2 children)
A common mistake good people make when dealing with M$ and its employees is that they project their values onto them rather than seeing them for what they are. When dealing with M$, naivety can have harmful consequences:
A key logger is there and M$ Vista 10 has the keylogger enabled by default [privateinternetaccess.com]:
It's an approach they take across the board. Recall their acqusition of Skype? The first thing they did after generally breaking it was to retool it and take it from a peer-to-peer infrastructure to a centralized one. The centralization forces all conversations through a handful of servers in Redmond.
Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 01 2020, @04:43AM (1 child)
> Many Windows 10 users are unknowingly sending the contents of every keystroke they make to Microsoft due to an enabled-by-default keylogger.
AND THIS SHIT IS *LEGAL!* Un. fucking. believable.
(Score: 2) by canopic jug on Wednesday April 01 2020, @06:03AM
I'm not so sure it actually is legal. However, getting any laws enforced against M$ or, especially, a major politician and cult leader like Bill himself is difficult in the best of times. Now with the kakistocracy running at full steam, it will be all but impossible.
Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.