Lauren's Blog: Windows 10's New Feature Steals Your Internet Bandwidth
http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/001116.html
A couple of days ago I discussed a number of privacy and other concerns
with Microsoft's new Windows 10, made available as a free upgrade for
many existing MS users:
Windows 10: A Potential Privacy Mess, and Worse:
http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/001115.html
The situation has only been getting worse since then. For example, it's
been noted that the Win10 setup sequence is rigged to try fool users
into switching to an MS browser, irrespective of their browser settings
before they started the upgrade:
Mozilla isn't happy with Microsoft for changing how users change the
default web browser in Windows 10:
http://microsoft-news.com/mozilla-isnt-happy-with-microsoft-for-changing-how-users-change-the-default-web-browser-in-windows-10/
Pretty bad. But we have even lower to go, as we've seen that by default,
Windows 10 actually steals bandwidth from your ISP connection so that
Microsoft can use your computer, and your connection, to send MS updates
to their other customers.
Huh? Say what?
Yep. It's a devious little feature called Windows Update Delivery
Optimization. It's enabled by default. For Enterprise and Education
users, it operates over the local LAN. For ordinary Home type users,
Microsoft can send their data update goodies to potentially any PC on
the global Internet -- from your PC, over your Internet connection. On
your dime.
We could get into the pros and cons of local updates being staged
between local machines on a LAN as opposed to the outside Internet.
But as soon as MS decided that it's A-OK for them to use my Internet
connection to cut down on their bandwidth costs serving their other
customers -- without asking me for my specific permission first -- the
situation blows into the red zone immediately.
Microsoft makes the predictable excuses about this high-tech thievery.
There's a way you can turn it off. Yeah, buried down deep in the
settings, assuming you even know about it in the first place. MS claims
they only use your connection when it's "idle" by their definitions.
Thanks a bunch.
Oh yes, and (how generous of them!) Microsoft notes that they won't
steal bandwidth this way from "metered" connections.
But here's the catch -- you have to manually indicate that a connection
shouldn't be used for MS' update delivery scheme. Otherwise, Microsoft
has no way to know if (for example) you're paying by the gigabyte or
have a low bandwidth cap.
Above all, the sheer arrogance of Microsoft to enable this bandwidth
theft by default is stunning.
I don't care if they want to move 1K or 1gig to their other happy users,
I want to damn well be asked permission first!
Obviously, this general category of peer-to-peer data transfer is used
on the Net in other contexts, such as torrents for example -- but that's
something you do voluntarily, of your own volition. Comcast uses the
bandwidth of many Comcast users to turn modems in people's homes into
public Wi-Fi access points. This has been highly controversial, but at
least Comcast is typically doing it over modems they supplied, and has
claimed that they over-provision the connection speeds to take this into
account -- and don't apply that public usage against home users'
bandwidth caps.
But Microsoft didn't even bother with such rationalizations. They simply
said in essence: "Hey, you've got bandwidth, so we're gonna use it
however we please unless you tell us differently. Suckers!"
If you're running Windows 10, you may want to terminate this travesty.
The settings you need are buried down in:
START->Settings->Update & Security->Windows Update->Advanced options,
under: Choose how updates are delivered.
It's worth noting at this point that if Google had tried a stupid stunt
like this, there would likely already be EU commissioners running
through the streets of Brussels hoisting pitchforks and flaming torches,
all yelling for Google's blood.
For a while there, it was starting to look like there indeed was a new
kind of Microsoft coming into view, one that had evolved beyond the
hubris that had so long been Microsoft's single most defining
characteristic.
As we can see, any such hopes are now ... Gone with the Win10.
-- Lauren --
I have consulted to Google, but I am not currently doing so.
All opinions expressed here are mine alone.
- - -
Lauren Weinstein ([email protected]): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Founder:
- Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
- PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://google.com/+LaurenWeinstein
Twitter: http://twitter.com/laurenweinstein
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
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