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We receive our fair share of slashvertisements. Not daily, certainly, but when we get one we often get a handful. Most get a cursory read by the editors, are identified for what they are, and go straight into the bin. But not all.
Recently we have also covered the enforced Windows 10 upgrade currently being pushed by Microsoft. If there is anyone out there who has not seen such stories you really haven't been paying attention. The effort being expended by MS to make sure that you upgrade - whether intentionally or not - is matched only by that being expended by users trying to avoid the upgrade while still being able to use their licensed software. Even the Chinese are getting in on the act.
And today, both of these things, have come together.
Spybot Anti-Beacon: block and stop the various tracking (telemetry) issues present in Windows 7/8/8.1/10
https://www.safer-networking.org/spybot-anti-beacon/
"Spybot Anti-Beacon is a standalone tool which was designed to block and stop the various tracking (telemetry) issues present in Windows 10. It has since been modified to block similar tracking functionality in Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 operating systems.
Anti-Beacon is small, simple to use, and is provided free of charge. It was created to address the privacy concerns of users of Windows 10 who do not wish to have information about their PC usage sent to Microsoft. Simply clicking "Immunize" on the main screen of Anti-Beacon will immediately disable any known tracking features included by Microsoft in the operating system.
If any issues occur with your PC while using Anti-Beacon, undoing the changes made can be done by clicking the "Undo" button in the main window. This will re-enable all tracking services. If you experience any issues using Anti-Beacon or have any suggestions/recommendations, please be sure to let us know on the forum thread relating to this tool."
We are not making any claims as the the efficacy of this piece of software, nor are we supporting it or suggesting that you should download it. It might work perfectly or may be as bad as the problem that it claims to cure. We simply do not know. But if anyone has tried it we would welcome any comments that you wish to make. You will understand that the community is likely to be a little skeptical regarding comments submitted as Anonymous Coward - that is how we received the slashvertisement in the first instance.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by dltaylor on Sunday May 29 2016, @05:16AM
I used a spare drive to clone my laptop's Win 7 install (which defaults to an OpenBSD partition), patched it fully and let it "upgrade".
Spybot (S&D and Anti-Beacon), along with a couple of my other Windows lock-down tools (ZoneAlarm and MalwareBytes AntiMalware) are already installed, and re-installed, and fully updated.
I have port mirroring on the switch, so I can watch the traffic from another computer. What IP addresses, ports should I look for as Microsoft spyware? It can't be Microsoft globally, because Windows 10 IS going to check for updates, at least.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 29 2016, @06:38AM
What IP addresses, ports should I look for as Microsoft spyware? It can't be Microsoft globally, because Windows 10 IS going to check for updates, at least.
And here we have the winner. This is why such schemes will never work. Bit like DRM, if you lock up something but then have to also give the key to somebody to use it, it's not going to work. Funny how such realizations don't seem to stop people for going for such "solutions"...
(Score: 3, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Sunday May 29 2016, @06:46AM
This is one list I found - http://pastebin.com/xWGWGE2M [pastebin.com]
There are several lists circulating, but I'm unsure what all the addresses are, TBH. Anything with vortex, telemetry, or telecommand in the name is probably pretty bad, the others I just don't know. My own personal opinion is that my machine should never communicate with anyone or anything without my express permission and intent. Others may have different opinions.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by dltaylor on Sunday May 29 2016, @10:38AM
Thanks. It gives me a starting point.
I agree about the never without my permission, but Windows 10 update explicitly violates that tenet.
For those few times I only have a Windows tool, I'll keep Windows 7 around, but that laptop normally is running OpenBSD, or, for the odd multimedia job, AV Linux (I despise systemd, but that distro has packaged, and tested, a large collection of multimedia tools, some of which are not (yet, at least) in the OpenBSD "ports" tree).
(Score: 2) by zocalo on Sunday May 29 2016, @11:06AM
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 29 2016, @10:26PM
https://github.com/WindowsLies/BlockWindows/blob/master/hostslist [github.com]
Not sure how accurate it is. But I seem to have notice a slightly longer delay to boot after using it on my router.
I might have to actually measure it rather than just guess if it's the "phone home" timeout or not.