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Microsoft Building The Ultimate Spyware System

pcworld.com — Microsoft "software plus services" sounds innocent enough, it isn't. MS plans to lure users into dependency on MS servers, while at the same time giving MS unfettered access to all information stored on user's computers. MS could track all user activity, from their purchases to their contact lists. Think I'm exaggerating? Read the article.

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  • gmgartner, on 10/10/2007, -5/+22The last sentence doesn't make a lot of sense to me. How can a competitor "steal" business from Microsoft when it is an open market? Microsoft does not own the software as service concept.
    • phaed, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3Microsoft currently owns that portion of the market. So in theory it can be stolen/taken from them.
    • potp, on 10/10/2007, -1/+8welcome to marketing 101. "stealing" in marketing means luring customers away from the rival by specifically targeting them and causing them to defect to your product or service.

      -The more your know.
    • soopafly, on 10/10/2007, -6/+1LOL...Eat it M$ fanboys
  • Noobuntu, on 10/10/2007, -8/+32Ironic, Microsoft's Windows Defender is meant stop Spyware.
    • craftyguy, on 10/10/2007, -4/+11Well yea, stop the competing spyware :P
    • Stonekeeper, on 10/10/2007, -2/+7Dugg for the first correct use of the word "irony" on Digg.
  • OBKenobi, on 10/10/2007, -21/+22Btw, sorry for spamming this earlier, but I think people really need to see this. I don't want Microsoft's claws around my neck. My computer is my property, not the property of some greedy software vendor. Microsoft needs to get the message that it can't treat customers like serfs.
    • chris9902, on 10/10/2007, -8/+12I'm sure it's only a matter of time before Microsoft eat your soul as well. Watch out! ooooooooooo
    • naio, on 10/10/2007, -14/+3OBKenobi: I think you should dress an explosive belt and run to Redmond.
    • Phocion55, on 10/10/2007, -5/+8Do you guys ever re-read your comments and ask "what the hell was I thinking?"
    • trubbleshute, on 10/10/2007, -3/+11Not to sound like a Linux Zealot here, but there are alternatives to Microsoft. The open source community is developing some amazing stuff.
    • EvilWalksWithMe, on 10/10/2007, -4/+7Simple... Don't use it. But really, smoke much weed? Your looking rather paranoid!
      • Winston84, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4Take many happy-pills ? you seem a bit detached from reality ...
    • ceokevin, on 10/10/2007, -6/+2Dude, they're not asking for your information. The paradigm is shifting from products to services. Microsoft will sell services instead that you'd buy if you wanted.
      If you hosted a business and didn't want to buy Exchange server and maintain it, a customer would buy a hosted package from a third party or Microsoft to manage his email.
      Get it?
  • corevette, on 10/10/2007, -21/+13I don't get it.....
    Microsoft makes a product that has a bunch of security holes (IE7 among others)
    They refuse to patch up most of those holes
    So they make a whole security suite instead.....
    well then, alternative browsers FTW
    • over9, on 10/10/2007, -21/+14MS patches holes faster than Apple and Linux.
      • geminitojanus, on 10/10/2007, -7/+17You're terribly mistaken, so much so that it's disgusting. The last bug I remember hearing about being widespread in Linux was the Gzip vulnerability (because literally every distribution was affected). The patch was submitted 6 hours after it was found. Debian pushed it an hour later, Ubuntu the next day [the only two I know, because these are the only Linux-based OSes I use].

        Mac OS X didn't see the patch until almost a week later as a part of a consolidated service pack.

        We can't even be for sure if it's been patched in Windows, as the code's closed and we have no idea to what level it depends on gzip (if at all).

        The fact is, Microsoft always waits until Tuesday. Mac OS X waits until it's got a collection of bugs it can fix all at once. Linux-based OSes ship security fixes /immediately/.
  • chris9902, on 10/10/2007, -6/+42"giving MS unfettered access to all information stored on user's computers"

    wrong. buried. Read the story YOU submitted. You can buy servers independent of Microsoft.

    "Companies may decide to buy Microsoft servers, which offers them the ultimate in customization, control and compliance, he said. Enterprises could instead hire third party companies that might have a unique expertise in a particular area to host a service for them."
    • AstralSin, on 10/10/2007, -8/+4microsoft and compliance don't belong in the same sentence. microsoft complies to their own standards, not the world's
    • estvir, on 10/10/2007, -4/+7> wrong. buried. Read the story YOU submitted. You can buy servers independent of Microsoft.

      You do realise this is OBKenobi, right? This guy went and spammed the story simply because it seemed like a "LOL M$ IS EVIL" thing. Go read the last story about Vista from Ars Technica which made the frontpage and you can see him basically saying "This is totally wrong and Ars was bought off, but I can't provide a single reason why so I'm going to call you all M$ trolls."
      • daftman, on 10/10/2007, -4/+3Oh come one, this is comming from estvir, the one of the biggest microsoft troll in comparison with flag534, TippyTop and fkr3
    • OBKenobi, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1We'll see about that. I have complete faith in the evil of Microsoft.
  • mattc908, on 10/10/2007, -1/+19I love how all companies that are windows based Anti Virus/Spyware use mob tactics.
    Would you like to buy our software? It protects you from evil spyware and virus's. If you dont buy it, it would be an awful shame if your computer got something. (Especially after Norton was a virus).
  • JasonCox, on 10/10/2007, -12/+25Wow, someone has his tinfoil hat on way too tight.
  • cricoste90, on 10/10/2007, -16/+39Buried as anti-MS spam.
  • climateHeretic, on 10/10/2007, -12/+19Go back to your Unix system and build the next great virus for all the windows users to endure because Microsoft is soooo evil
  • bdubya, on 10/10/2007, -14/+10Welcome to Google's OS
  • consonance, on 10/10/2007, -4/+27The title and summary are just plain BS. This is stupid.
    • OBKenobi, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1You're stupid. And gullible. A prime candidate for Microsoft services.
  • kenvsryu, on 10/10/2007, -12/+9Yay digg is in bed with Microsoft!
  • rahulkumar, on 10/10/2007, -6/+8YES! Microsoft will get my data. As long as its now Google I don't really care. Stop trying to act like your companies are all oh so innocent. I'd be mored worried about tthe fact that Google was keeping stuff onthere computers till 2038, until forced to reduce it.
  • rbleader, on 10/10/2007, -10/+13Buried. Inaccurate.
  • Morkin, on 10/10/2007, -3/+17"MS plans to lure users into dependency on MS servers, while at the same time giving MS unfettered access to all information stored on user's computers." or maybe "Google has lured users into dependency on Google servers, while at the same time giving Google unfettered access to all information stored on user's computers via Google Desktop Search". Software as a service and data mining are already here, OBkenobi.
  • skiron5, on 10/10/2007, -12/+10I for one am going to Linux see ya windows :)
  • naio, on 10/10/2007, -10/+7Buried as moronic POS. Both the article and the submitter.
    • estvir, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1But mostly the submitter.
    • daftman, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Nah just both of your comments. I read your comments and thinking hang on, this sound like naio, another ms troll.
      But hey since digg is now a microsoft site, you would now get more diggs and attention.
  • cerberus414, on 10/10/2007, -10/+13I came to conclusion that digg is a such an Apple fanboy site. Does it have to do with Kevin Rose being the biggest Apple fanboy ever???? Just maybe?
    I'm honestly sick of all of this bashing. I used to like digg, but not it's just getting lame, for every 1 positive article I hear about MS, there are 100 negative ones. And complete opposite for the Apple. A year ago, it wasn't like this with digg, now it is just getting out of hand. All you guys do is bash bash bash. Digg is supposed to be neutral, which I really doubt now. I am not here to bash Apple because they do have good products, but you can't promote Apple's products by taking low shots at their competitors. you guys should know better. I used to be a frequent reader of digg, but everyday I get less and less interested in it, because I prefer to hear both sides of the story, not just one. Soon, I might comepletely stop coming to this site. Farewell guys.

    P.S. Might as well give myself thumbs down on this comment because I know it will be -45045840 in the next 5 minutes.
    • snoolyagain, on 10/10/2007, -7/+0linux fanboy here
    • meatmcguffin, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4Who mentioned Apple?
      • somegeologist, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Speaking of Apple:
        IPhone Contract Is Long and Legally Murky
        http://www.wired.com/gadgets/wireless/news/2007/07/iphone_contract?currentPage=2
      • tdous, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1read his comment again and use your brain, or try. Idiot.
        • meatmcguffin, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Idiot yourself. The title didn't mention Apple, the description didn't mention Apple, the story didn't mention Apple, the comments at that point didn't mention Apple. Then he sprung into a random rant about how Digg is an Apple fanboy site when most of the comments are about MS, Google and Linux.

          Moron.
    • trigun1, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2“for every 1 positive article I hear about MS, there are 100 negative ones”
      “P.S. Might as well give myself thumbs down on this comment because I know it will be -45045840 in the next 5 minutes”

      If I've told you once cerberus414 I've told you a million times don't exaggerate! ;)

      And I've never used an Apple.
  • Rabbittt, on 10/10/2007, -14/+7Microsoft works like the damn government, I don't like them very much.. Long live Freedom and Free Source!
  • snoolyagain, on 10/10/2007, -18/+8***** Microsoft. don't EVER use them for personal desktop computing.
  • saltmiser, on 10/10/2007, -9/+7usually Microsoft is up to no good but in this case it looks legit, buried
  • simra, on 10/10/2007, -8/+4Umm, all you l33t gmail users don't seem to realize MSFT is just playing catchup with google... all you data is belong to U$.
  • telovoyagarcar, on 10/10/2007, -6/+4Stupid *****...
    Desktops are migrating to online services until the only thing you will need will be a browser. How do you expect that no company be it Microsoft, Google, Yahoo or whatever won't have your information stored in their systems?
    Microsoft is more than you are... eat it.
    • Phocion55, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2No. Browsers will be obsolete. Services will be integrated on the desktop, being completely transparent to the user.
      • cquinnd, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Until their connection hits a blip.
  • digboy99, on 10/10/2007, -7/+8How is this any different that what Google does today?
  • MasterThief117, on 10/10/2007, -2/+7All I know is that the longer this is going to stay on the front page, the more Microsoft bashing there will be.
  • Predater, on 10/10/2007, -11/+11Ultimate Spyware system??? They already did!!! It's called Microsoft Windows.
    • roberto_deneero, on 10/10/2007, -6/+3When I read this headline your words were IMMEDIATELY what came to my mind! Microsoft IS spyware.
    • alienforever, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Now you gotta explain to me what make you think that?

      Google is the biggest Spyware company in the world.
  • jimbo92107, on 10/10/2007, -10/+5All MicroSlop's slushware is closed source. If you use any version of Windows, prove to me that they aren't spying on you RIGHT NOW.
    • SintraKikuta, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Because if it was, one of my firewalls would catch it when it tries to send the data isn't 'stolen' back to the Microsoft servers.
    • tdous, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Owned. ***** idiot.
    • FKnight, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4"If you use any version of Windows, prove to me that they aren't spying on you RIGHT NOW."

      Jimbo92107 is a child molester who also regularly has sex with his dog. Prove to me that he isn't.

      See what happens when you turn the burden of proof on it's ear like a junior high student?
  • djGentoo, on 10/10/2007, -9/+3So Microsoft is going to "innovate" spyware- just like they "innovated" the 3D desktop, 32-bit OS, Web browser, GUI, and bloatware.
  • hiro, on 10/10/2007, -3/+5If you think this is worrying, wait 'til Google reveal their true colours!
    • tdous, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Christ, SHUT UP! Sick of this stupid ***** attitude where any large company is evil. All companies exist to make money - learn to live with it. If everything reverted to small local family run establishments we wouldn't continue to develop very far as a species would we?
  • andyakadum, on 10/10/2007, -6/+3Which chode/MSfanboy keeps burying the anti microsoft stuff?

    Ubuntu FTW!
  • ironman110, on 10/10/2007, -4/+2Microsoft is the past , apple is the future hence all the negative articles. Its that simple.
    This is both sides of the story. It is the whole picture. And google is a good company. Just ask their employees !
  • MMaster23, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6you're an idiot ... learn to read. the whole idea of software + services is that you still have your favorite apps on your favorite Windows OS but the online services ENRICH the app. the app won't need the service but the overal experience is designed for and is better with the online services. you're already using this concept for Flickr fotos, IM with weblog integration. Companies have been doing stuff like this for ages. For example Microsoft Sharepoint integrates with Office 2003/2007 when using them both at the same time. they have their own purpose and both can operate stand-alone. however togheter it makes a whole new experience. Microsoft wants to make this kind of integration happen for the "normal people". Stop whyning about spying big brothers.

    ps. i was at the global partner event when this was introduced. the idea applies for companies first. you'll probably won't even see this idea in your next windows. so shut your whinehole
    • OBKenobi, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1[quote]you're an idiot ... learn to read. the whole idea of software + services is that you still have your favorite apps on your favorite Windows OS but the online services ENRICH the app.[/quote]

      Right, and you think Microsoft is going to make this fair? First of all, all this stuff is going to require Microsoft's protocols, Microsoft's certificates and identity management, and ofcourse, Microsoft software. Do you think they will all Linux and Apple to co-operate with these services? Do you think they're not going to be tracking your activity and cataloging any documents they get access to. With the full implementation of this, they'd have direct access to your PC at any time.

      Those of you that still think this is all innocent probably voted for George W. Bush, didn't you? When are going to learn? Microsoft might as well call themselves the CIA, only they're worse, because they have no accountability for what they do with your data and records whatsoever. Nothing but a EULA which they leave the option of changing at any time.

      Still, I'm NOT worried, because this is all going to fail. I wanted to mention it now, so people know now and plan for alternatives. The sooner Microsoft can be marginalized, the better.
  • ScoobyG, on 10/10/2007, -2/+7Completely misleading description. Did the submitter ever RTFA? Buried as inaccurate.
    • azerthoth, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Agreed, this idiocy caused me to log into digg for the first time in months just so I could click the bury button. Reading comprehension should be on the top of this guys list over digging up stuff he doesn't understand and start going conspiracy theory all over it.
  • roberto_deneero, on 10/10/2007, -4/+2BREAKING: Microsoft insider just leaked that the "SP" they have been releasing to Winblows users all these years does in fact really mean "Spyware Pack" to company insiders.
  • Kwipper, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1Oh come on apple/unix variations. Please make your systems more gaming friendly so we gamers can move away from windows.... and no I don't want to have to use a console either.
    • djGentoo, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1O NOES TEH CONSOLE!!!!111111111 Really, it's not that hard to use. Half the commands you'll use are copy-and-paste from tutorials. Get over your fear, stop acting like a baby, and give it a try. Windows fanboys, do us a favor and shut up until you've actually used Linux.
  • Atomic1fire, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1O NOES GET UR TINFOILZ
    the aliens are allied with bill gates
  • hellman, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Have you even read the news lately? Google just got in trouble b/c it planned on keeping around user records for 30 YEARS! And Google even admits to scanning your email to give you contextual ads. Seriously anti-ms propaganda.
  • randal2k, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Reality check: Businesses are in Business to make money, you are there Money. If a Consumer will not give the business money for a good or service, the business must find ways to leverage other businesses to gain income from there consumers,

    Microsoft is a business. Do not expect them to do anything that doesn't increase there income.

    If your tired of there crap, get a Linux distro or Free BSD and end the game.


  • weszt, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3If you think that Microsoft is the only company doing software-as-service, you're very, very naive.

    Although I'm not really a big fan of Microsoft, it's sickening how much energy people on Digg spend complaining about them. Don't use their products. That's it.
  • clyde2801, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1I'm just happy they're not building the Death Star...
    • chess007, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1If they were, I wouldn't worry about it. It would probably blue screen and be a useless piece of junk. :)
  • Jumangi, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1I love the MS haters trying to slam them with more lame crap like this when they probably blissfully use every google app and service under the sun not thinking for a second about the massive amounts of data and personal info they are collecting on people.
  • Synapse84, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2hmm lets see...

    Microsoft has absolutely no knowledge that my computer even exists right now :P
    manually patched dnsapi.dll file
    hosts file blocking
    router blocking of all microsoft, windows, msdn, live and a couple other domains.
    firewall blocking all the above domains.

    even completely up to date on all my hotfixes due to third party sources :P
    i doubt this "software plus services" would be any trouble for me to get around.
    :)

    i'm a Microsoft Fanboy, been using Windows since 3.1 and DOS before that... but now i have Ubuntu on another partition to get me into the Linux enviroment if this "software plus services" goes live and i don't agree with it or theres no way to disable it.
  • SVPirate, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1As every day passes I thank the stars I stopped at XP SP2 (and that's bad enough!). It's my computer, I own it, I control it, you guys can **** off!
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