Microsoft steals data???

My comp keeps sending & receiving data packets even when i am not browsing & not updating windows..

Can u tell me a reason why data packets are being received & sent on idle?


I ran full system scans using Norton & Webroot anti-spyware...nothing detected..

Does microsoft collect data which i cant do anything about??

I use Vista so really feeling uncomfortable....i mean how would u feel if your comp is communicating even when u dont want it to...

 

How much traffic is occurring? I've noticed that there is always a little bit of data going back and forth, even on an idle connection. This is normal. If you're transferring several megs during idle time, though, that could be a problem.

 

Try reading the EULA of Vista. It's probably in there somewhere.

If you're that paranoid, then maybe you should disconnect yourself from the internet and live life offline. Maybe you're just not ready for that yet if you feel so uncomfortable and scared.

 

Try this:
Disconnect your router from the power supply. Note how after a couple seconds your computer says there is no network connection.

How did it know?
Your computer sends, and recieves packets every few seconds to make sure it's still connected, and to make sure you get a correct reading on signal strength.

Still not convinced?
Your router should have a built in firewall, and the log should tell you if your personal files are going to microsoft.

 

Why would MS want your personal data? There's probably a better chance that the NSA or some hacker is spying on you as opposed to MS. Have you done a spyware scan?

 

I ran a full system spyware scan...no spyware..

I think its like daniel said...my comp keeps checking with the router if it is connected...

I was paranoid a bit as XP on my older laptop didn't send/receive data packets...




And i wish i could have offline life but not possible rite?

 

i did read a while back a feature of vista's defender was that it would allow software companies that paid a fee such as adobe to scan your hard drive to see if the copy is legit and if it isnt disable it from functioning. i dont know if it got carried through though.

however, your computer, while idle, often does a lot of things. antivirus updates, spyware programs update, windows checks for updates, itunes checks etc. there are ways also to monitor and record all traffic flow in and out of your computer and have it saved in a text file.

check out this link if you want to try that.

 

ya but it happens all the time...i was monitoring it & every 10 seconds it send data packets in Kilobytes ..

But i ve always thought about what you are saying...
Maybe established companies do pay to allow their spyware for marketing & research purposes..

 

well its not exactly spyware, its sorta a backdoor thats built into windows just for this purpose. just like there are backdoors that let the cia/fbi/nsa in. im not sure microsoft will ever act on the software piracy thing because if they activated it one day and everyones illegal software stopped working, i think they would lose a lot of market share as users would move to other operating systems (linux).

 

Man, everyone's so paranoid these days. READ: No one want to steal your porn collection. They can build one themselves.

If someone was really spying on me, I would feel sorry for whoever had to pay the dude to comb through what I do with my computer on a daily basis. Heck, pay me what you pay that guy and I'll personally log what I do everyday: on and off the computer. Jesus Christ, I'll even provide color commentary.

 

there are severs setup at all the main internet routing stations that sift through data packets for the bad things too...theres no way to avoid them...

 

wow the microsoft conspiracy stuff needs to stop. If you are really that worried about something, switch to linux or something that you won't be worried about and complain about all day.

 

Actually, i wrote a letter to Microsoft service department...stating all this spynet community **** & all that options they have to collect your data

They didnt reply..

I wrote exactly what u said but in a different business manner

 

im not saying i care, if you didnt do anything wrong, you have nothing to hide right? thats where i stand. im just saying that its possible for it to happen.

 

Guys the Microsoft conspiracy stuff doesn't need to stop. If people are asking the questions, then the education of what is happening to their computers is not widespread enough.

I don't believe Microsoft is stealing our data in this point in time but I can't say that will be the case forever. Who's to say in the future they won't? I can't condemn someone for asking the questions. In fact I applaud them for always wanting to know what is going on - there's nothing wrong with people wanting to be informed, so don't ridicule them for thinking outside the box by telling them to "stop" thinking in a certain way.

 

BULL HOCKEY! Please provide a link where this assertion can be read.

Gary

 

No one is being ridiculed for ASKING the question. The ridicule is reserved for the folks with ridiculous conspiracy theories as to what is happening even in the face of perfectly logical explanations of what really is happening.

Gary

 

Unlikely. This is the only Windows Defender agreement that is readily available. Interesting that there is no opt-out choice.

Windows Error Reporting, on the other hand, can collect and send a lot of data if you let it.

 

Some body should write an app to let you know when this is going on. If it actually is going on.

BTW, My HD on Vista doesn't do anything when I not using, with the exception a Avast once in a while. XP is a differ story.

 

Yes, but HDD activity doesn't really relate to IP traffic

 

What does microsoft gain by stealing your personal data anyway?

 

Marketing value? Corporate Conspiracy? Maybe, Microsoft is secretly working with FBI on the issue of terrorism? Or With RIAA/MPAA, rating out pirates?

 

They do! There are a lot of port sniifers out there and then there is this from SysInternals:

TCP View

Gary

 

I tend to doubt MS is, or allowing anyone else, to steal personal data. NSA is another matter.

 

Explain. You mean downloads, uploads, can be done without HD activity?

I do know that just looking requires no HD activity, cause I use Avvenu alot for my WM phone and never notice any HD activity when just browsing. But downloading if a differ story.

Cool, I'll give that a try. I used to try other apps, but they only show packets and I don't know how to read those.

 

...which is part of Microsoft.

 

Downloads and uploads can't, but packet activity can. Most ISPs have a basic ping-back that verifies connections have not gone stale, and most computers have a constant monitor on active connections to make sure they are still active. Close all internet-related applications and open up the network status page. You should see little bits of data going down and up every few seconds. This does not require any hard drive activity at all, since no data is actually being written to or read from the HDD.

 

MICROSOFT CONSPIRACY!@!


Gosh some people bore me to death about how terrible and conniving* Microsoft is.

Not that most of you were doing this, but the thread title made me think you were going to


*intr.v. con·nived, con·niv·ing, con·nives
1. To cooperate secretly in an illegal or wrongful action.

 

Since you're on a forum, I had to edit your post.

There. Better.

 

Thanks ...................

Also what info can read from what you just mentioned?

 

well, you can run peer guardian to block most major bad places from connecting to you (but those are just their known ip addresses).

you can also do my other suggestion:

* From the command prompt type "netstat -b 5 > activity.txt" and press enter.
* After say 2 minutes, press Ctrl+C.
* Type "activity.txt" on the command line to open the log file in notepad

this gives you a list of all connections to and from your computer during that time you let it run. you can look up the ip addresses in a who is website to see who they are.

This, however, only shows what is actually going to and from your computer. MOST traffic is actually not monitored coming directly from your computer, but at your ISP's data centers where they log all connections.

Your only way to be completely safe is to run a linux operating system you wrote yourself, and to use a cantenna to connect to some poor saps internet a few miles away

 

As far as I know, the only info that's transmitted is an IP address and a garbage packet. It would be a hellishly slow way to try to leach data off of a drive .