Windows 8 SmartScreen filter reporting back to Microsoft
The SmartScreen Filter is a new technology in the Windows 8 operating system that is protecting users from installing unsigned applications, malicious programs or click on links that lead to known phishing websites. This works with hash values that the program creates on the local system. These hashes are then send to Microsoft where they are checked against a database before a result is returned to the local PC.
Earlier today Nadim Kobeissi revealed that Microsoft's SmartScreen Filter was informing Microsoft about every software installation on the system. The issues that he identified with the process are listed below:
- Microsoft will be informed about every program that you download and install on Windows 8
- Communication between the local PC and the Microsoft server may be intercepted so that attackers may get hold of the information
The first point he makes should be obvious as the product is designed this way. The local PC communicates with the server to retrieve the information needed to either display the warning message on the screen or not. While Microsoft could record the hashes and assign IP addresses to them, there is no proof that Microsoft does that.
The second point is only true if the communication uses an insecure protocol. Nadim found the web server to support insecure SSLv2 connections, but did not provide proof that SmartScreen Filter was using SSLv2 when communicating with the server.
Lastly, he pointed out that users were not given an option about SmartScreen Filter in first place. While that is true for users who select the Express Setup option during installation, it is not true for users who select Customize here. Under Settings, there is an option to turn SmartFillter off for Internet Explorer or Windows apps and files.
Do not get me wrong. Some of the points that he is making need some explaining from Microsoft so that you and I understand exactly how data is transferred and if data is stored by Microsoft. For now, it is a too sensationalist and without proof that this is really a privacy issue.
If you do not want to take any risks, disable SmartScreen Filter to stay on the safe side.
Update: Microsoft responded to the claims and confirmed that the insecure protocol is not used to transfer the data. The company furthermore noted that it does not use the data to identify, contact or target advertising to its users, and that the data is not shared with third parties.
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Are these articles AI generated?
Now the duplicates are more obvious.
This is below AI generated crap. It is copy of Microsoft Help website article without any relevant supporting text. Anyway you can find this information on many pages.
Yes, but why post the exact same article under a different title twice on the same day (19 march 2023), by two different writers?
1.) Excel Keyboard Shortcuts by Trevor Monteiro.
2.) 70+ Excel Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows by Priyanka Monteiro
Why oh why?
Yeah. Tell me more about “Priyanka Monteiro”. I’m dying to know. Indian-Portuguese bot ?
Probably they will announce that the taskbar will be placed at top, right or left, at your will.
Special event by they is a special crap for us.
If it’s Microsoft, don’t buy it.
Better brands at better prices elsewhere.
All new articles have zero count comments. :S
WTF? So, If I add one photo to 5 albums, will it count 5x on my storage?
It does not make any sense… on google photos, we can add photo to multiple albums, and it does not generate any additional space usage
I have O365 until end of this year, mostly for onedrive and probably will jump into google one
Photo storage must be kept free because customers chose gadgets just for photos and photos only.
What a nonsense. Does it mean that albums are de facto folders with copies of our pictures?
Sounds exactly like the poor coding Microsoft is known for in non-critical areas i.e. non Windows Core/Office Core.
I imagine a manager gave an employee the task to create the album feature with hardly any time so they just copied the folder feature with some cosmetic changes.
And now that they discovered what poor management results in do they go back and do the album feature properly?
Nope, just charge the customer twice.
Sounds like a go-getter that needs to be promoted for increasing sales and managing underlings “efficiently”, said the next layer of middle management.
When will those comments get fixed? Was every editor here replaced by AI and no one even works on this site?
Instead of a software company, Microsoft is now a fraud company.
For me this is proof that Microsoft has a back-door option into all accounts in their cloud.
quote “…… as the MSA key allowed the hacker group access to virtually any cloud account at Microsoft…..”
unquote
so this MSA key which is available to MS officers can give access to all accounts in MS cloud.This is the backdoor that MS has into the cloud accounts. Lucky I never got any relevant files of mine in their (MS) cloud.
>”Now You: what is your theory?”
That someone handed an employee a briefcase full of cash and the employee allowed them access to all their accounts and systems.
Anything that requires 5-10 different coincidences to happen is highly unlikely. Occam’s razor.
Good reason to never login to your precious machine with a Microsoft a/c a.k.a. as the cloud.
The GAFAM are always very careless about our software automatically sending to them telemetry and crash dumps in our backs. It’s a reminder not to send them anything when it’s possible to opt out, and not to opt in, considering what they may contain. And there is irony in this carelessness biting them back, even if in that case they show that they are much more cautious when it’s their own data that is at stake.