Torrent Trackers Block Windows 10 Users Over Spying Fears

 

Windows 10 is now off bounds for torrent trackers. The torrent trackers  have banned Windows 10 due to “privacy concerns” according to the torrent tracking website Torrent Freak.

Microsoft’s latest operating system iteration is under fire from all quarters due to its snooping capabilities. Further reports suggest that Microsoft can wipe torrents and pirated software from people’s hard drives with a sort of piracy kill switch.

For the uninitiated, torrent tracker is a server that communicates between peers using the BitTorrent protocol. Torrents are typically used to share files and the torrent tracker server keeps track of where these shared files reside on peer machines, which ones are available at time of request, and helps coordinate the sharing of that file.

The controversy regarding Windows 10 and privacy originates from Microsoft’s Services Agreement and EULA. Torrent websites seems to be most troubled by Microsoft’s updated End Users License Agreement (EULA), which states:

 

http://www.techworm.net/2015/08/torrent-trackers-block-windows-10-users-over-spying-fears.html

 

“Many of you might have heard or read about the terrible privacy policy of windows 10 recently. Unfortunately Microsoft decided to revoke any kind of data protection and submit whatever they can gather to not only themselves but also others. One of those is one of the largest anti-piracy company called MarkMonitor. Amongst other things windows 10 sends the contents of your local disks directly to one of their servers. Obviously this goes way too far and is a serious threat to sites like ours which is why we had to take measures,” iTS argues.

Now that's funny.

Edited by NickAu, 24 August 2015 - 06:32 AM.

Oh that's rich... unintended irony of the year?

On another note, they just made the Windows 10 OS a brilliant and easy way to limit torrenting on office/school computers. 

Edited by DagonCrows, 24 August 2015 - 10:56 AM.

Other articles on the same topic, just now in PC World, and ArsTechnica, which counter some of the claims.  The latter is a must read for pro-Win10 folk.  Will make them smile.

Pirating from pirates is still pirating, and the pirating isn't only from pirates, is it. YOUR data is pirated, too.  Even though you did nothing, and there was no justification for taking all your data, too.  Of course, is there any proof yet this has actually occurred?  If so, the one from whom MSFT pirated can go to the police and sue, for the EULA doesn't bind in criminal cases.  What MSFT did, if it did, would be classified as theft and therefore adjudicated under criminal law.

Yeah, law of unintended consequences, that EULA will come back on MSFT's head.  For if it did take the data, it's a CRIME punishable under due process, within the jurisdiction (the victim's) where it occurred.

And if you say, 'well, the victim was a Win10 user and agreed to the EULA', the reply is easily -- and WHO ELSE'S DATA was on that machine?  They were not agreeing to the EULA, so they are victims with legal standing.

Example:  ABC Gaming company is not associated with Microsoft.  Joe Blow had ABC's games on his machine, and MSFT borked them.  So now ABC Gaming is an aggrieved party who did not sign onto Win10.  So if Torrents, multiply this by millions, and you begin to see the scope.

MSFT is digging its own grave.  Again.  For enfin, it doesn't matter if it's not guilty in practice.  IT ARROGATES THE RIGHT TO STEAL in the EULA (full legal official text links from MSFT itself, are highlighted here).

Edited by brainout, 24 August 2015 - 01:24 PM.

Does that mean a Windows 10 computer cannot use torrent to download a linux distro? 

This just in from ZDnet, another article on the topic.  Since ZDnet is a known toady for MSFT, some might be more interested in the ZDnet article, than the others posted.

And this just in by commenters to the ZDnet article, IF YOU ARE A PHYSICIAN OR HOSPITAL WORKER YOU MUST READ THIS, IT RELATES TO HIPAA.. click here.  It's only a blog, but it reflects a concern which I'm sure will have to eventually receive a pronouncement.  Meanwhile, it's not good to use Windows 10 on any machine, lest any patient whose data is compromised, can accuse you.  It's not about proving innocence.  It's about the high malpractice premiums coming from merely being accused.

Law of unintended consequences which the MS fanboys apparently don't WANT to grasp, so would have you infect your machine with Windows 10.  Yes, infect.  But they don't care, they drank the koolaid and proselytize anyone else to do the same, until we are all infected.  This is the biggest potential computer disaster of the 21st century, and they are incapable of even understanding it.

Edited by brainout, 24 August 2015 - 06:04 PM.

Mind boggling. Thanks to all of you Windows 10 news reporters.  

Linux is probably looking better and better for those who sail the seven digital seas in search of digital booty, yarrr.

Though i do hope linux wont be associated with pirates, we already got enemies in the NSA to deal with.

besides its cooler be called a hacker, Mozart's ghost people!

Edited by MadmanRB, 25 August 2015 - 01:19 AM.

oh well......i guess that despite all the pages and pages of articles written/typed by far more learned people than myself and possibly more learned than the best that BC has to offer......plus the lord knows how many companies , corporations, web sites etc etc warning of the 'change' that has entered the windows playing field in the form of privacy statement,  eula, and so on and so forth and so fifth......we will just have to be content with knowing that none of this can be proved and we must not dare to assume anything based on years and years of business experience and indeed on years and years of Life experience itself.

Yeah right.

I, for one, choose not to be an 

*SNICKER*