7 ms·

If you care about software being closed source or proprietary you probably aren't running Windows.

• DaSHacka 13d ago
  Honestly, even as a Linux guy who doesn't use Windows (almost) at all anymore, I trust Microsoft to be generic and corporate in their spying. They'll spy on users usage habits, and likely backdoor their OS for the feds, but they won't individually exfil your browser cookies and steal money from your bank account. A random closed-source black-box "privacy" tool though? You have zero guarantees.
  • notabotiswear 13d ago
    > They'll spy on users usage habits, and likely backdoor their OS for the feds, but they won't individually exfil your browser cookies and steal money from your bank account. What’s the difference between backdooring for the US gov’t and directly robbing/bugging you (assuming for the sake of argument that they don’t already do at least the latter)? Used to be that you’d only ask that question if you were brown and/or write your name from right to left. Doesn’t matter much whether you were from Svalbard or Sanaa these days…
    • majorchord 13d ago
      I think they are making the assumption that if such a govt backdoor existed, it wouldn't be used for generic mass spying, but instead targeted at specific individuals they are trying to find/arrest. That may or may not be true, but I feel like the former would be a whole lot harder to hide, and the risk of having to reveal it in court would likely mean they aren't going to blow their cover over someone who wasn't worth it.
      • notabotiswear 12d ago
        >Generic mass spying. Like PRISM, Boundless Informant, Stellar Wind, etc?