more context on that: https://hexbear.net/post/266293
My favorite thing about this debacle is that when I make fun of people for having fucking ads on their OS they'll usually go "noooo you just have to install this special ISO and do this 12-step procedure to trick Microsoft's licensing server and then use this shady tool from Gitlab which may and may not work and then hope it doesn't get patched out and and"
Linux and Windows nerds have effectively switched places
Also a very happy having...
- The software you execute, when, and for how long
- Samples of your writing and your voice
- Your location, including history of the same
- Your typing habits
... and much much more being sent by default to Microsoft servers (and also, as of Windows 11, on occasion directly to third parties !). This is even the case on enterprise editions of Windows (though in an actual well-administered company network most of those would be disabled through GPOs), too.
And sure, there are ways to opt out. But it doesn't disable all telemetry, and moreover there's no guarantee some windows update won't re-eenable all or part of it (it's certainly happened in the past).
At this point Windows is genuinely malware.
Yeah but it's worth is to be able to play the latest AAA games on release day
-T. Windows User
Even that isn't universally true anymore, too. With dxvk/proton it's like a 50% chance it'll run fine on day one (and that's for the AAA games with DRM; unity games and the like are more like 100%, also day one).
True. I've found the number of things I either can't do or that require a lot of fiddling to make work pretty low - totally worth dealing with to escape the Microsoft ecosystem.
preface, I am a huge linux nerd, but also an IT and security professional
never pirate a windows iso, they always come loaded with malicious bullshit
Always download the iso directly, crack it, and run the various cleaning programs and de bloaters
it sucks and it's annoying, but you really really want to avoid starting with a windows iso that isn't direct download off of m$'s website, or at least lookup the checksums and make sure the files match
never pirate a windows iso, they always come loaded with malicious bullshit
I've actually never heard of a pirated windows ISO with malware built-in, probably mostly because reputable uploaders just aren't that hard to find for a seasoned :programming-communism: like me.
Can you share more specifics on this?
I decided to go digging to see if I could find a proper source to back me up here. I swear torrentfreak had done an article about an investigation into a lot of the most seeded windows isos and finding keyloggers and rootkits. Unfortunately my search there is coming up empty.
However, you will find this advice on the /fwt/ thread on /g/, and as shit a place as 4chan is they do have a good piracy guide. If you download any windows iso that's pre-activated, there's no way to make sure it doesn't have a rootkit or similar in it because it now has a bad hash value. You can't guarantee it's clean. However, if you get a clean iso, even from a torrent, you know it's good as long as the hash is correct. And the thread links to a full archives of official hashes and a database of isos with good hashes you can compare them too.
Here's the fwt guides.
https://rentry.org/fwt https://rentry.org/ltsc
Personally, I genuinely believe some analysis lab or university is going to do a proper investigation of common windows iso torrents, and we're going to find a lot of compromised stuff. But it's really just not worth the risk. Pirated or not, always get a clean iso and verify the hash, then use debloat tools or an svf from m$
The row of identical but differently colored hats is so pleasing
me blocking all telemetry, refusing to go outside, never seeing an ad for the rest of my short existence :party-blob:
