On 2022-11-05 12:09, John Lange wrote:
I'm simply pointing out the irony that in a thread dedicated to the gratuitous privacy violations perpetrated on Linux (via its most popular "desktop" Android), your recommendation is to "use Linux" for better privacy(?).
This would be like me using a Ford F-150 on a hit and run, then turning around and arguing that Ford makes the worst trucks, seeing that they are involved in hit and runs.
Linux is just a kernel. It has nuts and bolts to do pretty much anything, but the assembly of those nuts and bolts is up to the user/developer.
Yes, I know, this argument sounds like grasping at straws more often than not. Yet, here, we are *really* talking about specific distribution/OS here (e.g. Fedora, Android, Ubuntu) *NOT* Linux.
Actually yes I do think Windows 11 is doing more to honour your privacy. Windows11 discloses what it is doing and has privacy controls that give you the ability to shut off all the data collection that it does if you like.
Those toggles don't really do what you expect, I am afraid. They do "tune it down", so to say, but they're far from turning it *off*.
And yes, all of that is outlined in the Policy. Not a secret, and most people don't care, which is fine.
Still, that doesn't mean you turn telemetry *off*. You can't. Enterprise versions give you more control but as far as I remember, it also does not have the ability to turn it off completely. That may have changed.
With that said, I do not think "privacy violations" are the main issue with Windows. I do agree that Android is far worse, for example. But Android - the complete, functional OS that runs on phones - is *not* Linux. It *uses* the Linux kernel, just like many other things that are far from being a bastion of virtue on the privacy department.
Fedora, Ubuntu and most linux distros don't say anything about the data that gets sent home by default and offer NO Privacy Controls. There is no built-in way to shut off telemetry, you have to figure out which applications are calling home and manually uninstall them.
Fedora presents it on the first boot experience, at least for the default Gnome installation. Last I checked, the Settings application has all the toggles there too, with related Privacy Policies linked.
Most of the Fedora Spins don't have much for telemetry other than Firefox - which does present its terms on first use.
Ubuntu had an incident with this eons ago, but last I checked, it does present the terms as well.
Debian is opt-out by default on the very few things it collects data on - the main one (only one?) being popularity-contest, which, as the name suggests, transmits data every so often about what packages are installed on the system.
It's not a conspiracy, no. But that does not mean all choices are equal. It also doesn't mean Windows is the absolute worst.
I get it that Windows is everyone's favourite OS to hate
I must say I am far from a blind Windows hater. It does some things really well.
, but I think it's reasonable to point out the fact that Linux itself does absolutely nothing to protect your privacy. Anyone can make a distribution of Linux that steals your user data (e.g. Android).
It does not, indeed... just like my screwdriver doesn't do much on its own.
I would be amused if Microsoft stuck all their telemetry on their ntoskrnl.exe, or whatever it's called these days. I am also reasonably sure that Android has the telemetry bits far from the main kernel.
The same is likely on whatever telemetry is embedded on things that leverage the Linux kernel.
Let's be real here; the majority of privacy loss happens through the applications you have installed (e.g. browsers) regardless of the OS. For those that care about privacy that is where the focus should be.
That is true. 80-20 rule and all that.
Kind regards, Alberto Abrao