“Concerns over Windows 10 and the amount of data it collects via the Windows Store could prompt users to switch to Mac according to a new survey,” Ian Barker reports for BetaNews.
“The study conducted by OnePoll on behalf of security and privacy advice and comparison website Comparitech.com finds that 61 percent of the US public who regularly use Windows would at least consider switching to Mac,” Barker reports. “In the UK the figure is even higher at 67 percent, with 15 percent saying they would definitely consider swapping. Only 33 percent in the UK and 39 percent in the US say that they would not contemplate switching operating systems.”
Read more in the full article here.
“The poll results come shortly after France ordered Microsoft to remedy multiple privacy failings in its newest operating system,” Paul Bischoff reports for Comparitech.The French National Data Protection Commission cited three specific cases where it found the operating system’s collection of user information to be excessive:”
• the Windows Store collects data on the apps users download and time spent on each one without permission;
• Windows 10 installs an advertising identifier by default, which allows Microsoft to monitor browsing and target users with ads;
• the Windows Store authentication, which allows users to set a 4-digit PIN in lieu of a password, does not restrict the number of attempts to enter the correct code.
“All of these issues set off alarms among privacy experts shortly after the operating system was released just over a year ago,” Bischoff reports, “so while France’s order is new, the problems with Windows 10 are not.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote last September:
People who value privacy and security use Apple products.
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