W10 Tech Preview Keylogger Explained

[Digerati]

I thought Lee Mathews' article, Microsoft clears the air on Windows 10 “keylogger”, and The Register article he references do a great job getting ahead of potential rumors of Microsoft spying on W10 users.

Bottom line: Read your EULAs.

 

[Corrine]

There has been quite the uproar in the press about this by headline grabbers, which has resulted in anti-Microsoft people running with the headlines. I've run into it at a couple of forums with people going so far as to say they will never install Windows 10, completely missing the point that the current availability is a Technical Preview and not a released, polished operating system which isn't expected until some time mid-2015. As Aryeh Goretsky (ESET Distinguished Researcher and Microsoft MVP) explained in another forum:

Hello,

During a crash, it's possible that all sorts of information might accidentally be gathered:

- environment variables (including the username)
- list of running processes, paths (which might include the username, language preferences, IP addresses, time zone, etc.)
- IP addresses or hostnames of network connections
- contents of windows (text, pictures, etc.)

Microsoft has an amazingly thorough privacy policy and strict procedures in place to automatically scrub PII out of data and anonymize it, and that data gets further scrubbed before giving it to a third party, who has to sign all confidentiality agreements. That typically only comes into play though when doing things like debugging driver issues, and Microsoft needs to give someone like AMD or nVidia some crash data related to their graphics drivers.

In previous pre-release versions of Windows OSes, I think the CEIP participation could be disabled, which is just not the case with Windows 10 Technical Preview. I suspect it may return as an option that can be disabled as it gets further into the release process (beta builds, consumer technology previews, whatever) but that's just a guess on my part.

Keep in mind, that the Windows 10 Technical Preview is explicitly released so that Microsoft can get feedback on how the OS is being used, and to allow software and hardware manufacturers to test their products. It's not a shipping version of an operating system that you can buy on a PC at the store. It's unpolished code that's been released to solicit bug reports.

If you're not in the mindset of wanting to use Windows 10 Technical Preview to help Microsoft find bugs, or to verify compatibility for products that you're developing, I'd suggest giving it a pass until a future build is available that better meets your needs, whatever those might be.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

Ed Bott put a different spin on the original Inquirer article:

It started with a Friday-afternoon article in The Inquirer, a tech tabloid known for its breathless headlines and factually challenged prose. In true Inky fashion, the headline declared that Windows 10 "has permission to watch your every move," adding, ominously: "Its 'privacy' policy includes permission to use a keylogger."
From a legalistic point of view, this headline is cleverly constructed. It doesn’t actually say that Windows 10 contains surveillance software that monitors your keystrokes and sends a log of those keystrokes to Redmond. In fact, the implication that there is an actual keylogger embedded in the Windows 10 code is contradicted by this key graf, buried near the end of the story:

In other words, in effect, you are giving permission for Microsoft to screen your files, and in effect keylog your keyboard input. [emphasis added]​

“In effect.” Not in actuality. And in fact there’s little evidence that the author has enough background in computer science or security to tell a keylogger from a key lime pie.

More in Ed Bott's article: Windows 10: You've got questions, I've got answers

 

[Digerati]

I am glad to see so many in IT media defending MS this time, instead of immediately bashing (as some obviously still do) or use tabloid headlines splashing with untruisms to gen up riotous reactions (followers). In the past, it seems they either bashed, or kept quiet as others bashed for something MS did, or didn't do, or more likely both.

Not that MS hasn't had its share of bash-worthy moments! This just isn't one of them.

 

[Patrick]

I've run into it at a couple of forums with people going so far as to say they will never install Windows 10

I guarantee most if not all of them will have Windows 10 come release, or soon after.