Why and what are all these Windows components doing on line?

[Blag 3]

As the title says I'm confused about what these dozens of windows components actually do online and how I should assess each one. There's virtually nothing on the forums or the internet about them, especially with regard to VPN privacy, so how do you deal with them?

 

To put this question in context. Privacy is essentially a trade-off between convenience and security - I want my system to be secure but not at the expense of much slower connections or to ruin my interaction with the internet. I don't need the highest level of privacy but I do like to understand what I'm letting through and what I'm not.

 

Like most applications some Windows components can be blocked (eg OneDrive) and cause no problems, but some will stop Windows working altogether while others seem to be okay but cause problems in the background. If you let one through why not let them all through? It's a minefield.

 

To put this question another way, what's the point of a VPN if Microsoft can uniquely identify your system and is being told a thousand times a day what it's doing. Unless I've got it all wrong?

[altae 22]

Well Microsoft knows you anyway. Most likely you have got a Windows Live account, registered under your name. But if you use a VPN service at least for anybody else it will become much more complicated to track you online.

 

Concerning all those Windows components that connect to some Microsoft server most of them are very common functions. There is a time server to synchronize the time, Windows checks for updates, Windows defender checks for updates for the virus database, OneDrive synchronizes folders, OneDrive also synchronizes your settings to the cloud...

 

But if you use a VPN service and it is properly set up all those connections will also be routed through the VPN tunnel and Microsoft won't know your public IP.

[Blag 3]

Thanks for the reply...I accept that Microsoft do know who you are but is that the same as saying it's impossible to use windows without letting them know who we are and what we do?  Even if they don't know our public IP with all these different services calling home every few minutes, surely it doesn't matter? Isn't it a fairly trivial thing to "triangulate" us precisely from that data directly to us and our activities? However mundane they might be?

 

So essentially ensuring we have no DNS leaks, or that apps can't call home, etc might provide a level of security from preying eyes such as ISPs and software companies (even if it's everyone), except Microsoft who could and probably have ensured Windows can't run unless you do allow it to call back home. Like I say,. it doesn't worry me particularly, but then the question remains why would the NSA bother hassling AirVPN when Microsoft has all the answers.

 

Now, I know I'm missing something because I'm sure whatever Microsoft has, the NSA also has, and they apparently don't have everything. I look at it this way...I can cover my tracks like anyone but when there's hundreds to cover I'm going to miss a few and it only takes one to negate everything else I've done. It slightly bugs me to see all these connections to MS and feel I have to let them through because I don't know what they do when I'm so careful with everything else.

[altae 22]

To make a long answer short: No, there is no way, use Linux instead.

 

The long answer: Windows is closed source and contains millions of lines of code. Without proper access to the source code nobody can tell for sure what MS knows about you and what they don't. If you trust MS that's fine but if you don't it would be wise to reconsider your choice of OS. If you are that much concerned about what MS might know about you there is only one alternative: Get yourself one of the various Linux distributions. Since Linux is open source everybody can review the code and see what the OS does in the background and what connections it establishes. But trying to stop Windows from calling home is hopeless. And a VPN does not help since all you achieve is that Windows calls home through your VPN tunnel.

[Blag 3]

Right. I think your last sentence says what I was getting at. Time to reconsider my options....

[rickjames 106]

Windows...

-The only way to win is to deny it battle.

 

 

Go FreeBSD or some non bloated flavor of linux.