
Even though most of the traffic from Windows 10 doesn’t seem to be harmful, it appears that the new Microsoft operating system is communicating with Microsoft servers when even many data privacy settings are on. According to ArsTechnica, after disabling the operating system’s Cortana assistant performing Web searches from the Start menu, Windows 10 will still send requests to bing.com for a file with Cortana data.
In situations where the live tiles aren't pinned to the start menu, it seems that the operating system will periodically download new tile data from Microsoft over an unencrypted HTTP connection. When using HTTP and HTTPS proxies, Windows 10 is said to bypass these connections to make requests from a content delivery network. In this particular scenario, when the operating system connects to a new network, Windows attempts to fetch two text files, one for IPv4 and another for IPv6 in an attempt to gauge whether that network is connected to the Internet. These requests are however stripped-down, don’t even include a machine ID, and can completely shut off with some technical knowledge.
The more pertinent issue is communication with what appears to be a server for OneDrive, which is Microsoft’s cloud storage network. Windows ends up sending unknown data to the server even if the feature is disabled and a computer has a local-only login. The data may involve telemetry settings, which can again be disabled by users who have the technical knowledge.
According to a Microsoft spokesperson, at least some of the controversial data involves updating Bing search, for instance to add new styles and search code. The person had the following to say regarding the matter:
No query or search usage data is sent to Microsoft, in accordance with the customer's chosen privacy settings. This also applies to searching offline for items such as apps, files and settings on the device.
Source: ArsTechnica via AppleInsider
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