We've mentioned several times that with Windows 10, Microsoft added new telemetry and data collection capabilities and that it doesn't provide an option to disable them. These services collect various information related to the software installed on your computer, or even personal data stored on your computer.
Microsoft claims that the data cannot be used to identify you, but no one really knows.
This change had a very negative impression on Windows 10 users.
But if you think that because you have an older operating system you are one of the lucky ones, you are probably wrong. Microsoft is sending updates to Windows 7 and 8 that add similar telemetry and data collection capabilities to older operating systems as well.
If Windows Update is enabled for automatic download and installation on your Windows 7 or Windows 8, you may have noticed that there are new updates available for your operating system. Yes?
Stay tuned. Updates will add telemetry and data collection services to your operating system, in addition to those already present which you can disable.
Microsoft's move brings a significant change for all users who considered versions of Windows before Windows 10 to be relatively secure.
Once these updates are installed, Windows 7 and Windows 8 will begin sending collected data using the HTTPS protocol from the following Microsoft servers:
vortex-win.data.microsoft.com settings-win.data.microsoft.com
Another thing that is very interesting is that the operating system completely ignores what the Hosts file says, so you cannot prevent sending to the IP addresses of the servers in the usual way.
What are the updates?
The following updates will install more in-depth telemetry on your system and start collecting data:
- KB3068708
- KB3022345
- KB3075249
- KB3080149
If you don't want to share your data with Microsoft, you shouldn't install these updates.
Due to these radical changes being made by Microsoft in recent months, I think it's not a bad idea at all to consider using an alternative operating system.
