Microsoft admits Windows 11 has a GDID tracker with no off switch, first documented publicly in an FBI hacker complaint
https://www.windowslatest.com/2026/07/10/you-cant-fully-disable-microsofts-gdid-windows-11-tracker-but-these-settings-limit-what-it-captures/
914 points · 223 comments · view on lemmy.world
223 Comments
Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world · 170 pts · 42d
There's a very easy trick to defeat this: use Linux.
bloogoose@lemmy.zip · 102 pts · 42d
Dindonmasker@sh.itjust.works · 25 pts · 42d
I talked with the women i'm working with where we print our price lists about changing from adobe to something else and she told me it would be a bad idea since it would make both of our work much more buggy and time consuming with more chances of the end result being worse. So i'll keep using indesing and the adobe suite for now but i did switch from sketchup to blender for 3D modeling and it's a bit challenging and more messy then i'm used to but i get better rendering results from what i tried so far.
Ghoelian@piefed.social · 2 pts · 40d
As long as you can export to the same format, it shouldn't matter from the print shop's perspective, no? They just see the same file they would've always seen.
Dindonmasker@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 38d
The way we work together is by exchanging full fresh indesing pakages that contain the main indd, the idml, a pdf, the links folder and the fonts folder so that we always have everything we need.
Ghoelian@piefed.social · 2 pts · 38d
Sorry if this is a dumb question, I don't know anything about graphics design, just about the technology behind it.
Why do you send all these things as separate files? Is just a rasterised or vector export of the project not enough?
Sounds like the design world really needs a standardised container format that can contain all these separate things otherwise.
M137@lemmy.today · 14 pts · 41d
So many issues with the world boils down to that last part, people refusing to change and learn. I never understood it, I've always loved change and learning. I've seen so many people go from having that same openness to only caring about keeping everything the same and never learning, it's really disturbing. Some are like that from a very early age, others fall into it at any other part of their lives and it's never a good thing IMO.
agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 41d
For me, I've got a million interests. I could change and learn this one thing, but that would take time away from learning about other, more personally interesting things.
sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 4 pts · 41d
Even worse!
Admitting that I was not always doing the most sensible thing, at all times! That I was actually doing really stupid things, for a long time!
I ... I can't make mistakes... no ... reality is wrong!
bloogoose@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 41d
sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 41d
Yes, I'm trying to be hyperbolically facetious, to illustrate that.
wioum@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 41d
At some point you just have to leave the software behind. That time is now!
mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 18 pts · 42d
If your system uses systemd, it has an etc/machine-id, which is used for a lot of different things. And changing it will break a lot of stuff, probably until you reboot. I guess you could write something to randomly shuffle it every time you reboot? But it is the go-to way for lots of programs (including browsers) to identify themselves. Which means (unless you have done the work to scramble your machine ID) you can be tracked on Linux as well.
treadful@lemmy.zip · 56 pts · 42d
The difference is that Linux isn't sending telemetry to some central entity associating that ID to an IP.
This article is super vague about this as well. How does Microsoft not only have the GDID->IP link, but they have Web history as well? Are they just exposing all this through advertising telemetry?
Fucking gross. And if you know of anything on Linux exposing/transmitting the machine-id, please do let everyone know because nothing should. Anything that does should be considered malware.
hirihit640@sh.itjust.works · 19 pts · 42d
It's not just Windows tracking your web browsing history. GPU drivers do it too. Source: https://www.neowin.net/news/intel-windows-driver-to-now-collect-user-telemetry-data-like-website-categories-by-default/
treadful@lemmy.zip · 31 pts · 42d
..on Windows. if you explicitly install their malware and agree to data sharing.
hirihit640@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 40d
I should have clarified, but yes it's the windows GPU drivers. Though even on Linux, it's hard to know what the proprietary GPU drivers do, but from what I read they don't collect telemetry by default. Luckily Nvidia is developing official open source drivers now so we won't have to worry about these things.
Also note that for the Windows Nvidia drivers, it's fairly annoying to disable all telemetry. It's not just an option in the installer. You have to use unofficial third party tools.
inari@piefed.zip · 20 pts · 42d
That's wild. Shit like this makes me distrust proprietary drivers
can@sh.itjust.works · 21 pts · 41d
I distrust proprietary anything at this point
hexagonwin@lemmy.today · 6 pts · 41d
i think i remember hearing the dbus machine-id being read by google chrome on linux. it could be used for privacy violation with proprietary software, though i personally consider linux machines with chrome or equivalent software installed compromised.
Trainguyrom@reddthat.com · 3 pts · 41d
My interpretation was that they had an IP that they suspected was the perp's home network, and subpoena'd some major platforms to confirm beyond a shadow of a doubt. Given the perp's sloppiness in using the same machine for both personal and illicit computing activities, they could even have some network traffic in the capture to indicate which platforms they should subpoena
Or if we want to be more conspiracy-minded, maybe they installed a trojan on his computer and this is the parallel evidence trail that law enforcement created so they don't have to admit to hacking the hackers
Ghoelian@piefed.social · 1 pts · 40d
Or he used Edge, so Microsoft just has all his browsing data.
whatiswrongwithyou@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 40d
Another user said they think machine-id is readable by the browser. This is absolutely true, machine-id is working as described when it is read by any web browser.
So Linux isn’t sending your unique id to a central entity that can associate it with your ip, it’s sending your unique id to any entity you browse to that can then associate it with your ip.
treadful@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 40d
It's intended to be read by applications on the system. That's like its whole purpose. If you know of any browsers sending it or otherwise making it available without hashing it with an application key first, that would be a problem.
whatiswrongwithyou@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 40d
Yes as I said it’s working as intended. The point of machine id is to id a machine.
A better solution would be to not rely on the various programs to hash the unique id and instead have the host read it, hash it and provide the hash to the program that asked.
treadful@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 40d
Your claim was that Linux was "sending your unique id to any entity you browse" which is misleading at best.
machine-idshould never be transmitted and if it is, that software should be considered spyware.That doesn't solve anything, really. There's plenty of ways to fingerprint a machine that doesn't involve the
machine-id.whatiswrongwithyou@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 40d
Machine-id is read as plaintext by programs and transmitted as plaintext by programs.
Hashing the unique id from the host side as opposed to trusting programs to read it and act in a way the user understands and deems appropriate is a much better method of handling calls to identify the equipment than just letting programs read your standardized unique id.
And the above would literally solve something, it would keep programs from just walking directly across the mat tee posing to get a unique id and force them to do some kind of jetpack backflip routine that, when presented to a court, is much more tenuous.
Ghoelian@piefed.social · 1 pts · 40d
If you're really worried about that, just change it every time you boot or something. There's a kernel parameter to change it.
whatiswrongwithyou@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 40d
There is not a parameter to automatically change it every time the system boots, that solution doesn’t work for machines that don’t reboot often and it breaks stuff in systemd as volunteered by many people talking about it online and as verified by me two weeks ago when I tried that.
Ghoelian@piefed.social · 1 pts · 40d
I never said there was. There is however a kernel parameter to change the machine id, which I did say.
whatiswrongwithyou@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 40d
What you said was that if a person was actually worried about it there is a kernel parameter to change it.
My reply was not intended to refute what you said but instead to illustrate how that approach doesn’t solve the problem of tracking and is not a workable solution for many systems and users.
I made that reply to help you and any reader understand the depth and breadth of the problem, not to start a fight.
DevDave@piefed.social · 20 pts · 42d
also there's the TPM chip.
Septimaeus@infosec.pub · 18 pts · 42d
Upvoting both comments for awareness, since Linux is the first of a multi-step process, not a privacy panacea.
But we must be clear that in both theory and practice there’s little comparison between systemd and modern Windows machine-user association.
Someone using Windows regularly has a gaping wound, is actively bleeding out. Switching to Linux is just a tourniquet, but every other treatment is at best no-effect until that tourniquet is applied.
E: transpose
systemd/Windows for clarityDevDave@piefed.social · 5 pts · 42d
Also as a life long programmer, I have this feeling it is possible to just go in and make some changes so I can have the system just make shit up about the TPM while indeed also doing the equivalent of having system-d decide to respond with random bullshit.
Don't even need to be a programmer, just find a community of them that you trust that distribute their own "fixes".
Definitely not doing that with anything else because its both hidden in compilation and buried like herpes across multiple components. Probably/hopefully not directly related but I really want to know what they changed to break the clipboard service.
Septimaeus@infosec.pub · 3 pts · 42d
And you’d be technically correct, the best kind of correct.
::: spoiler To the inquisitor:
any distro that’s fully OSS can be fully compiled from scratch with any modifications you choose). :::
Though yes, if you’re still using Windows, the learning curve may look like a wall.
Guessing the X11 [X]Wayland migration KDE Plasma bug report? Should be fixed in 6.5.2.
DevDave@piefed.social · 3 pts · 41d
Adjacent comment. I've found working in a true posix environment is drastically better than the oddities I dealt with Win32. One annoyance is Microsoft has never been able to implement
fork().Though i never messed with x11 as I was never motivated to see what it was like under the figurative hood.
Septimaeus@infosec.pub · 2 pts · 41d
It really is a hell of a lot more sane, instantly missed once you don’t have it. And yeah Fork’s a blessing when used with care lol
DevDave@piefed.social · 3 pts · 41d
Sorry, switched contexts there. Microsoft broke their clipboard service recently which makes me think they added "telemetry" collecting logic somewhere in there.
Septimaeus@infosec.pub · 1 pts · 41d
Oh right, I misread. And yeah not sure (my win32 repro targets have all been locked for a while) but with all the facepalm regressions I’ve read about lately it really could be anything.
muntedcrocodile@hilariouschaos.com · 1 pts · 42d
Please elaborate on what u are referring to with regard to systemd machine user association?
Septimaeus@infosec.pub · 1 pts · 42d
I’m specifically highlighting that there is none though I acknowledge machine ID makes it easier.
ETA: edited original comment to be more clear
mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 3 pts · 42d
Yeah, motherboard-level tracking is scary because even the OS won’t be able to detect it. The truly paranoid people (and security researchers) go as far as desoldering chips to ensure nothing phones home.
ozymandias117@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 41d
Where in the source does Firefox expose machine-id to websites?
With a quick grep I'm only seeing it around audio?
woelkchen@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 42d
If that hacker only knew about tracking by Windows...
Honytawk@discuss.tchncs.de · 0 pts · 41d
I wouldn't call overhauling your entire operating system, including finding alternatives to software you use daily, making sure your hardware is compatible and relearning your entire work method as an "easy trick".
Trainguyrom@reddthat.com · 4 pts · 41d
In any other context I'd agree with you, but hacking is the one context where you really do want to do things the hard way. Use ephemeral VMs with passwords only saved in your head, have a dedicated machine for your illegal activities to help isolate your real identity from your hacking.
Honestly even if you're just doing HackTheBox and similar best practice is to spin up a Kali VM and only use that VM for the activity since you're literally connecting to a network with a bunch of hackers, even though what you're doing is entirely above the board
prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 2 pts · 41d
I think you might actually be surprised...
db2@lemmy.world · 112 pts · 42d
So they're saying that all these "secret" societies online, like the Peter Thiel psychopathy, are relatively easily identified and rounded up and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and they're just choosing not to do it? I'm shocked.
starman2112@sh.itjust.works · 19 pts · 41d
Why would they catch pedophiles? Their founder is one
Trainguyrom@reddthat.com · 17 pts · 41d
I mean Epstein was actively talking about his crimes over plaintext Gmail
daggermoon@piefed.world · 83 pts · 42d
What idiot hacker uses Windows?
Eximius@lemmy.world · 64 pts · 42d
A genz hacker. In a world where "hacking" is writing prompts and calling IT help desks.
Passerby6497@lemmy.world · 32 pts · 41d
It always amazes me how much people shit talk social engineering, when it's been a power house for hackers since the beginning.
The human (or I guess AI now) element is always the weakest link
heartSagan5@lemmy.zip · 22 pts · 41d
Wait, calling IT Help Desks isn’t social engineering now?
scutiger@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 41d
It always is. Even if you're actually calling for help, you need to basically trick them into helping you these days.
captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works · 22 pts · 41d
Okay look, I'm old, I'm inadequate, and I'm drunk. But I'm also a millennial, and I was a flight instructor at the age of 23. I pray to whatever god actually exists instead of Jesus for the unceremonious deletion of every soul that doesn't give young folks a chance to learn, grow and actualize themselves. Because I am so inordinately sick of being written off due to the year in which my parents fucked that I've got room on the docket to be pissed off when you do it to cohorts other than mine.
It is our responsibility to teach the kids, to let them learn, to let them fuck up in order to learn some more, so that they can become the actual adults someday. And it hurts my mind, soul and dick that I'm apparently the only human on earth not excessively lead-addled to realize that. And bitch I've washed my hands in 100LL. It's blue and feels cold at any temperature.
If there's one thing I'm going to teach you commie retards before I'm banned outright from this platform, it's that you treat your students with at least the benefit of the doubt if you can't manage genuine respect. Believe it or not, they're real people living real lives that are different than your own. Things that are obvious to you aren't to them because their lives led them to be curious about a different set of things than you did. And if you find yourself in the role of "teacher", almost always your path led you to expertise sooner than your students. Sooner. Not Younger. I can tell you that, having served as a flight instructor at 23 mostly teaching men in their 50's.
You think you're the senior in a field? You think it's your job to reign superior over your juniors? Think again. Because it's your job to sit in the right seat as a kid twice your age sits in the Captain's seat and fails to use the rudder correctly, because falling off a bike is how you learn how to ride. You have to let them slam the plane into the runway, because how the hell else are they going to learn?
Anyone with more experience expressing contempt for those with less experience for having shown up later: FUCK YOUR FUNERAL. Die unmourned.
CancerMancer@sh.itjust.works · 17 pts · 41d
The amount of times boomers on worksites called me retarded for not knowing how to do something I'd never done before astounded me.
Meanwhile these fuckers would get real butthurt and start yelling and making a fuss when they'd struggle to find a file they just saved on their PC and you do anything besides silently assist them.
I vowed to be different, to teach my people what it means to be competent and respectful. I tell them I expect to see the same level of professionalism and respect I show them going to everyone around them. It's working! They aren't coming to work high or hungover, they aren't being pieces of shit, and they're communicating with each other instead of yelling insults at each other (well except for when its funny lol).
This has made me unpopular with the boomer leaders but fuck em: we get shit done, we get it done right, nobody gets hurt, and everybody feels respected and doesn't dread coming to work.
chilicheeselies@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 41d
Good on you being the change you want to see. This is the way
dragonlobster@programming.dev · 3 pts · 41d
it's not the experience or knowledge part that bothers me, as you said people focused on different things and everyone starts from 0. it's the attitude of giving up when their ai slop doesn't work or coming up with bandaid solutions to get the task done quickly rather than trying to actually learn or see the bigger picture. it's an era of short attention span and fast dopamine due to tech, ofc everyone is affected but gen z and a more so because their parents put ipads in their faces since 0 years old.
chilicheeselies@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 41d
To be fair, not really their fault. That reality was created for them.
baronofclubs@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 41d
I'm sorry, I don't quite get how this is relevant to the topic at hand at all.
warbond@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 41d
It's a response to the tired refrain that the latest generation are stupid and lazy
baronofclubs@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 39d
Oh! I guess I didn't see the word GenZ in the thread. Because calling Windows users Script Kiddies and implying they're lazy goes back to the earliest days of Windows, (back when people were calling Millenials "Generation Y,") usually implying they're children roleplaying as hackers.
I suppose the lesson is to "Man Up," and teach children how to hack.
trk@aussie.zone · -4 pts · 41d
tl;dr
captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 41d
Stop being a boomer and teach like a man.
Passerby6497@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 41d
You should try that and not use such idiotic language, like calling people rtrds or to 'teach like a man', cuz that's some of the most boomer bullshit I've heard in years.
captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works · -1 pts · 40d
https://xkcd.com/36/
lordziv@lemmy.nz · 21 pts · 41d
Tbf, some of the best hackers were social engineering their way into the backend just by calling up certain support numbers in the 80s
skozzii@lemmy.ca · 0 pts · 41d
I refuse to call social engineers hackers, conmen is more fitting.
thallamabond@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 41d
Hacking is making something work in an unconventional or unexpected way. Social engineers hack people in that way.
Squirrelanna@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 9 pts · 41d
Defcon would disagree. I've watched so many presenters talk about all forms of penetration testing, many of which used social engineering and lockpicking as a way to create exploitable vulnerabilities in networks. Whether or not you care to call them hackers... It doesn't really matter, won't stop them from hacking.
Cybersteel@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 41d
The weakest link in cybersecurity are usually the users after all.
Passerby6497@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 41d
You can refuse to call them hackers, everyone is entitled to be wrong about something.
Kevin Mitnick was a prolific hacker who used social engineering regularly to infiltrate, and hackers still do today. Humans are a massive weak point in any org, that's why we have to take quarterly training not to be a moron and let someone into our network through doing something stupid.
zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com · -1 pts · 41d
Mitnick was also a hacker, but I never considered his social engineering feats as hacking themselves. They were definitely what let him accomplish his goals though and I consider those skills adjacent, just like lock picking. If you see someone picking a lock, I doubt your brain says "OMG a hacker!".
HieroProtagonist@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 41d
Real hackers social-engineered their way into high security systems decades before the first blue haired femboy nerd proudly announced "Btw i am usin Arch!"
Regrettable_incident@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 41d
Sounds like the tagline for a really crap movie. How far we've fallen from two people on one keyboard.
Fetus@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 41d
Don't forget breaking out a second keyboard, but both people use one hand on each keyboard instead of one keyboard each!
espentan@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 41d
It's necessary since hacking is so time sensitive - if it can't be done in a hurry there's no point!
Regrettable_incident@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 41d
I know, right. . . Now that's real hacking!
daggermoon@piefed.world · 13 pts · 41d
Gen Z knows how to use Windows?
Holytimes@sh.itjust.works · 6 pts · 40d
Social engineering is hacking in fact, it's literally the most prominent form of hacking in easily the most important form of hacking.
It's also the most efficient and effective.
If you're s*** talking social engineering, you're a goddamn moron
SpaceCadet@sopuli.xyz · 1 pts · 40d
A script kiddie
someone@lemmy.today · 62 pts · 41d
I can't believe Microslop would do something like this to its loyal customers!
the_riviera_kid@lemmy.world · 48 pts · 42d
The level of naivete to think it's a good idea using a microsoft account on a microsoft product for your illegal activity is astounding. Especially when you consider the amount of technical knowledge required to do such a thing.
I legitimately cannot make that connection, Microsoft has never been shy about tracking you or their tight relationship with 3 letter agencies. It doesn't take a genius to know they are going to snitch, I figured that was a foregone conclusion.
Kids need to learn about OPSEC.
themachinestops@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 6 pts · 42d
Agreed, using the same device for illegal and personal activity is dumb.
FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 42d
Yeah. What a moron.
Xerxos@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 41d
Then why haven't we heard about all the criminals (pedophiles, terrorists,...) being caught by Microsoft surveillance? Because they don't care about the crimes you do. Their tracking is for money making only.
If I were a criminal I would not bank on it - they might use it for blackmail, too - but for the most part they are not in danger.
the_riviera_kid@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 41d
The current federal government is pedophiles, they aren't going to arrest themselves.
Iusedtobeanalien@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 40d
Because you aren't looking they take down people and groups all the time, it's not their job to prosecute
cley_faye@lemmy.world · 44 pts · 41d
I was gonna comment something about Linux distro also having a machine ID, but then I remembered that it's not in a big database, and it's so well enforced I routinely have multiple machines with the same ID pop up :D
PieMePlenty@lemmy.world · 17 pts · 41d
Linux users will probably tell you their id if you ask them nicely and seem interested in their distro of choice.
Ghoelian@piefed.social · 2 pts · 40d
I've been using Linux for more than 10 years and I had no idea this was a thing lol.
But yeah after reading up on it I don't see the issue with giving someone this id (though I also don't see any reason why someone would need it). It's just a file on disk that can be changed at will with a kernel parameter.
phoenixz@lemmy.ca · 32 pts · 41d
Microsoft fucked their customers for the #69514026th time, will it be enough to make people switch to Linux, or do they just like being fucked? Who knows.
impairedimperator@lemmy.zip · 15 pts · 41d
I legitimately tried to switch to Linux a few days ago. Got virtual ox running, got one of the recommended noob distros (cinnamon?) and then got an error message that I cannot make sense of during install. Even googling it didn't help
I'm not a computer guy, and I'm legitimately concerned that if I ask for help on the Linux forums I'll be the punching bag of the week.
dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works · 19 pts · 41d
You've got two things going on:
impairedimperator@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 41d
Might try the boot USB route. I wanted to do a virtual box so I could easily test to see if my current games/programs work
RamRabbit@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 41d
Going to second dream_weasel's suggestion. Don't try to game in a VM. That is going the ultra-hard route while you are still unfamiliar with the OS.
My suggestion is to take a side/old computer you don't use every day, format it, and install Linux on it. Completely blow away Windows on that machine. Then use it regularly until you get comfortable with it. You still have your main computer to lean on.
Once you are comfortable enough with it, flip the script. Put Linux on the main machine and Windows on the side/old machine. You will find yourself turning on the side/old machine less and less.
impairedimperator@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 41d
So I don't really have an unused side/old computer that is operational. I'm an engineer, but not the computer kind.
ShredderFeeder@shredderfood.net · 1 pts · 40d
Goodwill is your friend
Ghoelian@piefed.social · 1 pts · 40d
Dual booting is an option, but without two separate drives (or sometimes even with windows on a separate disk), windows update will just nuke your EFI partition and do its own thing.
It's possible, but I probably wouldn't recommend to a beginner, as bootloader issues are usually not fun to fix (had to do it a lot when I was dual-booting back in the day)
dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 41d
I think that will require you to do some passthrough for drives and hardware which may not be trivial. If you're close to something working, stick to it. Otherwise I think that VM road is mostly pain. Caveat: I have not tried to do VM stuff in probably 10 years so it could be easier now.
greatwhitebuffalo41@slrpnk.net · 1 pts · 40d
You can also just search game name + distro name. Highly recommend looking at the newest results possible because A LOT of games now work on Linux thanks to steam and proton
ShredderFeeder@shredderfood.net · 9 pts · 40d
As much as I hate to endorse an AI (and I'm going to get hella down voted for it)..it's one of the few actual good uses for it...
You can ask plain questions, copy\paste error codes, and it will actually walk you through fixing problems like a non-judgy person would. ;-)
Perplexity is my go-to when I'm troubleshooting something I can't figure out.
"How do I open and edit a word document in Linux?" Is a perfectly acceptable question to ask, things like that.used it when I was building this server to work through some concepts I wasn't familiar with.
ridethisbike@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 3 pts · 40d
I had been using duck.ai for a while and found it to be a frustrating experience. Switched to free Claude and ended up with way better answers and a better experience overall. Still made a couple mistakes, but not nearly as many as duck. My only complaint is the limitation on the length of the sessions for the free version.
How is perplexity in that dept?
ShredderFeeder@shredderfood.net · 1 pts · 40d
So far I've found it to be Pretty good.. I do pay the $20/month "pro" membership but I'm pretty sure most months I cost them money. ;-)
What drew me to perplexity is that it will give you footnotes on basically every statement so you can go read the reference material it pulled from. Not foolproof, but lets you see if it's quoting an idiot or not... ;-)
What I most use it for is debugging. You can just copy/paste trace files or logs into it and it will read the log like a book and tell you exactly what's happening.
Ghoelian@piefed.social · 2 pts · 40d
That shit's $20 per month? What the hell, that would be my third most expensive monthly payment behind rent and internet.
AstralPath@lemmy.ca · 5 pts · 40d
Get a small SSD that you can install Linux on and go from there. Starting with a virtual machine is definitely the hard way.
eah@programming.dev · 3 pts · 40d
Throwaway culture exists with software but without the waste that comes with physical things. If one distro doesn't work, try a different one. It's only bits. The only thing wasted is your time.
Also, even though people claim to be happy to answer your questions, I think there's a strong likelihood that if you said what issue you had, nobody would be able to solve the problem due to how complex any modern operating system is, and due to not having direct access to the machine to troubleshoot. Seriously, they're so big and complicated that they're approximately black boxes. The easiest way for you to resolve the problem is to try something different until it works.
WolfLink@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 40d
Bazzite is the most stable and noob friendly distro I’ve tried. I’ve installed both Bazzite and Windows in the past year and the Bazzite install process was far easier.
https://bazzite.gg/
grrgyle@slrpnk.net · 2 pts · 40d
I got bazzite for my gaming PC and now I just main it at home. Sure it doesn't give you as much control as other distro, but that's also means fewer opportunities to mess up your install.
Captain_Patchy@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 40d
PM me and I'll help, no punching.
RamRabbit@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 41d
What was the specific issue?
impairedimperator@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 41d
Error code Somethingxsomethingsomethingsomething hexadecimal-like
Edit: Hx4d3cim4l
grrgyle@slrpnk.net · 2 pts · 40d
Nah you're beautiful for trying. Puts you way ahead of people who complain and do nothing.
Anyone who makes you feel bad for not knowing how to use an OS you've never used before is a jerk and their opinion can be disregarded. Yeah for sure do a web search of your issue before asking on line, but you're new, its normal to have lots of questions.
Anyway consider this your open invitation to DM with any Linux question you may have, the dumber the better. :)
ReptilianCleric@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 40d
Just ask here! Lemmy is full of us Linux nerds!
Do you have any external storage? You do not want an NTFS formatted drive for food backup if you're going to switch; just recently, the NTFS support has finally improved, bit I still wouldn't trust it. Exfat, or any other fat filesystem, should work fine.
But, my advice? Just backup everything important, and then just follow a tutorial for installing Linux (probably Mint Cinnamon, unless you game a lot - in which case you might give Bazzite a try).
Make sure you have a USB windows installer ready before; if you have to, you can just go back to windows that way.
Auli@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 40d
Cinnamon is a desktop not a distro. Fedora as much as I hate Red Hat is a pretty solid distro.
Malyca@lemmy.zip · 10 pts · 41d
I'm switching. I've been intimidated by the command lines but jfc these people are cartoonishly evil.
HakunaHafada@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 5 pts · 41d
Mint was my first Linux distro away from Windows. Command line stuff is essentially optional if you're just using the computer for web browsing, gaming through Steam, basic desktop usage, etc. No regrets, fuck Microsoft.
Malyca@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 41d
I think I'll follow suit, thank you
greatwhitebuffalo41@slrpnk.net · 2 pts · 40d
I've enjoyed mint the last month or so. My previous dabbles with Linux were much more command line necessary than it is now. And on the rare occasion I need to, there's usually good info out there to read.
captainlezbian@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 41d
I'll say that I only touch command line when I want to on nobara (I hear bazzite is the same). In general the days of command line being necessary are over
Malyca@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 40d
It's clearly been way too long since I've looked into this
luciferofastora@feddit.org · 4 pts · 40d
The world has changed a lot. Linux Usability has come a long way. It's not perfect, but it sure isn't as bad as it was for non-techies.
jpreston2005@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 41d
I downloaded this program called "Driver Easy," which scans my hardware, searches automatically for driver updates, downloads and installs them for me. If I could download a wizard that got rid of windows, installed a nice user-friendly version of linux, while keeping my old programs, files and junk... I'd do it in a heartbeat. All I want to do is play my video games from Steam, download shit to watch, browse the internet, write in Libreoffice... Can I do all those things with Linux? Can I download some install wizard to switch?
If that wizard existed, a shit ton of people would switch. It's just the idea of deleting my current OS and putting in a new one makes me thing I'm gonna brick my machine.
Toes@ani.social · 5 pts · 41d
Those driver tools are often bundled with malware and do a poor job validating what they download is safe and correct. They are often associated with services that crawls the internet for downloads and tries to match the hardware id.
Generally, drivers are available from the motherboard or device manufacturer page. That said it's rarely the solution and for your gpu (amd or Nvidia) they already have their own tool for keeping you up to date.
But with Linux most of that is taken care of for you by either the kernel itself or your distro's maintainer.
Most games work fine on Linux and may only require small tweaks. You can check the games you're interested in playing on protondb. http://www.protondb.com/
The notable exceptions are games with aggressive anticheat software. Such as but not limited to (EA games, PubG, Fortnite, GTA5)
If you're looking for something "easy" look into Kubuntu LTS.
Ghoelian@piefed.social · 2 pts · 40d
I can say that both versions of GTA5 on steam run without issues, though I've never played online, but the option is available.
Toes@ani.social · 1 pts · 40d
Yeah it's the online component effected by the anticheat.
It used to work last year but they block Linux now.
Ghoelian@piefed.social · 2 pts · 40d
Ah damn that sucks. And that for an online mode notorious for its cheaters.
greatwhitebuffalo41@slrpnk.net · 4 pts · 40d
Steam works on Linux BTW. Actually a lot of my games run better on Linux than windows
Mediaburn@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 41d
You just need to think outside of the box. Instead of thinking. Instead of: "Can I convert my windows programs to linux?" Think: "Is there a free linux alternarive?". 99℅ of the time the awnser is yes and most of the time they are even better. I made the mistake of seeing linux as a windows replacement and forced my self to get the same shit running on my linux distro. Then I changed my way of thining and it completely made the transition so much easier. Yes it will take a little time to get the thinks the way you want. But with a little investment you will have a machine that YOU control. And not the other way around. I had to boot up my windows partition the otherday to copy some leftover documents. And it felt so fucking alien to me... And Ive been a windows user since 95. But It has been a long time since my computer actually felt like mine again.
notnixxon@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 41d
It's always a good idea to back up your important files before a big change like switching operating systems, and your old software won't work. But drivers haven't been an issue for me in years. Mint is probably a super easy distribution for the switch. You can load it on a USB and give it a try before committing to the full install.
AstralPath@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 40d
Don't delete your OS then. Just buy a small SSD to put Linux on and go from there.
Malyca@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 41d
One of the bots could write one maybe
greatwhitebuffalo41@slrpnk.net · 2 pts · 40d
I switched recently because they fucked me in a way I couldn't deal with. To be fair, I've been experimenting with Linux on and off for 10+ years. But this was my kick to fully transition. Microsoft no longer serves convenience.
ArmchairAce1944@discuss.online · 30 pts · 41d
I switched to Linux Mint a long ass time ago. Micropenis can go fuck themselves.
captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works · 15 pts · 40d
Don't be euphemistic. Shame them by their actual name. It's Microsoft. Microsoft makes software that is dangerous to its end users. SAY IT.
luciferofastora@feddit.org · 14 pts · 40d
I'd also endorse calling them Microslop, half because their software seems to be rapidly ensloppifying and half because it pisses off their CEO
captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works · 7 pts · 40d
The mysticism of many cultures throughout history has assigned a power to knowing, saying and writing a demon's true name. The earliest example of this I can think of is from the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, the obscure god Medjed, "The Smiter" whose physical appearance can't be known so when he's depicted in heiroglyphs, he's drawn as a bedsheet ghost with eyes and feet.. So to safely traverse the land of the dead you have to know him by his true name.
Call evil by its true name.
luciferofastora@feddit.org · 5 pts · 40d
I know that concept, but I believe it is more about unambiguity and transparency: I know who and what you are. There is no disguise or deflection to hide behind.
In that vein, I also believe that there is power in intentionally corrupted mockeries of those names, so long as those twists preserve clear lineage to their originals and are somewhat apt to the creature being described. They not only identify their subject, but also taunt it, essentially boasting the power that the subject has no recourse to your mockery.
"Micropenis" is a generic schoolyard insult that could just as well mean a certain president or a buddy you're looking to tease.
"Microsoft" is the true name.
"Microslop" is clearly related to that name, so you know who I'm talking about, while also calling out the sloppy character of their work and taunting its executives who object to describing the digital offal they peddle as the slop it is.
grrgyle@slrpnk.net · 4 pts · 40d
Motion passes 👩🏻⚖️ microslop it is. I'm adjusting my autocorrect library to match this new convention
luciferofastora@feddit.org · 2 pts · 40d
I should note that there is no need to use either term exclusively. I think both have their uses and places, depending on the formality of the occasion or the context, and obviously anyone is free to use whichever they see fit to.
Just don't use Micropenis. That's juvenile, generic, hardly applicable to a company and liable to cause collateral damage: People born with a small member don't deserve being equated to a company that, by all accounts, is being a giant dick.
grrgyle@slrpnk.net · 2 pts · 39d
Agreed. In this house we support and cherish genitals of all configurations so long as they aren't themselves attached to giant dicks.
Lucius_Sweet@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 40d
Voldesoft, get 'em Harry!
grrgyle@slrpnk.net · 1 pts · 40d
Yeah you still have fun with a micropenis. With Microsoft you're broke for fun
EpicMuch@sh.itjust.works · 27 pts · 42d
My laptop came with Win11, I’ve removed that drive a few months ago and replaced it with Mint.
Does this mean MS has my motherboard, WiFi, other hardware identifiers that would still tie that laptop to their database?
TeddE@lemmy.world · 39 pts · 41d
Yup!
Motherboard, CPU, GPU models and serial numbers. Ram size and speed. Those were used during Windows activation as old as windows 95. But likely yes, a full list of every component connected.
Your Android phone collects every WiFi network it has ever seen and sends it to Google, so we should assume Microsoft does the same (Android can locate you without GPS by using your neighbors' WiFi signals as position identifiers, and can triangulate you to a few feet using the relative networks' signal strengths)
Reygle@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 41d
GrapheneOS babyyyyy
TeddE@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 41d
Cannot wait for the Motorola/GrapheneOS collab phones.
msage@programming.dev · 5 pts · 41d
And if you dont have Pixel, try /e/os, SailfishOS, Mobian, PostmarketOS or anything other than vendor Android.
non_burglar@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 41d
Um... You're aware that your pixel was known to google before you graphened it?
Reygle@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 41d
Never knew a google account, so it was known to Google but not to me. .. but while on the topic, know of a better option?
ptu@sopuli.xyz · 7 pts · 41d
Jolla Phone is just starting to ship
https://youtu.be/lY-Ar0iY1_8
Reygle@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 41d
Promising..
non_burglar@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 41d
Right, but you can assume google knows the imei and other hardware details, so they can probably link you to your identity on other platforms.
There is also the baseband issue. It is currently assumed that manufacturers could have access to snoop your LTE/5g and WiFi traffic, because the software running most phone baseband units is closed and not audited.
So you are probably private, but if you really want a phone with no Big Brother, you should get one from Pine64 or Jolla.
Reygle@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 41d
I'd love to. I bought an early pinephone and after about a day of trying to make it do basic functions I gave up. I'd LOVE to have a real Linux option but in my experiences so far we're not there yet. I don't see a better option than Graphene at the moment- it's that solid.
non_burglar@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 41d
Yes, I agree. We might not have rock-solid solutions, but less google is better.
I keep a oneplus 6t just to test Linux phone options.
mitrosus@discuss.tchncs.de · 1 pts · 40d
Wait, what is the solution then? Genz are not going to settle on 10 yo laptop. They are going to buy new expensive AI-ready windows machine, replacing with Linux will do nothing privacywise? The only viable alt is to buy some obscure Linux laptop or old device? How old should it be anyway?
TeddE@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 40d
Oh, so to clear up confusion - switching to Linux destroys the local storage of the GDID, and Linux has generally much better privacy (to the degree the OS is involved - browser privacy is a related subject). However, it doesn't undo the past - if you previously signed in with your MS account on that system, Microsoft will have that record in perpetuity.
Best solution would be to wipe any system you acquire without ever signing in to Microsoft. While switching to Linux will not change any of the components serial numbers that Microsoft has, you will at least not be actively associating most of your web activity with your M$ account.
Tangent - if you're gonna do shady stuff, use VMs or TailsOS.
emergencyfood@sh.itjust.works · -6 pts · 41d
Possibly, but how often do you use WiFi on a phone?
AppleMango@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 41d
Basically whenever I'm at home or a relative's house?
emergencyfood@sh.itjust.works · -3 pts · 41d
But why? Mobile networks are very fast nowadays. And how many homes still have routers?
BottleBoardBakon@lemmy.ml · 4 pts · 41d
...are you joking?
emergencyfood@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 40d
I would have used WiFi on my phone perhaps two or three times in the last year. My home does have a router, because we're dinos, but most new houses don't since everyone has a smartphone anyway.
AppleMango@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 40d
fast ≠ widespread or consistent. mobile data tends to have excruciatingly low upload speeds (at least in my region)
emergencyfood@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 40d
Ah, then it makes sense.
TeddE@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 41d
Please note: I didn't say you had to connect to these networks. This happens as a background process unless you do a ritual to shut off location services and actively work to keep it off. Most people do not know/care to do this. And even if it's off in settings, some apps have the permission to temporarily override this (and will ask you once to grant it such permission and then have that permission for the lifetime of the app). And regardless of which app overrides said setting, Google gets a copy of whatever the background scan finds (for all Android phones that have the Play store installed, which is most of them).
emergencyfood@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 41d
Am I the only person who switches off the WiFi after use? I thought that was common advice to save battery.
TeddE@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 41d
I use WiFi at home and friends. I use cellular for work and travel (usually between home and friends). I'm glad you have a simple enough arrangement that it's worthwhile to manage it by hand.
Further, in recent versions of Android, factory settings are set to automatically turn WiFi back on if turned off - plus there's several methods to indirectly turn WiFi back on (https://thedroidguy.com/stop-android-turning-wifi-on-automatically-1261625). This is that dark patterns thing. Getting people to do what you want by being frictionless with your preferred options and 'polite' but obstinate about options you wish to steer people away from.
emergencyfood@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 41d
This is the part I don't understand. Mobile data would work in your houses too, right?
I haven't seen this happen, but I use MIUI (Xiaomi's Android ROM) which tends to be aggressive in limiting battery use. It will actually cut hotspot if unused for a few minutes.
TeddE@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 40d
Actually, first - ironically mobile coverage is terrible right at my new home since I moved. Great about 200 yards from home and most everywhere I go, but there's a weird blind spot at my address specifically.
Second, Most mobile data plans are 30-80 Mbps†, most home WiFi plans are 300 Mbps-1Gbps†. WiFi isn't just faster, it's a lot faster. † your milage may vary, these are based on my experience
Finally, again this is another case of maybe I'm weird, but my friends and I are into retro gaming, and self-hosting and both of those have LAN-specific options that only work within the WiFi and home network.
cley_faye@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 41d
If it was registered, probably. They use a mixture of that to allow re-enabling the same license on the same hardware.
The_Decryptor@aussie.zone · 1 pts · 41d
OEM systems come with the license key stored in the firmware (ACPI tables specifically), you can read them from *nix easily enough.
sudo strings /sys/firmware/acpi/tables/MSDMIf you boot the system and login an account then yeah they'll be able to link that, but the install itself can "self activate".
Hairyfishnuts@feddit.online · 22 pts · 42d
By design.
JoMiran@lemmy.ml · 19 pts · 42d
mystik@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 42d
Ctrl-f NSAKEY (sees nothing) --- it seems the internet has forgotten the NSAKEY debacle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSAKEY
iterable@sh.itjust.works · 12 pts · 41d
Cant wait for someone to make or reveal they already have a GDID spoofer and can now make grandma look like the worlds number 1 hacker.
TheFuzz@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 40d
https://github.com/gd03gd031/Windows-GDID-Changer
yucandu@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 42d
Identifier. Not tracker. They're not phoning home, thank god.
Eximius@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 42d
Ugh... How do you think they correlated the GDID to his social media?
krisevol@lemmus.org · 1 pts · 41d
His social was logged into with that identifier
Windex007@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 41d
From the article:
Why does Microsoft have a record that includes both the GDID and a web addresses? I am confused by this mechanism.
krisevol@lemmus.org · 7 pts · 41d
Because everything you do is tracked
The_Decryptor@aussie.zone · 2 pts · 41d
Could be using Edge (Account syncing), or using Bing while signed in (Considering they were signing into private accounts while on the VPN, seems possible)
Windex007@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 41d
This seems the most likely... but still I want clarity on the mechanism. An identifying token defined in the registry is being sent over the wire. That mechanic is pretty substantial, and I'm surprised a bigger fuss hasn't been made about that. This is pretty far beyond conventional header fingerprinting.
The_Decryptor@aussie.zone · 2 pts · 41d
From other articles I've seen (Here's an example) it was telemetry and cross referencing the IPs used.
VPNs might help hide from passive identification, but they don't help when you connect to the same service on your normal and private connections alternatively. The computer equivalent of using both your real name and an alias with the same person, they'll know who you are.
rimu@piefed.social · 1 pts · 41d
Yep. Assume the worst, imo
AppleMango@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 41d
and how do you think the social account was linked with said identifier?
krisevol@lemmus.org · 1 pts · 41d
Because that identifier is logged by the website when he logged in.
AppleMango@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 40d
allywilson@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 41d
It mentions this GDID is sent in telemetry. So this guy kept using a hosted proxy, meaning his egress IP was always changing accessing different services, but everytime his Windows 11 machine was sending back telemetry (which included his GDID) they were logging the IP address he was appearing from (the proxy) - so they were able to track and identify him.
Honytawk@discuss.tchncs.de · 2 pts · 41d
If you use your Microsoft account to login, they have to be able to identify you somehow when you try to authenticate. It is basic usage. Not Telemetry. That is what caught him.
Windex007@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 41d
This is where I'm really fuzzy on the mechanics.
Any authentication is to establish an identity. At what point does that involve getting a unique id associated with an OS installation instance?
My original question is how the hardware id and ngrok get associated at all.
So, after getting frustrated and just going to sign up for an account myself, it looks like ngrok has options to sign is as a Google account, or sign in as a github account.
I'm guessing they picked github, and that's why Microsoft had any visibility at all on the fact that they accessed a site that isn't owned by Microsoft.
It still doesn't answer the question of how the browser knows this id which is set at the os level. It still begs the question of what github authentication looks like differently between operating systems. Obviously a osx or Linux machine wouldn't have that id at all. Is it part of the initial authentication request? Is there some kind of challenge and response?
TemplaerDude@sh.itjust.works · 10 pts · 42d
It is truly god damn unfortunate that Microsoft has spent decades fostering a level of technical ineptitude among the average person that they cannot even consider getting off their fucking shit ass platform that “just works”. Because that is the real problem. So many people on here will say “just use Linux!” But the vast majority of people cannot fathom where to even start with that and won’t even consider it because Windows “just works” and it has done so for so long that people just can’t be bothered.
grinning_serpent@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 42d
It's easier than ever to use Linux these days and Lemmy certainly doesn't lack for penguin faithful that'll proselytize and condemn you to computer-hell if you don't adopt their religion.
But the """problem""" is that Windows works okay for the vast majority of users. Most of the annoying parts of W11 can be changed or disabled within the OS itself, without needing special tools or knowledge. And I think that the vast majority of users don't even care enough to do that. We use stock W11 at work and while the "new" style right menus and shit are annoying, they still function fine.
Windows likely won't lose serious market share until prebuilt PCs come with Linux instead of Windows installed. Especially the non-gaming prebuilts.
kolmaskommentoija@sopuli.xyz · 3 pts · 41d
BottleBoardBakon@lemmy.ml · 5 pts · 41d
I have to use windows for work and its painful.
It does the opposite of just working.
Honytawk@discuss.tchncs.de · 2 pts · 41d
The average user was incompetent WAY before Microsoft ever entered the scene.
Knowing anything about computers is a lot more niche than you think.
krisevol@lemmus.org · 1 pts · 41d
So those users even care about being tracked?
AppleMango@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 41d
The only part of "just works" that's still "just" working is that windows comes installed by default on the vast majority of laptops. I dread having to use windows each time I have to, not because linux is that much better, but because windows is really just that much worse.
Arcane2077@sh.itjust.works · 9 pts · 42d
Also 10. And 8. Maybe since Vista actually…
frongt@lemmy.zip · 6 pts · 42d
It's probably since XP at least. Probably introduced in some form in NT.
Hond@piefed.social · 6 pts · 42d
I used xp-Antispy to cut off the telemetry back in the day.
MehBlah@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 41d
Its doesn't have a off switch but you can generate a new one.
Captain_Patchy@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 40d
Elaborate, Please...
MehBlah@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 40d
I don't remember the command but it was easy to find. There are a couple of ways to do it. I used a scheduled power shell script for the persons computer I did it for. They used it to avoid a annoying set of trackers that kept her from getting the lowest price on some equipment website. That was in 2020 or 2021.
Edit: I was mistaken about what generated ID I was talking about. You can however change GDID but it will force microsoft to reregister the installation so I don't know how many times you could do it before microsoft refuses to do it again
https://github.com/gd03gd031/Windows-GDID-Changer
PissingIntoTheWind@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 41d
I do absolutely nothing illegal on my windows 11 machine. I save the fun torrenting for my Mac. And soon I’ll have a Linux device set up.
Semotto@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 42d
He' so stupid for sending ransomware and logging into snapchat/facebook from the same laptop without even using VMs
AppleMango@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 41d
arguably more stupid for using windows and assuming there was any level of privacy
wylinka@szmer.info · 5 pts · 40d
None of the articles I've read about this explains how the GDID gets mapped onto the user's activity.
"Windows device carrying GDID g:6755467234350028 had visited the ngrok signup page"
So does it mean that Windows monitors your activity outwith just Microsoft services and sends all data to their servers? Is it maybe MS Edge history sync?
Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org · 3 pts · 42d
Oh. Even VMs.
What do I need to change in a VM so that this GDID also changes?
Trainguyrom@reddthat.com · 1 pts · 41d
Yeah GDID works the same in a VM as it does on hardware. It's actually easier to see in action on a VM:
This was the most annoying part of messing with AD in college was running through the windows setup repeatedly because that's the only way to get more than one client VM for your virtual Windows network
Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org · 1 pts · 41d
LOL I am very, very far away from knowing how to do such extremely windowsy things.
AppleMango@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 41d
Apparently it requires a Microsoft account to work, so local-only accounts are safe (in the case of patched windows ISOs). But this only disabled GDID and there's still no guarantee that there aren't other idenfiers.
DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 42d
BTW
unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz · 3 pts · 41d
Yeah I played solitaire in 3.1. Even playing the asteroids avoiding game in C-64 I always assumed teams of people or aliens were observing my progress. Nothing to do with The Last Starfighter
Toes@ani.social · 2 pts · 40d
I wonder if windows 10 has the same feature?
HCSOThrowaway@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 40d
I would be amazed if it didn't.
DudeImMacGyver@kbin.earth · 1 pts · 42d
Crazy he used a single windows computer to do illicit stuff. Guess criminals aren't very smart (at least not the ones you hear about).
AppleMango@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 41d
This is probably a case of heavy survivorship bias. Some don't get caught, and the ones who get caught doing actually crazy exploits we don't hear about.
FE80@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 36d
It's worth pointing out that this goofball was hunted down by Allison Nixon.
https://www.zetter-zeroday.com/tracking-peter-stokes-and-the-com-allison-nixon-and-her-work-unmasking-cybercriminals/
AeonFelis@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 41d
Forester@pawb.social · -3 pts · 41d
Look into 🅱️ios vs uefℹ️
forestbeasts@pawb.social · 1 pts · 41d
Eh, UEFI isn't bad in general.
Yeah, it's more complicated, and a lot more stuff is up to the firmware, and "secure boot" sucks, but aside from that "secure boot" nonsense, it's not like it mandates any crappiness, and it's not like they couldn't have built this shit into a BIOS-mode computer if that was still the standard.
And I gotta say, bootloaders being regular files is REALLY nice.
-- Frost