DOES WINDOWS (MICROSOFT) COMPLY WITH DATA PROTECTION LAWS?

21 Aug DOES WINDOWS (MICROSOFT) COMPLY WITH DATA PROTECTION LAWS?

No, it does not comply. At least as to the standard which says that personal data must be protected by default

What happens to Windows 10?

The installation of Windows 10 is an example of how not to respect these principles.

During the installation there comes a time when we will see a window that tells us that either we can choose the option “Use Quick configuration” or we can “customize configuration”, nothing is casual.

We are warned that yes, if we choose the option of quick configuration, we will send a number of things to Microsoft, although it is not clear what and how exactly.

But if we give “Customize configuration”, we will find 3 windows that are all configuration options, all of them pre-marked (accepted by default) for things like:

• Customize voice, writing, and pen entry by sending Microsoft my contacts, calendars, and other unspecified information.
• Allow applications (you don’t know which ones) to use my advertising identifier (which I don’t know what it is) for experiences (what experiences?) between applications.
• Allow Skype to check my mobile number and download my address book, and watch out, that warns that SMS charges can apply (of this they didn’t say anything to you in the first Windows 10 window).
• Share my location with applications, ease my locations history and send to Microsoft and its “trusted partners” (who are those?) my location data to improve their services.
• Automatically connect to open WiFi.
• Send to Microsoft information about errors and diagnostics, without indicating what type of information is sent.
• Send my browsing or surfing data (the pages you visit every day) to Microsoft to improve my experience.
• Use my Internet connection and my system to send updates to other unknown computers.

All these data treatments are not necessary for the purpose I pursue when installing Windows 10, which is, in essence, to have an operating system, and not to try to improve my experience in multiple ways or to facilitate my contacts calendar or my history of Browsing to third companies that I can neither identify, or that my history of locations will be shared also with other companies.

Summarizing, all those are treatments of data that by default should be deactivated and it should be the user who, by means of a positive action, authorizes them.