Windows 11 is Now Automatically Enabling OneDrive Folder Backup Without Asking Permission (neowin.net) 166
An anonymous reader shares a report: Microsoft has made OneDrive slightly more annoying for Windows 11 users. Quietly and without any announcement, the company changed Windows 11's initial setup so that it could turn on the automatic folder backup without asking for it. Now, those setting up a new Windows computer the way Microsoft wants them to (in other words, connected to the internet and signed into a Microsoft account) will get to their desktops with OneDrive already syncing stuff from folders like Desktop Pictures, Documents, Music, and Videos.
Depending on how much is stored there, you might end up with a desktop and other folders filled to the brim with shortcuts to various stuff right after finishing a clean Windows installation. Automatic folder backup in OneDrive is a very useful feature when used properly and when the user deliberately enables it. However, Microsoft decided that sending a few notification prompts to enable folder backup was not enough, so it just turned the feature on without asking anybody or even letting users know about it, resulting in a flood of Reddit posts about users complaining about what the hell are those green checkmarks next to files and shortcuts on their desktops.
Depending on how much is stored there, you might end up with a desktop and other folders filled to the brim with shortcuts to various stuff right after finishing a clean Windows installation. Automatic folder backup in OneDrive is a very useful feature when used properly and when the user deliberately enables it. However, Microsoft decided that sending a few notification prompts to enable folder backup was not enough, so it just turned the feature on without asking anybody or even letting users know about it, resulting in a flood of Reddit posts about users complaining about what the hell are those green checkmarks next to files and shortcuts on their desktops.
HIPAA NIGHTMARE! (Score:5, Insightful)
Really sounds like a setup for HIPAA and other private not legal to be shared stuff ending up on servers in jurisdictions not authorized for receipt of such materials.
Think Europe and their data policy if someone installs windows 11 and it silently starts shipping stuff to a non-compliant backup site in the US...
Medical workstation nightmare. If it is enabled on setup, what is to prevent the later activation by automated means not initiated by the user with the user being unaware? Who becomes responsible for the potential breaches of such protected data?
Re:HIPAA NIGHTMARE! (Score:4)
Really sounds like a setup for HIPAA and other private not legal to be shared stuff ending up on servers in jurisdictions not authorized for receipt of such materials.
Who needs HIPPA or some new-fangled GDPR law for this? My personal documents are being taken from my PC and uploaded to someone else's computer at their request. You can use the O.G. CFAA and make a case.
Re:HIPAA NIGHTMARE! (Score:5, Interesting)
It's pure data theft. Not only does Microsoft grab the files and uploads them to their servers, but they also *delete* them from your local workstation. It basically holds your data hostage.
Re:HIPAA NIGHTMARE! (Score:5, Interesting)
Worse, files you haven't used in a long time may get deleted to save space, as long as they're "backed up". Which can be a disaster when you disable OneDrive, or don't have a convenient network connection (ie, on a plane, train, at the beach, cabin, the RF shielded test chamber, etc). Or if you have a low bandwidth connection or low bandwidth cap.
Reminds me of when IT at work decided to use an online backup system and after a few days users were complaining that they were getting warning letters from the ISPs after they took the laptops home for the weekend. Worse, when someone wanted to recover some files, the UI for that system was horrendous and unsuitable to use unless you were fine with manual browsing to each file online and selecting a few options, etc. "One file restored, 849 to go..."
Sadly, and bizarrely, Microsoft has never had a suitable backup system. They have backup systems, they're just clumsy. And every release or two they deprecated it and introduced something newer and incompatible. OneDrive is just this iteration's terrible backup solution. Compare to Time Machine in MacOS - it just works, it's trivial to use, incremental backups are fast, restores are easy, use a network or attached drive, no obscure or proprietary formats. Turn around and you see Microsoft insisting that only files in "Libraries" need to be backed up...
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Cool. Sounds like criminal computer sabotage to me. That one comes with potential prison time.
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Go get them tiger
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DOS in the v6 timeframe had Central Point Backup, which wasn't terrible. Fastback was better.
Versions of Windows in the late 90s and around the turn oi the century had a Backup program. It wasn't great, but it was functional. Its strength was its flaw. It would perform a backup on execution, so you could script it. It had no capability to start itself at a particular time, so you had to program that in as an automated task, the lousy Windows version of cron.
Pointing out that 'never' is an overestimate.
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"Never" because those solutions really weren't good compared to the equivalent you'd see in contemporary professional settings. But DOS/Windows were for home users, and so their point of comparison was not a professional setting but a home user setting. So from the home viewpoint those early tools probably were decent. Compared to VMS or VM or Unix, not so much. If your target mass storage for backups is a floppy disk then some of the problems become apparent, why have a good backup solution that's just
Re:HIPAA NIGHTMARE! (Score:4, Interesting)
The point being that this is where they get unstuck with this shit.
I know here in australia when doing govt work, data sovereignty is *really* important, and data getting shipped offshore can cause savage problems.
God help microsoft if the defence department discovers data being exfiltrated offshore from this shit.
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How much do you want to bet they will still use Windows after that?
Re:HIPAA NIGHTMARE! (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:HIPAA NIGHTMARE! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:HIPAA NIGHTMARE! (Score:4, Insightful)
Medical workstations really shouldn't be using Microsoft Accounts in the first place. Nor should they be using Windows Home edition which is the only version that requires a Microsoft Account during setup..
Haven't you heard? Local accounts are deprecated now, and MS is gradually phasing them out, even on Pro edition. Just yesterday there was an article on Slashdot that MS silently removed online instructions about how to create a local account on Windows 11.
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The opposite to Microsoft Accounts are not Local Accounts. They are "non Microsoft Accounts", such as Active Directory accounts which very much are *not* depreciated. Medical workstations should be centrally managed by a competent IT department.
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You are completely right. I assume you will have Linux-compatible rewrites, complete with certifications for use in a HIPAA environment, of all medical software ready to roll out by Friday, right?
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Actually, MS is massively in breach of the GDPR here. This needs to be off by default, no exceptions.
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Of course this will all be controlled within active directory and mistakes will never be made. Of course Microsoft will just grease the right gears and all is good.
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Really sounds like a setup for HIPAA and other private not legal to be shared stuff ending up on servers in jurisdictions not authorized for receipt of such materials.
Honestly I hope so. Anyone dealing with medical records who is too stupid to know how to administer a computer properly (such as knowing how things works by default) should be getting into trouble. It's better for it to be a HIPAA violation rather than some hack which would be the logical next assumption when a stupid user is in charge of computer security.
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Any medical admin worth their salt knows about this and will disable it via GPOs. The also will be using AD accounts, not MS.
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Is PC Gaming Worth This Hassle? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Is PC Gaming Worth This Hassle? (Score:5, Insightful)
I think the best option at this point is to use a Linux system to handle all your sensitive information, then run Windoze in a VM to play games.
This give you options to make clones of the Windoze system so you can get it back working when it inevitably commits seppuku.
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I think the best option is to limit yourself to games that run well on Linux, even if through Wine. It enlarges the market for such games thus giving game developers incentive to develop for it.
It is true that there are some games that you just can't play on Linux. Well, there are SO MANY games that you can play on Linux, that you will have plenty of alternatives.
And you could also grab a PS5 and a Switch, for even more variety.
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I read on Slashdot that Left 4 Dead was a good game.
It was on sales on Steam something ridiculous like 85p ($1)
So I played both L4D1 and now L4D2
I am a not a gamer, at all, but go on a spree every 2 or 3 years.
If you are ever there I play Tank Hunters Online regularly.
You only deal with Tanks, and it eventually gets intensive say 20 Tanks at once.
(Just remember NEVER kill the last surviving Tank, but wait for everyone to heal up using the Vending Machine)
Also replayed all of Half-Life 2 recently. I love old
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Steam. ... I use Wine not Steam.
Though some games like Unreal Tournament 3 and Gothic 2
I prefer Wine as much as possible because then the Game just opens up very fast - immediately in fact - instead of Steam, which takes ages, logging validating opening up UI etc
For Slackware
You need to rebuild 32bit/64bit multilibs
Which is a real hassle.
http://www.slackware.com/~alie... [slackware.com]
But I've done that so many times in the past,
it doesn't feel as daunting anymore with new Slackware installs.
Half an hour and it's done, se
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Sorry Gothic 3.
People don't like that game much. But I do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Gothic 2 is meant to be better. But I don't have that installed.
Maybe in future.
But these games I find too addictive like time/productivity killers.
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I'm aware of multilib (mostly because I wanted to compile VirtualBox OSE). I did compile wine from sources and without much hassle, though I did not bother much to track down optional dependencies. I never tried Steam.
So ... are you using pre-built packages for wine? Steam seems to suggest installing a .deb file. Did that give you any troubles?
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I compile Wine from source sometimes other times I use Slackbuild or even a *.txz
Steam you get on Slackbuild or a pre-package from Alien Bob.
Also I think you can get it with Flatpak.
Also enjoyed a lot playing Quake 1 & 2 again. Super fun.
So getting Quake to run on Slackware wasn't easy.
But that is Linux, well, rather Slackware - it doesn't give you headaches unless you try something new.
With Quake 2 - some maps only work well if you play it as Windows Version but under Wine.
GOG Games. That worked and wa
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If you have a separate Linux box for games how is that any different than having a separate windows box for games? Don't put anything but games on it and it won't matter what fuckery Microsoft does u less you consider your high score and saved games a critical privacy issue.
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I don't want to buy an expensive Windows License just to play games.
I am not even a gamer, but have "gaming holidays" every 2 years or so.
Once stayed 5 years without gaming.
Another is that if something happen to my main Slackware.
Happened once in the past; I updated libtools - and it corrupted everything.
Then I have this "Games" Partition as a backup Slackware
where I can still carry on working / studying almost uninterrupted.
Not a mirror but close enough. Gives me peace of mind.
The games runs from a cheap U
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I got a license for windows 11 off woot for $35. If that's too expensive an investment for your game hobby then ok.
Sounds like you spend a lot of time maintaining this other method. That effort sounds like a hobby you enjoy more than gaming which is cool by me but it is what it is. If you've already gone through the effort to have a second system for games then $35 is a small price for the time saved.
My answer was different. I was a hardcore pc gamer back to dos 1.0. I still have a dos 1.1 floppy with
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I am no Linux militant. But been using it for +20 years. So Windows would be going out of my way and also wouldn't like to give them money, support them. I don't like or approve of Microsoft as a company. ...
For $35 I could buy a really good book.
Also, I have this thing where I purposely do not invest on gaming. Pay as little as possible.
Even buying a microphone (for voice chat) I don't want to do that.
I feel kinda guilty playing computer games, feels somewhat childish, but I call it "holidays"
I should be s
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>"I think the best option is to limit yourself to games that run well on Linux, even if through Wine"
Not only agreed, but I can't believe that intense gaming that can't be done under Linux is all THAT prevalent. I know a LOT of people with computers. Only a small fraction play games on them. An even much tinier percent play games that couldn't run under Linux native/Steam/Wine. People act like this is the major factor holding back adoption of Linux, and I disagree. It might hold back less than 1%.
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The pc gaming market was $39 billion last year.
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I already have a dedicated gaming PC for this reason. No email, no non-gaming web-surfing, still no MS account.
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>"I think the best option at this point is to use a Linux system to handle all your sensitive information, then run Windoze in a VM to play games."
Using Linux would be a good start. But if you still run MS-Windows in a VM, you *still* have to deal with most or all of the same sh** as before. This backup disaster would still do the same thing, for example. If will give you a bit more control, but you end up with something even more complex and using even more resources than before.
Some other option mig
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>I think the best option at this point is to use a Linux system to handle all your sensitive information, then run Windoze in a VM to play games.
I'm dual booting Windows 7 for everyday work/not recent games, and Windows 10 for recent games.
Disabling at boot all drives with sensitive information when booting Windows 10.
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Most games work on Linux now, and most of the ones that don't have kernel DRM and can fuck right off anyway.
Most old games don't work on modern Windows, or if they do they require third party patches that the average user doesn't know how to find anyway.
Gaming on a VM is not wholly unreasonable, but graphics capabilities and performance are poor unless you use GPU passthrough, which means either needing multiple GPUs or to shut down the display server and drop to a text prompt before running the VM.
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I game on PC using Windows 10, no constant battle, my PC does exactly what I tell it and nothing more, after some initial setup work it is very possible to take control of windows permanently. First step is acquiring a copy of Win10 Enterprise (either through your employer or on the high seas), rip out all the services not necessary for gaming prior to install (e.g. Onedrive, Cortana, Telemetry, Edge, Xbox game bar, MS store, etc etc), also disable automatic updates and then manually download and install s
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"also disable automatic updates"
You can't.
If you disable windows update service, the update medic service WILL re-enable it while you use your computer (several times if needed).
And you CANNOT disable the update medic service.
If you have a solution to remove or disable the update medic service, I'm all ears.
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> If you have a solution to remove or disable the update medic service, I'm all ears.
Using the registry editor, you can take ownership of the relevant registry entries for those services, and revoke all permissions. Windows then no longer has security permissions to access the data it needs to even know those services exist let alone run them.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\
UsoSvc
WaaSMedicSvc
wuauserv
Once you delete permissions for these services, they won't even show up in the list an
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It's fully reversible.
That means Microsoft can and probably will fix the perms in a windows update. They did lots of tricks like that in order to run telemetry or GWX on users' PCs against their will, so there's no reason to believe they won't do it more for THIS spyware.
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Firewall off the windows update servers.
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Firewall off the windows update servers.
Which will prevent the updates being downloaded, but it won't stop the various update services constantly trying to connect to the update servers. If you're trying to squeeze every last drop of performance out of the machine for gaming purposes (and why wouldn't you for modern games?) it's better to just disable the services altogether.
You may say the performance loss is negligible on a modern PC, and in the case of the update services specifically you may well be right, but along with all the other useles
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Sure absolutely kill all the random stupid services. I've always done that. But you can't kill the update service. You can try but it will keep turning itself back on via other services you can't touch.
As for performance, it is part of the initial boot sequence so you lose a fraction of a second turning on the computer then it fires up and sends a dns query once a day or whatever the schedule is. The impact on your gaming from that on any computer built in the last 20 years is literally zero. You'd hav
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If you disable windows update service, the update medic service WILL re-enable it while you use your computer (several times if needed). And you CANNOT disable the update medic service.
If you have a solution to remove or disable the update medic service, I'm all ears.
Yes, if you go into services.msc and try to change the service to "disabled" the option is greyed out or it won't let you apply the change. The solution is simple, find the service in regedit (services are in HKEY_LOCAL_MACINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\...), change the 'start' value to '4' (i.e. disabled). See this link for more info (https://smallvoid.com/article/winnt-services-regedit.html). You can also do what smidge said but this way it's easier (IMHO) to turn the service back on if you deci
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Is the constant battle for happens on your PC worth it?
What is the battle here? Windows is currently the only OS that doesn't enforce some kind of backup by default/opt out for general end users. Until now anyway. Setting up sane defaults that limit an ignorant user's damage to themselves is an objectively good thing. If you care enough about OneDrive to actively hate it then you can simply turn this off during setup, and presumably you're also competent enough to sort out your own backup solution. Many millions of people aren't.
onedrive is pants (Score:5, Insightful)
The thing I dislike most about Windows 11 is it's insistence on putting all my content on the cloud. It defaults to onedrive to save anything and makes it difficult to either save or retrieve data from the traditional directories. And if you just let it use the onedrive folder hierarchy, it'll nag you every time you visit to create an account or put in your credentials which I will never do.
Maybe the best way is to create your own hierarchy on disk with unique names, like in the old old OLD days, something OneDrive doesn't know about, and save everything there.
I don't want Microsoft touching my stuff! Geeze, I wish there was an alternate. The only thing I still use Windows for is Adobe Creative Cloud, and Darktable isn't quite there yet. Soon, soon, I can get off Adobe and get off Windows. Sorry I'm drooling.
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Exclusive Ubuntu user here. What is ONEDRIVE ? I use a pair of enterprise-grade 2-T hard-drives to store my photos and correspondence. Key-drives are manual backup; Dan Wessen provides security. Why should I have any interest in the cloud, which exposes my data and is just somebody elses computer ?
Trust me, you're better off not knowing.
Great points. I'd only add, for disaster recovery, occasionally clone your media onto a removable drive and store it geographically distant from you. In my case, my backup drive, which gets swapped out periodically, sits in a friend's fire safe some distance from me.
I have a laptop running Mint. I'm very very happy with it. My only issue is that it won't run a few very specific tools.
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You don't need to have any interest in the cloud, as Microsoft will put all your stuff in the cloud without annoying you by asking permission first. It may seem like that's rude, but it's the most practical way that Microsoft found to feed your code into its AI engine...
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This is German "Ohne-Drive" and means "without drive". At least that is what happens to you when you use it.
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Exclusive Ubuntu user here. What is ONEDRIVE ? I use a pair of enterprise-grade 2-T hard-drives to store my photos and correspondence.
You're not a normal user and thus shouldn't be commenting on defaults for a general purpose home OS designed for the millions of people who still call their PC tower the "harddisk".
Yes I roll my own backup solution as well. I don't use one drive either. But I am in full support that onedrive backups are enabled by default on Windows 11 because being a power user, idiots come to me for support. ... usually when it's too late.
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It uploads to the cloud almost instantly. I stopped using the desktop for temporary files. I've got text files there I edit with Emacs, which creates temp files, and was getting warnings "file deleted, you can restore this file by going online" every time I saved. I tested - type one character, save file, grand total of 2 seconds, and I got the warning.
Previously I didn't have desktop or documents backed up. Most things there I can restore (download data sheets all over again, etc). Then the laptop die
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It uploads to the cloud almost instantly. I stopped using the desktop for temporary files. I've got text files there I edit with Emacs, which creates temp files, and was getting warnings "file deleted, you can restore this file by going online" every time I saved. I tested - type one character, save file, grand total of 2 seconds, and I got the warning.
Previously I didn't have desktop or documents backed up. Most things there I can restore (download data sheets all over again, etc). Then the laptop died, and it turns out not having your temporary notes can be frustrating. So I'm leaving it as is and learning to ignore those ugly green checkmarks, and to put temp files over on the WSL side of things.
Yes, it even backs up your shortcuts for installed applications...
I understand, and for Fred and Ethyl Mertz, who don't really want to think about Integrity, that might be appropriate. As I make money from my content, I have to be concerned with the other two legs -- Confidentiality and Availability. Microsoft will swear my content is confidential right up to the point where someone proves they're using it for their own purposes, or the news hits that they've had a(nother) major break-in. Availability -- (a) I often work in the field where I don't have internet. (b) I
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Same here. I stopped using all common folders such as photo's, downloads and desktop and use my own sety of folders for this to prevent the OS syncing and snooping. Stop bothering me with OneDrive, I never asked for it.
I do the same on MacOs by the way - macs are just as evil in wanting to sell me that juicy apple cloud subscription. Big tech can fuck off.
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All my computers are macs, work and home. Short of saying no on starting up a new machine, I have never been bothers by requests for a "juicy apple cloud subscription".
Not even for iCloud? Without my ever asking for it Apple created an iCloud subscription for me, uploaded my photos to it, and keeps dunning me that my "iCloud is full" and telling me to pay them money to expand it.
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The thing I dislike most about Windows 11 is it's insistence on putting all my content on the cloud.
The thing I like most about Windows 11 is the same thing. Most users aren't power users. They do not know how to manage their own backups. They do not know how fucked they are if their laptop breaks or something wipes their PC. Having sane defaults that protect ignorant users from themselves is a GOOD THING. You're a power user, turn the things off if you want to roll your own alternative.
Normally, I'd just say "uninstall Onedrive", but.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Knowing Microsoft, they'll probably just silently reinstall it as part of one of the semi-annual Windows feature updates.
Even better yet, they''ll probably start harassing you for a premium Onedrive subscription after they fill up the default 5 GB with garbage temporary files.
You know who doesn't automatically ship your junk to the cloud without asking? Ubuntu. Time to upgrade, anyone?
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5GB is nothing. More than that was backedup in onedrive at work, and none of it was actually work related. The work account probably has a larger limit; but I do remember for the Azure DevOps work, we'd occasionally get a warning in a complicated dashboard for a project that we were being throttled.
With Microsoft you know when a product reaches the alpha testing phase, because that's when Microsoft releases it to the public.
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I just accepted my user folder is not my own anymore, and moved base camp deeper within
Mint (Score:2)
>> You can't. And I tried EVERYTHING.
Of course you can, and it is extremely easy.
You simply install Mint. Linux Mint.
So they are copying my files to their servers...? (Score:2)
So they are copying my files to their servers... without my consent?
Wow. If this is true... I actually will finally have to look at non-Windows options (I have used VMs and Linux boxes at work but not at home).
What I wonder is the most Windows-like Linux option for home out there?
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Honestly, looking for a Linux distribution that is the most Windows-like is the surest way of having it all end in tears and come away thinking how much Linux sucks. It just doesn't work. Trust me. It's been tried many times over the decades. Honestly you're far better off ditching the Windows way of doing things and adapt to how the chosen Linux distro's desktop UI does things. Even if you go to a Mac, if you expect it to work the way Windows does, you'll be disappointed. They all have superficial sim
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my designer housemate was a Affinity Designer user, but switched to KDE Plasma a bit ago, due to being freaked out by win11's more--uh--invasive practices. Their official report was "Inkscape is very, very good. In some ways better"
IME Inkscape is very, very fragile, I've crashed it a lot of times. And the UI is not as good as Illustrator, either. Therefore I can conclude that Affinity Designer is not very good.
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In my experience, Inkscape and Krita both crash a lot on macOS but never on Linux. My biggest issue with Inkscape is the UI.
Affinity Designer works pretty well and seamlessly handles Adobe formats (.ai, .eps), unlike Inkscape. Basically, Inkscape works if you want to take the time to learn the UI and you don’t work on a team. Affinity Designer can pretty much replace Illustrator.
Having said that, Affinity Publisher cannot replace InDesign or work with InDesign files. Their photoshop replacement handle
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Linux is where I've crashed it most of the times, although I've crashed it on Windows too.
Same problem with Scribus, which people sometimes propose as a substitute for InDesign. It's fine if you want to make a birthday card or a pamphlet, but it absolutely craters if you try to do any documents with heft.
Same problem with every PDF editor I've tried that isn't Acrobat. What's sad is that Acrobat crashes too... but less than any of the alternatives.
Adobe is a bag of assholes, but their software is higher qua
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Probably any KDE-based distro will be Windows-like. Even more Windows-like than the actual Windows 11 is.
I still run Windows 10. But if I were to switch to Linux, I would pick either Debian Stable or MX Linux. If you ever try out Debian, you'll need to add the Backports repository if you want software that isn't 2 years old.
Wine can go a long way to run a lot of Windows applications.
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>
What I wonder is the most Windows-like Linux option for home out there?
Mac OS
Routine (Score:2)
Whatever. Same old Microsoft. Just tell me the steps to disable it so I can continue until the next Bing / AI / Advertising function gets enabled in a week or two without my consent.
CFAA Violation (Score:4, Insightful)
Sounds like statutory criminal data theft to me.
Where is the exception for this?
Just a corrupt judiciary?
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Sounds like statutory criminal data theft to me.
Sounds like you work for the RIAA if you consider backing up a copy somewhere else is "stealing".
Hint: Windows is the only system that didn't do this by default. Setting up a Mac, iPhone, Chromebook, or Android device requires you to *opt out* of cloud backups.
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So you arent' wrong about "everybody's doing it". But why do you accept that is fine?
Stop defending the undefendable for once and think for yourself.
I've given you points for pointing out what is now obvious. You're already compromised.
You seem like a fairly smart guy. Why accept getting screwed repeadedly?
Is Anyone Surprised? (Score:2)
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It's Windows > 7.
You still had control of Windows when at version 7. Some are still using it daily.
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MSFT is going to drag you kicking and screaming... (Score:2)
...into their cloud whether you like it or not.
M$ is sending a clear message here. (Score:2)
If you buy a computer with Windows preinstalled then M$ priority is monetizing users, not the impossible task of 100% security of private data on a desktop computer internet client. The caveat is that usage of the internet is simply not something that they can protect your data, or computer's function, from exploitation or subversion any more than any Windows 11 user. Since people buy computers to network with the big bad world, there was NEVER a way to assure absolute security from bad actors and malicio
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>"Want a better OS? Go buy one somewhere that's offline or managed by an army of experts."
Or, just a thought, you could install and use Linux. It can and will be as much offline as you want, give you full control, not violate your privacy, or radically change with updates. Plus it is free and also not difficult to install or use anymore (and hasn't been for a long time). If you can install MS-Windows, you can install something like Linux Mint in a small fraction of the time and have a system that runs
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Absolutely. Slackware has been a great alternative since the days Windows NT.
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Paragraphs are your friend. You seemed to have a good point but then my old eyes blurred out.
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Yeah they are sending a message: "We're copying the process of every other OS both desktop and tablet/phone, by making cloud backups opt out."
Simple rule (Score:2)
If something is good, users voluntarily pay for it
If something is shoved down your throat, it's a different story
My win 10 computer did this too (Score:2)
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Did you really need Windows 10 instead of 7?
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"Why am I using win instead of unbuntu?"
The answer is systemd and Mr Poettering.
Another reason to move (Score:2)
The public backlash means "Recall" won't supply free data so Microsoft needs another way to use their customer's personal data to train their AI software. That's more important than the obvious lack of privacy. Nobody else is getting punished, so it must acceptable for Microsoft to do it.
This was a problem with a Android OS reset, settings weren't reset. It was important to disable Sync during the first-use setup, install applets, then enable Sync to save the new settings.
Microsoft pissing all-over a c
Next the hard sell for online storage (Score:2)
A noob question (Score:2)
A noob question. Is there an easy way to block all Microsoft domains at the firewall level? The amount of cr@p MS throwing at us is way past the intolerable level.
You guys sucked the Microsoft eggplant (Score:3)
By adopting Windows 10 and its always-on spyware, and the utter inability to disable the windows update service.
Now you just have to swallow what Windows 11 gives you. Serves you right.
Windows (Score:2)
Microsoft seemed absolutely determined to stop me ever bothering to upgrade to 11 at home.
Another year or two and I will need a new computer, and I can't imagine for one second it's going to include Windows any more.
(Ran a Slackware desktop for 10 years, and absolutely cannot be bothered with Windows any more - I have Open Shell menus, I've turned off all the fancy search features, I have no interest in Cortana, Copilot or other AI or assistants, I refuse to use Edge and go out of my way to remove it, most
Music Software (Score:2)
So FL Studio stores its stuff in Documents (2.5GB). Native Instruments stores So does Expressive E. Then stuff like Serum presets and data for U-HE plugins. So do many others. If OneDrive tries to back all that...
For these screaming bloody hell and murder... (Score:2)
This is probably only for those running home edition, and perhaps maybe in some alternative universe for pro edition.
It would spell suicide for Microsoft if they fuck over their corporate clients (which typically run enterprise edition) with this; they'd instantly get sued into oblivion, as these people generally have confidential information they don't want exported to some cloud outside of their control.
Hospitals, accountants, lawyers, journalists, research centers, etc. would become extremely unhappy if
Re: (Score:2)
Microsoft is doing most of the same stuff to corporate users that they are doing to everyone else. Their excuse is that you can change it with group policy, so it's OK if their defaults are noxious. All the same stuff starts by default. At work I deal with PHI all day every day and OneDrive came up there MONTHS ago and tried to get me to opt in. There are ads for various Mickeysoft products all over the place by default. I won't be surprised if OneDrive self-activates at work one day and wrecks some of my f
What? You didn't see this coming? (Score:2)
Here's what I don't get. The amount of effort you put into sidestepping or removing or disabling pretty much every new feature is not only a lot of work, it's quite detailed. I just read above, people who do 15 steps to get out of some MS trap.... go into the registry and change or add undocumented keys... make sure not to press button X on t
Microsoft has made * more annoying (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
I didn't realize there were still so many anti-cloud people here. The rest of the world has been directly creating docs in the cloud for over a decade. And using Google Drive to store everything, barely using a hard drive. OneDrive is Microsoft's move to stay competitive against Google Drive. Home users that want everything saved on local storage are a corner case at this point.
Corner case or not, it's still a choice we're allowed to make and people telling us that we should just get with the program if we don't like that Microsoft is stealing that choice from us can go ahead and find themselves a real polite way to fuck all the way off. We pay for these machines. We set them up the way we want them. Then Microsoft installs an update or changes a default during an update and suddenly it's doing something we explicitly, perhaps several times, told it not to. I don't want my persona