These Are the Websites Your Clean-Install Windows PC Connects to by Itself

[BSmith]

Wow, who would have thought that an OS built for a modern user who consumes media, data, news, and other things would connect to things? I mean, how else is it going to get this data if it didn't connect to places on the Internet? How else is it supposed to get your weather, news, tweets, Facebook content, etc.?

Really people? Are you that dense! I can guaran-fuckin-te you that your every day Android device makes a hell of a lot more connections to a hell of a lot more places on the Internet yet... oh, but it's Google, they're fine. Microsoft? Gots to go grab our pitchforks and torches.

While I do not use Windows 10, I have to say,...I do not want my operating system arbitrarily connecting to anything. I do not care for the resource abuse. If I want something, I'll connect to it. An operating system should not be doing that for me.

Oh, and I do not own a smart phone either.

People like you, are the reason those corporations can get away with doing whatever they want.

Just because a hundred people, mindlessly, jump off a cliff does not mean I will. So, if you do not mind, you can go ahead of me. I hear the fall is fun, but the landing is a bitch.

 

[Izord]

I'm confused, why does it have to hurt me for me not to want it on my OS install?

I use my computer as a tool for work and play now. I used to worry about how it did that. I'd root and swap kernels and compile. Used arcane burning tools to even make a disk to install NT5/win2k back in 99. Got over that.

Now I want my computer to work and run the software I want it to. And connect to the peripherals I want. I don't want to think about how it does it, or maintain lists of what to and not to update. .

If it does that, and doesn't hurt me in the real world, and that makes me the 'perfect user for MS/Apple/Google etc', then hey, I guess I am.

I don't want to live in fear or give a sh!t about what Microsoft does. I am interested if it can hurt me, and that's why I asked if anyone has ever suffered detrimental effects from the telemetry. I handle some sensitive data in my profession, and my worldwide colleagues are quite sensitive to litigation. I haven't heard any warnings from them regarding this issue, so unless I hear some actual reports other than 'feelings/privacy', (or some Dutch or Brazilian attempt to extort Million$ from Microsoft) I'll assume my computer use habits are just fine, as they have been since DOS.

 

[ManofGod]

I think it’s crazy that it connects to facebook, twitter, and candy crush saga right out of the gate? Why? For what possible purpose? The only thing it does is make everyone question the legitimacy of it all.

It does not connect to Twitter or Facebook unless you have them installed. Candy Crush, yeah, that is kinda dumb but, it only installs the placeholder and not the game itself.

 

[ManofGod]

Twitter and Facebook apps are pre-installed, apparently. In the notes on how to bypass, it says to uninstall the app. Great...now "clean" installs of Windows come pre-loaded with Candy Crush, Facebook and Twitter. How much longer before your "clean" install looks like a Samsung phone from Verizon?

Twitter and Facebook apps are not preinstalled on Windows 10. However, they are preinstalled in a great many smart phones. (Thankfully, that is why I use an Essential Phone instead.)

 

[jnemesh]

Twitter and Facebook apps are not preinstalled on Windows 10. However, they are preinstalled in a great many smart phones. (Thankfully, that is why I use an Essential Phone instead.)

Did you read the page at the link? It sure looks like they are installing Twitter and Facebook on a "clean" install!

 

[ManofGod]

I checked on my computer I am on right now, they are not there. Nor are they on my laptop and I had to install them on my home computer just to be able to use them.

 

[SomeoneElse]

Did you read the page at the link? It sure looks like they are installing Twitter and Facebook on a "clean" install!

You still have the option to uninstall the app and remove the dial-back feature from windows. Its not like you don't have the option to do so. I do it everytime they send me an update yes its annoying but I also have enough control to remove it. I also don't connect it to my accounts.

 

[Galvin]

I feel like linux is the only true no bs OS out there now. But I don't think you can run windows games on linux without a performance hit.

 

[SvenBent]

Do one for 7 Do one for 7...

 

[heatlesssun]

Native is only so relevant. Native is preferable, but there's lots of ways to get games released for Windows as playable on Linux. And I'm working on YouTube content to show how that's actually achievable in an easy way (better than LTT/Wendell)

For example, Farcry 5 is playable on Linux, so is Overwatch (I'm at SR 2040), and so much more.

Watch the skies, if you want to know more, check the link in the post you just quoted

The gap is irrelevant.

There are 19k game titles on Steam that don't have native Linux clients so the gap is extremely relevant to a typical gamer that's going wonder why go through hoops to make something work they may not work or not deliver the same performance.

 

[Mugato]

good to see this list, what surprises me though is how much data these site download upload through the packet capture. it is a whole lot more than just a few strings of text.

maybe when i give a care again i might try and cap the data stream, and narrow down which of these services is the culprit for the bloat. my suspects are candy crush and the weather app.

still think its BS that microsoft and its fans find this totally acceptable for a device they paid for out of their own pocket, not subsidized leased or gifted. but something they out right own and feel totally fine with letting microsoft use it as they please.

just boggles my mind.

You don’t “own” Windows, you are “leasing” it from Microsoft per the terms, look up Chattle laws.

 

[Chebsy]

None of the connections listed on the site are unexpected and I don't think they are too intrusive.

 

[heatlesssun]

I feel like linux is the only true no bs OS out there now. But I don't think you can run windows games on linux without a performance hit.

BloodyIron mentioned Farcry 5 running under Linux so checking out YT I found this: . I get that the recording slowed things down but that performance at 1080p for a 1080 Ti looks pathetic. A 1080 Ti at 1080p maxed in this game should be getting well over 100 FPS.

 

[BloodyIron]

No one gamer will ever play every single game on there. Not only that, the amount of work it takes for many of the games to get going on Linux is very low, which I am working on demonstrating front to back.

This typical argument throws the issue way out of perspective. And honestly doesn't actually matter.

Do you even _OWN_ all of those games? Does anyone? No.

Do people actually _WANT_ or _NEED_ that many games? No.

Even still, there's actually games that you can get running better on Linux than Windows, new and old, namely old games. There's a LOT of old games that were written for earlier versions of Windows, that run better on Linux now, than on newer versions of Windows. And MS is not interested in fixing that.

There are 19k game titles on Steam that don't have native Linux clients so the gap is extremely relevant to a typical gamer that's going wonder why go through hoops to make something work they may not work or not deliver the same performance.

 

[Meeho]

I guess all the people who don't install Win10 over this, has no software installed which would communicate over the internet. /s

None that I don't explicitly and easily allow.

 

[heatlesssun]

No one gamer will ever play every single game on there. Not only that, the amount of work it takes for many of the games to get going on Linux is very low, which I am working on demonstrating front to back.

This typical argument throws the issue way out of perspective. And honestly doesn't actually matter.

Do you even _OWN_ all of those games? Does anyone? No.

Do people actually _WANT_ or _NEED_ that many games? No.

Even still, there's actually games that you can get running better on Linux than Windows, new and old, namely old games. There's a LOT of old games that were written for earlier versions of Windows, that run better on Linux now, than on newer versions of Windows. And MS is not interested in fixing that.

It's not what any one gamer plays but what 150 million are playing. Sure there are exceptions, there might be a handful of games here and there they might run better under Linux. Like the Far Cry 5 Linux video I linked, that's the kind of experience that's more likely to happen where a $700 GPU is reduced to junk.

There are reasons to use Linux, I get people not like the "spying" in Windows 10. I definitely don't like expensive gaming hardware being turned into garbage. Linux gaming lacks far too many native titles and attempting to get Windows native titles to run is layer of complexity that's hit or miss.

 

[Meeho]

Could care less. If you paranoid folks in here care so much about this being a problem then maybe just stay off the internet and stop using your Smartphones.

Or we continue to use them on our own terms. I don't have to step on each dog shit just because I decided to use the public streets.

 

[dgz]

Most likely less sites than stuff is grabbed from at the site the article is on.

Not really. NoScript reports 35 blockable items on that site. [H] has 25.

 

[Meeho]

Wow, who would have thought that an OS built for a modern user who consumes media, data, news, and other things would connect to things? I mean, how else is it going to get this data if it didn't connect to places on the Internet? How else is it supposed to get your weather, news, tweets, Facebook content, etc.?

Really people? Are you that dense! I can guaran-fuckin-te you that your every day Android device makes a hell of a lot more connections to a hell of a lot more places on the Internet yet... oh, but it's Google, they're fine. Microsoft? Gots to go grab our pitchforks and torches.

I also don't know why people complain their OS is not under their control. They are fine with their toilets flushing their poo when they press the button.

There, I think I matched your brilliant comparison.

 

[Meeho]

I use my computer as a tool for work and play now. I used to worry about how it did that. I'd root and swap kernels and compile. Used arcane burning tools to even make a disk to install NT5/win2k back in 99. Got over that.

Now I want my computer to work and run the software I want it to. And connect to the peripherals I want. I don't want to think about how it does it, or maintain lists of what to and not to update. .

If it does that, and doesn't hurt me in the real world, and that makes me the 'perfect user for MS/Apple/Google etc', then hey, I guess I am.

I don't want to live in fear or give a sh!t about what Microsoft does. I am interested if it can hurt me, and that's why I asked if anyone has ever suffered detrimental effects from the telemetry. I handle some sensitive data in my profession, and my worldwide colleagues are quite sensitive to litigation. I haven't heard any warnings from them regarding this issue, so unless I hear some actual reports other than 'feelings/privacy', (or some Dutch or Brazilian attempt to extort Million$ from Microsoft) I'll assume my computer use habits are just fine, as they have been since DOS.

Install cameras in your home, in all the rooms, and broadcast the feed to all governments and corporations. It's not the same thing, but it won't hurt you and that is the only criteria, so I don't see any reason why you should mind.

 

[Meeho]

It's not what any one gamer plays but what 150 million are playing. Sure there are exceptions, there might be a handful of games here and there they might run better under Linux. Like the Far Cry 5 Linux video I linked, that's the kind of experience that's more likely to happen where a $700 GPU is reduced to junk.

There are reasons to use Linux, I get people not like the "spying" in Windows 10. I definitely don't like expensive gaming hardware being turned into garbage. Linux gaming lacks far too many native titles and attempting to get Windows native titles to run is layer of complexity that's hit or miss.

Thank you for confirming that Windows 10 is a pile of crap, but needed in order to use certain games and programs. I would be so proud to have to say to my customers "hey, my product is utter shit, but you need it to use other people's products you actually want".

 

[doublejack]

A great method to block "features" like these is through DNS. If you've got a pi-hole you can do it there. If you are running a domain at home, just create a local domain for sites you want blocked. No facebook users? Create a facebook.com domain and your AD integrated DNS will take care of the rest.

This is what I do to blacklist sites from users. The same principle works for bloatware trying to phone home.

 

[BloodyIron]

Your skepticism is neither surprising, nor unique.

It doesn't matter to me that there will be people who either don't believe, or don't want to believe, or whatever. That will ultimately be your/their choice, not mine.

While there are some games that don't run well on Linux, not-native ones, there are far more than you give credit that run from either very well, to on parity with Windows performance, to at times even better than Windows (like The Sims 4).

And then there's the games that run natively, that typically run as well or better than Windows.

Farcry 5 just came out a few months ago, and the fact you can play it on Linux is nothing short of a technological wonder.

Yes, there are things to be fixed around that, and they are being fixed faster on Linux than things get fixed on Windows.

The reasons to use Linux aren't just about privacy. Consider the following:

1. Linux Package Managers enable you to update _everything_ in your computer, which is a lot more than just Windows Update. This includes OBS, your browsers, Skype, STEAM, and so much more.
2. Linux Package Managers update software on your computer _orders of magnitude faster than Windows Update_.
3. Linux Package Managers let you choose _when_ to update. Windows 10 barely lets you do that, and on Windows 10 you can't cancel it once you start it. Linux, you can.
4. Linux gives you more control to customize your computer, how it looks, how it works, in ways that Windows can't even come close to.
5. Linux costs $0.
6. Linux is more secure than Windows, by default, without even Anti-Virus software.
7. Linux starts up, shuts down, and does other tasks faster than Windows, on identical hardware.

And that's just scratching the surface.

But you do what you're gonna do man. If you want to keep not believing how good it is, okay.

But if you're the slightest bit curious why I _CHOOSE_ Linux Gaming over Windows, come check out my YouTube videos when they're ready. Maybe you'll find something you like

It's not what any one gamer plays but what 150 million are playing. Sure there are exceptions, there might be a handful of games here and there they might run better under Linux. Like the Far Cry 5 Linux video I linked, that's the kind of experience that's more likely to happen where a $700 GPU is reduced to junk.

There are reasons to use Linux, I get people not like the "spying" in Windows 10. I definitely don't like expensive gaming hardware being turned into garbage. Linux gaming lacks far too many native titles and attempting to get Windows native titles to run is layer of complexity that's hit or miss.

 

[Meeho]

A great method to block "features" like these is through DNS. If you've got a pi-hole you can do it there. If you are running a domain at home, just create a local domain for sites you want blocked. No facebook users? Create a facebook.com domain and your AD integrated DNS will take care of the rest.

This is what I do to blacklist sites from users. The same principle works for bloatware trying to phone home.

Unless they use IPs

 

[doublejack]

Unless they use IPs

True, but that is very unlikely for several reasons. These servers have to handle a lot of traffic. That means there is more than one of each, and they are typically located in different geographic regions so they respond more quickly. The only way to do that is DNS, and each client's DNS request resolves to the closest one. Pinging "google.com" from New York is going to resolve to a different IP than pinging it from Los Angeles.

 

[DocNo]

If I disable Microsoft Store, I won't be able to update Windows?

Disabling the Windows store entirely is a really bad idea™ - many of the Windows Settings and system utilities are Windows Store apps (and more move from the tradition control panel and stand alone apps to the Windows store with each feature release) and won't load or update if the Windows store is entirely disabled. Just eject the apps you don't want off your system, but I wouldn't disable or block the store itself.

 

[DocNo]

The only way to do that is DNS, and each client's DNS request resolves to the closest one.

Not true - you can do it at the IP level, below DNS, with Anycast. It's how the big root DNS servers work in fact. Google's 8.8.8.8 DNS server isn't a single server

 

[DocNo]

I just want to know - how many people that are bothered by MS telemetry use either Chrome, gMail, facebook, or other social media sites?

 

[doublejack]

Not true - you can do it at the IP level, below DNS, with Anycast. It's how the big root DNS servers work in fact. Google's 8.8.8.8 DNS server isn't a single server

Ah, ok. That's an excellent point. Something like that is required for DNS lookup servers because all there is to work with is an IP address.

Still, if we are worried about IP addresses then the fix is trivial. Just block them at a firewall. Even windows firewall will do.

 

[KILLER_K]

I use this little app to give my mind a little bit of relief.

Spybot Anti-beacon

Every little bit helps on the matter.

 

[heatlesssun]

Farcry 5 just came out a few months ago, and the fact you can play it on Linux is nothing short of a technological wonder.

If this game were getting the kind of performance as shown in that YouTube video under Windows at 1080p with a 1080 Ti it would have been universally condemned in PC gaming circles as a shitty console port. No one here is denying that desktop Linux has its strengths but gaming isn't one of them.

 

[Delicieuxz]

Link to report of anyone anywhere EVER suffering detrimental effects at the hands of Microsoft's nefarious 'OMG it's spying on me' telemetry?

Thanks!

It's been three years now (Windows 10), and I'm probably just clueless, but I've never had a problem or heard of an actual problem. Been on NT since pre-release Windows 2000 and have always kept up to date and patched on a number of machines.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_(surveillance_program)

Microsoft voluntarily offered Windows owners' personal data to the NSA and CIA for that program, and allowed those agencies unfettered access to read everything from people's Skype conversations, MS Word documents, etc. Do you really think Microsoft isn't currently streaming all the data it collects on you and everybody, which is compiled into virtual profiles of each person, to the NSA and CIA? I assure you, all the virtual profiles of you from Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Twitter, and other source are going to US intel agencies to create a comprehensive mega-profile of each person.


Also, you paid for your electricity, your PC hardware, your software, your housing that hosts your PC, and your time and activity are valuable (hence why Microsoft is exploiting it). What Microsoft is doing is unilaterally commercializing all of those things that belong solely to you - without a license to, at no benefit to you, and at your expense. Microsoft is using your PC as a note in a data-generating farm, with you footing the bill for the expenses and not reimbursing you for anything.

What Microsoft is doing is a punishable crime, called unjust enrichment.

If you're OK with that, then let me install and run a crypto-currency miner on your PC with the payouts going to a personal wallet of mine.



California has just passed law mandating software and tech companies to provide options to deny any and all data collection and commercialization (the law doesn't take effect until January 2020). Hopefully all states and countries will come to pass the same law. But for now, the best way to safeguard your personal and private data property from thieves like Microsoft while using Windows 10 is to get a license of Windows 10 Enterprise or LTSB, and then set the data-harvesting level to "Security only".

 

[AK0tA]

OK I just want to know why the stock I own in the company who makes Candy Crush is not off the chart, ok so it's up almost 1000% since I bought it but it should be up like 5000%. Also I still own a Windows phone so it really doesnt have enough working features to bother turning any off..lol almost like being off the grid

 

[cdr_74_premium]

I just want to know - how many people that are bothered by MS telemetry use either Chrome, gMail, facebook, or other social media sites?

Don't use any of those anymore, but even then I would log into those services *after* my PC is on and running, so I still have to "go there".

OS-level telemetry is another thing entirely. Turn your machine on, and it's on.

 

[heatlesssun]

Microsoft voluntarily offered Windows owners' personal data to the NSA and CIA for that program, and allowed those agencies to read everything from people Skype conversations, MS Word documents, etc.

No mention of Windows in the Wiki you linked. You don't have to use Windows to use Hotmail, Skype, OneDrive or Word.

 

[heatlesssun]

What Microsoft is doing is unilaterally commercializing all of those things that belong solely to you - at no benefit to you, and at your expense.

Getting notifications from an app, missed calls and text messages from a phone, etc. is unilateral commercialization with no benefit to the user? Like everything that a device connects to in a world of connected devices that people buy to be connected has nothing to offer the user?

There's a lot of nonsense in these discussions. If you want a disconnected PC from 1980 I get it. That's not what most people are looking for these days for better or worse.

 

[BloodyIron]

"Gaming isn't one of them". You're basing this statement on ONE game that was NOT written for Linux, but is running on it. And yet there are literally thousands of other games, native and otherwise, that run way better. I recommend you go look at how Overwatch, The Sims 4, and so many others run on Linux.

I could create a massive list of games for you to look up on youtube, but I'm not sure if you'll actually check them out, and I'd rather just make those videos myself and actually prove that gaming on Linux is actually awesome, despite cherry picked examples of very specific games not running well.

If this game were getting the kind of performance as shown in that YouTube video under Windows at 1080p with a 1080 Ti it would have been universally condemned in PC gaming circles as a shitty console port. No one here is denying that desktop Linux has its strengths but gaming isn't one of them.

 

[Delicieuxz]

If people would like to

No mention of Windows in the Wiki you linked. You don't have to use Windows to use Hotmail, Skype, OneDrive or Word.

Which doesn't change a thing and is a red herring argument. Microsoft partnered with PRISM and volunteered its customers' personal data to the NSA, CIA, and FBI, even giving those agencies direct access to Microsoft programs like Skype and Word. Companies are eagerly giving personal data to US agencies wherever that data comes from - and a huge amount of it is now coming from Windows 10.

Getting notifications from an app, missed calls and text messages from a phone, etc. is unilateral commercialization with no benefit to the user? Like everything that a device connects to in a world of connected devices that people buy to be connected has nothing to offer the user?

There's a lot of nonsense in these discussions. If you want a disconnected PC from 1980 I get it. That's not what most people are looking for these days for better or worse.

Speaking of nonsense, your response features a straw man argument and, reductio ad absurdum.

Constantly harvesting mounds of data not relevant to the Windows owner's experience and then selling that data for Microsoft's sole profit is indeed unilateral commercialization with no benefit to the user.

 

[DPI]

Getting notifications from an app, missed calls and text messages from a phone, etc. is unilateral commercialization with no benefit to the user? Like everything that a device connects to in a world of connected devices that people buy to be connected has nothing to offer the user?

There's a lot of nonsense in these discussions. If you want a disconnected PC from 1980 I get it. That's not what most people are looking for these days for better or worse.

So.. "If Windows 10 is so bad, just go back to DOS". That's the best you have?

The only nonsense in these discussions is the false dilemmas being resorted. Obviously nobody has to go as far back as "a PC from 1980" to avoid the data collection and bloatware that turns people off in 10. Windows 7, or 8.1 with ClassicShell will fit the bill just fine and do everything 10 can do without all the cringe inducing stuff, since Windows 10 is mostly just a superset of what Paul Thurrott terms "nonsense features" on top of 8.1 anyway.

As for app notifications, most people turn it off or don't care because its spammy, has a lot of erroneous duplicates, or they don't use the store apps to begin with since theyre so feature bare on a PC. MS also abuses the notifications system as an advertising channel. People can complain Whatabout'ism all they want over Android and Apple, but neither do OS level advertising, or app level in-line advertising the way MS does in 10, period.

 

[heatlesssun]

Which doesn't change a thing and is a red herring argument.

Not sure how it's a red herring to point out that the services mentioned in that Wiki are cross platform.

Constantly harvesting mounds of data not relevant to the Windows owner's experience and then selling that data for Microsoft's sole profit is indeed unilateral commercialization with no benefit to the user.

Again, how are notifications, calendar reminders that show up on multiple devices, the ability to share a Word doc from a PC to a phone, of no benefit to every single Windows user and is simply a way to harvest data to sell. In that case, no one would ever get benefit from smartphone.