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Microsoft Windows as Malware, Windows Insecurity, Windows Backdoors, Windows User Freedoms Restrictions, Windows Surveillance, Other Windows Abuses, Inescapable Telemetry

Windows Backdoors

Table: Windows Backdoors

Category	Description
User Content Upload to Microsoft	Windows sometimes takes user content, such as documents, and uploads it to Microsoft servers. Quote Microsoft: Configure telemetry and other settings in your organization (web archived website) (Underline added.) Full level The Full level gathers info necessary to identify and to help fix problems, following the approval process described below. This level also includes info from the Basic, Enhanced, and Security levels. Additionally, at this level, devices opted in to the Windows Insider Program will send events that can show Microsoft how pre-release binaries and features are performing. All devices in the Windows Insider Program are automatically set to this level. If a device experiences problems that are difficult to identify or repeat using Microsoft’s internal testing, additional info becomes necessary. This info can include any user content that might have triggered the problem and is gathered from a small sample of devices that have both opted into the Full telemetry level and have exhibited the problem. However, before more info is gathered, Microsoft’s privacy governance team, including privacy and other subject matter experts, must approve the diagnostics request made by a Microsoft engineer. If the request is approved, Microsoft engineers can use the following capabilities to get the information: Ability to run a limited, pre-approved list of Microsoft certified diagnostic tools, such as msinfo32.exe, powercfg.exe, and dxdiag.exe. Ability to get registry keys. Ability to gather user content, such as documents, if they might have been the trigger for the issue. Media also reported. The Register: Windows 10 telemetry secrets: Where, when, and why Microsoft collects your data (Underline added.): At the Full setting, you grant Microsoft permission to collect extra data [...] The formal documentation makes it clear that this sort of investigation can snag personal documents: [...] Ability to gather user content, such as documents, [...] Quote ZDNet: Windows 10 telemetry secrets: Where, when, and why Microsoft collects your data (Underline added.): At the Full setting, you grant Microsoft permission to collect extra data when your device "experiences problems that are difficult to identify or repeat using Microsoft's internal testing. The formal documentation makes it clear that this sort of investigation can snag personal documents: [...] Ability to gather user content, such as documents, if they might have been the trigger for the issue. The default level is Full for Windows 10 Home and Pro and Enhanced for Enterprise edition. (On a device that is running an Insider preview edition, this value is set to Full and can only be changed by installing a released version.) If you are concerned enough about privacy to have read this far, you probably want to set the telemetry level to Basic. Quote OS researchgate: Call Home: Background Telemetry Reporting in Windows 10 (Underline added.): The default level for Windows 10 Home and Pro is “Full” and “Enhanced” for Enterprise editions. Quote Microsoft (web archived, year 2018) (Underline added.): Full level The Full level gathers data necessary to identify and to help fix problems, following the approval process described below. This level also includes data from the Basic, Enhanced, and Security levels. This is the default level for Windows 10 Pro. Alternative write-up: Scaring: Windows 10 lets Microsoft access your own local files. In theory, it might be possible to disable this behavior, but there have also been cases where these settings were not honored, as documented in chapter Inescapable Telemetry. There is a privacy by policy safeguard implemented at the Microsoft organizational level. Quote: "However, before more info is gathered, Microsoft’s privacy governance team, including privacy and other subject matter experts, must approve the diagnostics request made by a Microsoft engineer." However, privacy by policy is not privacy by design (privacy enforced through technology). Generally speaking, there is a history of privacy by policy safeguards being circumvented by malicious employees (insider attack), hacking (outsider attacks), and privacy by policy also fails in the case of government requests. Microsoft’s privacy governance team would be circumvented if Microsoft were compelled through a government order. Quote FBI–Apple encryption dispute (Underline added. code added.): In 2015 and 2016, Apple Inc. received and objected to or challenged at least 11 orders issued by United States district courts under the All Writs Act of 1789. Most of these seek to compel Apple "to use its existing capabilities to extract data like contacts, photos and calls from locked iPhones [...] While there exists (to the knowledge of the author) no law that allows the government to compel companies to add new surveillance capabilities or backdoors to operating systems, Microsoft has an existing capability of accessing user content on the Windows operating system. It is therefore conceivable that Microsoft is receiving orders to use that existing capability. Possibly even orders that Microsoft would never be allowed to disclose due to a gag order. Microsoft's U.S. National Security Orders Report states Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) orders for the period July - Dec 2019, with 0 - 499 orders seeking disclosure of content, impacting 14,500 - 14,999 accounts. Some orders were probably related to hosted accounts such as the Microsoft live email service or Skype. It is unknown whether that might also include user content from Windows. FISA is just one order that includes a secrecy clause (gag order) by the U.S. government. Microsoft must also comply with other types of government orders as well as orders from governments of other countries. The relevant statement by Microsoft Ability to gather user content, such as documents, can be found on this web archived website. The relevant statement can no longer be found in the current version of the document. Whether the text or actual behavior changed is unknown to the author, since no changelog or further information could be found, and no source code is available to the general public. Whether using this existing capability is possible against any users for whom only an IP address or Windows Live ID is known at any time, or if an existing crash report is a prerequisite, is also unknown for the same reasons. It would be far better if there were no such existing capability.
Encryption	Microsoft has backdoored its disk encryption. Quote The Intercept: (...) Microsoft Probably Has Your Encryption Key: But what is less well-known is that, if you are like most users and login to Windows 10 using your Microsoft account, your computer automatically uploaded a copy of your recovery key — which can be used to unlock your encrypted disk — to Microsoft’s servers, probably without your knowledge and without an option to opt out. “When a device goes into recovery mode, and the user doesn’t have access to the recovery key, the data on the drive will become permanently inaccessible. Based on the possibility of this outcome and a broad survey of customer feedback we choose to automatically backup the user recovery key,” a Microsoft spokesperson told me. “The recovery key requires physical access to the user device and is not useful without it.” But disabling this requires awareness of the issue, skills of using search engines and finding documentation how to do so, and technical skills to disable this privacy intrusion. This is often not the case for non-technical users. (The Tyranny of the Default) Quote Microsoft handed the NSA access to encrypted messages: Microsoft has collaborated closely with US intelligence services to allow users' communications to be intercepted, including helping the National Security Agency to circumvent the company's own encryption, according to top-secret documents obtained by the Guardian.
Software Choice and Deletion	Windows has a feature for remotely deleting applications installed through the Windows Store from the computer. At the time of writing, there are no known cases of abuse of this feature. It was only used for malware removal. Windows 10 upgrades delete applications without permission.

Windows Surveillance

Table: Windows Surveillance Threats

Category	Description
Adversary Collaboration	Microsoft SkyDrive allows adversaries to examine user data. Microsoft has enabled spyware in Skype and specifically changed the software to enable this function. Microsoft’s purchase of Skype was detrimental to privacy. Quote: The Guardian: Microsoft handed the NSA access to encrypted messages: In July last year, nine months after Microsoft bought Skype, the NSA boasted that a new capability had tripled the amount of Skype video calls being collected through Prism; It might have been better for privacy if Microsoft had not purchased Skype. Microsoft could have kept end-to-end encryption intact, transformed Skype into an Open Source project, and/or fought illegitimate requests in the courts, as Apple did. (FBI–Apple encryption dispute) Microsoft, however, did not take a stand for their users and did none of that.
Anonymity	Windows DRM files can potentially identify people browsing with Tor. Windows assigns a unique advertising ID to each user, allowing other companies to track individual browsing habits.
Keylogger	Windows 10 comes with a keylogger. Quote Microsoft (year 2015 web archived version): Windows 10 speech, inking, typing, and privacy FAQ: What are speech, inking, and typing services? When you interact with your Windows device by speaking, writing (handwriting), or typing, Microsoft collects speech, inking, and typing information—including information about your Calendar and People (also known as contacts)— [...] Quote PCWorld: text input and unique typing cadence (pattern): Microsoft pretty much admits it has a keylogger in its Microsoft: Windows 10 speech, inking, typing, and privacy FAQ: “When you interact with your Windows device by speaking, writing (handwriting), or typing, Microsoft collects speech, inking, and typing information—including information about your Calendar and People (also known as contacts)…” Quoting the 2015 version of Microsoft: Windows 10 speech, inking, typing, and privacy FAQ: Can I clear the speech, inking, and typing data Microsoft has collected about me? Yes, you can clear your speech, inking, and typing data from your device and from the cloud. [...] To clear data stored on the cloud, go to Start, then Settings > Privacy > Speech, inking, & typing, and then select the Go to Bing and manage personal info for all your devices link. Note: any deletion from the quote is only a promise. If data was leaked or shared with other parties previously or requested through a government order previously, it would not be deleted. Such data is vulnerable to Keystroke Deanonymization.
Voice Recording	Quote 2020 Microsoft: Windows 10 speech, inking, typing, and privacy FAQ (Underline added.): When you use the Microsoft cloud-based speech recognition service, Microsoft collects and uses your voice recordings to create a text transcription of the spoken words in the voice data. This means Windows is recording the user's voice and storing it on servers owned by Microsoft. The same website mentions that this can be disabled. You can use device-based speech recognition without sending your voice data to Microsoft. But disabling this requires awareness of the issue, skill in using search engines and finding documentation on how to do so, and technical ability to disable this privacy intrusion. This is often not the case for non-technical users. (The Tyranny of the Default) Quote Microsoft Privacy Statement, Last Updated: March 2021 (Underline added.) (Bold added.): Inking and typing Recognition. You also can choose to help Microsoft improve inking and typing recognition by sending inking and typing diagnostic data. If you choose to do so, Microsoft will collect samples of the content you type or write to improve features such as handwriting recognition, autocompletion, next word prediction, and spelling correction in the many languages used by Windows customers. When Microsoft collects inking and typing diagnostic data, it is divided into small samples and processed to remove unique identifiers, sequencing information, and other data (such as email addresses and numeric values) which could be used to reconstruct the original content or associate the input to you. It also includes associated performance data, such as changes you manually make to text, as well as words you've added to the dictionary. Learn more about improving inking and typing in Windows 10. This sounds rather theoretical: "collect samples" - how many samples? "processed to remove" data "which could be used to reconstruct the original content or associate the input to you" - how effective is that processing? Such data is vulnerable to Voice Deanonymization.
Spyware	information sent to Microsoft includes details of all the software installed on a machine. Quote: According to tecChannel, the information sent to Microsoft includes details of all the software installed in a machine, not only Microsoft applications. Windows snoops on local searches. The SmartScreen filter also reports what software is running on the computer. Windows 10 SmartScreen sends URLs and app names to Microsoft.
Telemetry and Personal Data	The "privacy" policy in Windows 10 explicitly authorizes Microsoft to look at user files at any time and to sell almost any information it collects. Summing up these 45 pages, one can say that Microsoft basically grants itself very broad rights to collect everything you do, say and write with and on your devices in order to sell more targeted advertising or to sell your data to third parties. The company appears to be granting itself the right to share your data either with your consent “or as necessary”. By default, when signing into Windows with a Microsoft account, Windows syncs some of your settings and data with Microsoft servers, for example “web browser history, favorites, and websites you have open” as well as “saved app, website, mobile hotspot, and Wi-Fi network names and passwords”. Users can however deactivate this transfer to the Microsoft servers by changing their settings. “We will access, disclose and preserve personal data, including your content (such as the content of your emails, other private communications or files in private folders), when we have a good faith belief that doing so is necessary to”, for example, “protect their customers” or “enforce the terms governing the use of the services”. Windows 10 sends a host of core debugging information to Microsoft and third parties. Windows 10 sends information to Microsoft about applications used and those that are running. Windows 10 has a host of snooping options enabled by default. This includes snooping on files, text input, voice input, location information, contacts, calendar records, web browsing history, screenshots of running programs and how long they were running, and auto-connection to open hotspots which show targeted advertisements. Many options cannot be disabled at all in a standard installation. EU still concerned over Windows 10 privacy despite Microsoft’s changes (2017) Quote EFF With Windows 10, Microsoft Blatantly Disregards User Choice and Privacy: A Deep Dive: Windows 10 sends an unprecedented amount of usage data back to Microsoft, France orders Microsoft to stop tracking Windows 10 users, Quote government order (Underline added.): The Chair of the National Data Protection Commission (CNIL) issues formal notice on Microsoft Corporation to stop collecting excessive data and tracking browsing by users without their consent. She is also demanding that Microsoft take satisfactory measures to ensure the security and confidentiality of user data. Ars Technica: Dutch privacy regulator says Windows 10 breaks the law Regulator says Microsoft doesn't offer enough information to enable informed consent.
Trust	Even when data collection features are disabled, Windows 10 still sends a range of identifiable information to Microsoft. Microsoft has renamed "data slurping" features to give the impression they were removed.
Windows Error Reporting (WER) and Core Dumps Privacy Issues	Core dumps can be a security risk. Quote wikipedia: Although Microsoft has made privacy assurances, they acknowledge that personally identifiable information]could be contained in the memory and application data compiled in the 100-200 KB "minidumps" that Windows Error Reporting compiles and sends back to Microsoft. They insist that in case personal data is sent to Microsoft, it won't be used to identify users, according to Microsoft's privacy policy. But in reporting issues to Microsoft, users need to trust Microsoft's partners as well. About 450 partners have been granted access to the error reporting database to see records related to their device drivers and apps. In December 2013, an independent lab found that WER automatically sends information to Microsoft when a new USB device is plugged to the PC. #crash reporter abused by NSA According to Der Spiegel: Inside TAO: Documents Reveal Top NSA Hacking Unit: The Microsoft crash reporter has been exploited by NSA's Tailored Access Operations unit to hack into the computers of Mexico's Secretariat of Public Security. Microsoft crash reports are automatically harvested in NSA's XKeyscore database, in order to facilitate such operations. Having Fun at Microsoft's Expense One example of the sheer creativity with which the TAO spies approach their work can be seen in a hacking method they use that exploits the error-proneness of Microsoft's Windows. Every user of the operating system is familiar with the annoying window that occasionally pops up on screen when an internal problem is detected, an automatic message that prompts the user to report the bug to the manufacturer and to restart the program. These crash reports offer TAO specialists a welcome opportunity to spy on computers. When TAO selects a computer somewhere in the world as a target and enters its unique identifiers (an IP address, for example) into the corresponding database, intelligence agents are then automatically notified any time the operating system of that computer crashes and its user receives the prompt to report the problem to Microsoft. An internal presentation suggests it is NSA's powerful XKeyscore spying tool that is used to fish these crash reports out of the massive sea of Internet traffic. The automated crash reports are a "neat way" to gain "passive access" to a machine, the presentation continues. Passive access means that, initially, only data the computer sends out into the Internet is captured and saved, but the computer itself is not yet manipulated. Still, even this passive access to error messages provides valuable insights into problems with a targeted person's computer and, thus, information on security holes that might be exploitable for planting malware or spyware on the unwitting victim's computer. Although the method appears to have little importance in practical terms, the NSA's agents still seem to enjoy it because it allows them to have a bit of a laugh at the expense of the Seattle-based software giant. In one internal graphic, they replaced the text of Microsoft's original error message with one of their own reading, "This information may be intercepted by a foreign sigint system to gather detailed information and better exploit your machine." ("Sigint" stands for "signals intelligence.") Quote Microsoft (Underline added.): Enhanced error reporting, including the memory state of the device when a system or app crash occurs (which may unintentionally contain user content, such as parts of a file you were using when the problem occurred).

Trying to disable the lengthy list of privacy-invasive features is a huge task, similar to playing "whack-a-mole". Being unaware of some spyware feature could result in unwanted surveillance.

Windows User Freedom Restrictions

A number of conscious decisions by Microsoft severely limit user freedoms.

Table: Windows User Freedom Threats

Category	Description
Trust	The German government, Ministry of Economics, and Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) do not trust Microsoft Windows. Archived, redacted version after court order requested by Microsoft against newspaper ZEIT ONLINE: page 1, page 2 (DeepL translated ): For example, an internal paper from the Ministry of Economics from early 2012 states: "Due to the loss of full sovereignty over information technology," the security goals of "confidentiality" and "integrity" are no longer guaranteed. Elsewhere, there are sentences such as, "Significant impacts on the IT security of the federal administration may result." Accordingly, the conclusion is: "The use of 'trusted computing' technology in this form ... is unacceptable for the federal administration and for operators of critical infrastructures." What was it that ZEIT ONLINE needed to redact? Quote A BSI-2i.pdf German government internal documents leaked on wikileaks (DeepL translated ): With regard to the use of TPMs, it can be pointed out in the negotiations, that not only the German government is critical of the use of TPMs that it does not control itself, but also wide sections of German industry, especially in critical infrastructures. Therefore, Microsoft argues that they themselves need control over UEFI "Secure Boot". in order to securely manage UEFI "Secure Boot" for the owner. From the BSI's point of view the effort for a self-controlled configuration of UEFI "Secure Boot" is currently high, but it is urgently required in particular in areas of application with a high need for protection or in critical infrastructures. Heise: German authorities are losing control over critical IT systems (German language, use DeepL and/or Google Translate) : On the one hand, the federal government demands "unrestricted controllability" of computers that keep critical infrastructures running - i.e. nuclear power plants, water, energy and transport networks. On the other hand, the responsible authorities are doing nothing to regain the control already lost to Intel and Microsoft. The Register - Germany warns: You just CAN'T TRUST some Windows 8 PCs A whitewashed statement by the German government, Federal Office for Information Security, BSI, wrote (See full statement (web archived).) (DeepL translated): From the point of view of the BSI, the use of Windows 8 in combination with a TPM 2.0 is accompanied by a loss of control over the operating system and hardware used. This results in new risks for users, especially for the federal administration and critical infrastructures. In particular, on hardware operated with a TPM 2.0, with Windows 8, unintentional errors by the hardware or operating system manufacturer, but also by the owner of the IT system, can lead to error conditions that prevent further operation of the system. This can lead to the situation that in case of an error, not only the operating system but also the hardware used is permanently unusable. Such a situation would be unacceptable neither for the Federal Administration nor for other users. Furthermore, the newly implemented mechanisms can also be used for acts of sabotage by third parties. These risks must be countered. For certain user groups, the use of Windows 8 in combination with a TPM can certainly mean a security gain. These include users who, for various reasons, cannot or do not want to worry about the security of their systems, but trust the system manufacturer to provide and maintain a secure solution. This is a legitimate usage scenario, but the manufacturer should provide sufficient transparency about the possible limitations of the provided architecture and possible consequences of its use.
Forced Updates	Microsoft has a history of updating software without permission. While configurable update reminders are good for those who forget to regularly update, forced updates are problematic for those who do not wish to. This Windows issue had not been foreseen. To the knowledge of the author, there were no popular "really disable all Windows updates" instructions. By comparison, such an issue is unlikely to happen with Debian (and many derivatives) based operating systems (and other Freedom Software Linux distributions). On Windows, there was no real way to check which code would run when. Or at least, for practical purposes, nobody did reverse engineering and documented that. For example, on Debian (based) operating systems, by default their default package manager APT is fully Open Source. But also without reading the source code, its behavior is much more predictable. Software sources are defined in easily human-readable files such as /etc/apt/sources.list file and configuration snippets in the /etc/apt/sources.list.d folder. These files can be viewed and edited with a simple text editor by the system administrator. Then also the upgrade process is divided into two parts. Downloading updated package lists ("sudo apt update") and the actual upgrade ("sudo apt full-upgrade"). The first step merely downloads metadata. No actual software packages are downloaded. If anything looks unwanted, the user can disable any software source and re-fetch software sources to "forget" unwanted ones. The second step shows the user a preview what would happen (newly installed packages, upgrades packages, package removals) and asks the user for confirmation. Automatic updates require installation of a software package that implements automatic upgrade functionality such as the unattended-upgrades Debian package. If no such package is installed, no automatic updates will happen. Surprises, package manager behavior unwanted by the user are extremely less likely.
Forced Upgrades	Microsoft now enforces upgrades to Windows 10 involuntarily. Proposed Windows 10 upgrades remove the option to cancel or postpone the proposed upgrade once accepted. Microsoft undertook a range of actions to force Windows 7 and 8 users to upgrade to Windows 10. Microsoft ignored flags on Windows 7 and 8 specifying that upgrades to Windows 10 were not desired. A user reported that the computer became non-functional after the forced upgrade and sued. For months, Microsoft tricked users into upgrading to Windows 10 if they failed to notice and deny the upgrade. Microsoft has encouraged complaints to system administrators about not upgrading to Windows 10.
Tiered Stability (Updates Testing)	Windows forces lower-paying customers to install new updates and gives higher-paying customers the option of whether or not to adopt them. Quote: Windows 10 Enterprise does allow users to postpone any update indefinitely but it is only available in bulk licensing.
User Freedoms	Windows has introduced a range of digital restrictions mechanisms. Microsoft does not allow opting out of verified boot on RT tablets, which prevents the use of other operating systems. Windows is adamant about Microsoft account creation. Windows 10 S forces you to use Edge and Bing.
Software Freedom	Microsoft Windows is nonfreedom software. See Avoid Non-Freedom Software and Miscellaneous Threats to User Freedom.
Forced Telemetry into C++ Binaries	Microsoft's Automatic Insertion of Telemetry into C++ Binaries until Microsoft got caught

Adversary Collaboration

Microsoft has a history of informing adversaries of bugs before they are fixed. Microsoft reportedly gives adversaries security tips (archive.is) on how to crack into Windows computers.

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), the world’s largest software company, provides intelligence agencies with information about bugs in its popular software before it publicly releases a fix, according to two people familiar with the process.

Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft (MSFT) and other software or Internet security companies have been aware that this type of early alert allowed the U.S. to exploit vulnerabilities in software sold to foreign governments, according to two U.S. officials. Microsoft doesn't ask and can't be told how the government uses such tip-offs, said the officials, who asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential.

Frank Shaw, a spokesman for Microsoft, said those releases occur in cooperation with multiple agencies and are designed to give government "an early start" on risk assessment and mitigation

See also this opinion analyzing this, How Can Any Company Ever Trust Microsoft Again?.

By comparison, the Linux kernel has a security buy embargo process.

[...]

Although our preference is to release fixes for publicly undisclosed bugs as soon as they become available, this may be postponed at the request of the reporter or an affected party for up to 7 calendar days from the start of the release process, with an exceptional extension to 14 calendar days if it is agreed that the criticality of the bug requires more time. The only valid reason for deferring the publication of a fix is to accommodate the logistics of QA and large scale rollouts which require release coordination.

While embargoed information may be shared with trusted individuals in order to develop a fix, such information will not be published alongside the fix or on any other disclosure channel without the permission of the reporter. This includes but is not limited to the original bug report and followup discussions (if any), exploits, CVE information or the identity of the reporter.

In other words our only interest is in getting bugs fixed. All other information submitted to the security list and any followup discussions of the report are treated confidentially even after the embargo has been lifted, in perpetuity.

[...]

Fixes for sensitive bugs, such as those that might lead to privilege escalations, may need to be coordinated with the private <linux-distros@vs.openwall.org> mailing list so that distribution vendors are well prepared to issue a fixed kernel upon public disclosure of the upstream fix. Distros will need some time to test the proposed patch and will generally request at least a few days of embargo, and vendor update publication prefers to happen Tuesday through Thursday. When appropriate, the security team can assist with this coordination, or the reporter can include linux-distros from the start.

[...]

The crucial difference between Microsoft bug embargoes and Linux bug embargoes is that Microsoft notifies intelligence agencies, which are then known to exploit vulnerabilities, while the Linux kernel security team has a much more transparent bug embargo process. In the Linux case, trusted parties - such as major Linux distributions - receive early notification to ensure wide availability of the software upgrade containing the fix before public disclosure, thereby helping to prevent widespread exploitation by attackers in the wild.

Shared Source

• Open Source, Freedom Software versus
• proprietary, closed source, precompiled software

are totally different development models. Both development models have advantages and disadvantages.

The case for Open Source, Freedom Software is made on the Avoid Non-Freedom Software wiki page.

One argument in favor of closed source software could be its secrecy, security through obscurity. (Also addressed on the Avoid Non-Freedom Software wiki page.)

However, Microsoft Windows has none of the advantages of Open Source, Freedom Software, and also cannot fully benefit from security through obscurity either. Part of the Shared Source Initiative is the Government Security Program. Quote ZDNet:

Microsoft's Shared Source Initiative makes source code available to "qualified customers, enterprises, governments, and partners for debugging and reference purposes". There's almost no information on the company's website about their Government Security Program (GSP). Just two sentences. But the first of those sentences notes that requests might come from "local, state, provincial, or national governments or agencies". When the GSP was launched back in 2003, however, Microsoft was happy to tell the media that Windows source code was made available to a number of governments and international organistions, including Russia, NATO, the UK, and China. Another report said that Australia, Austria, Finland, Norway, Taiwan, and Turkey were also on the list.

Simplified summary: Independent security researchers do not have access to the source code, but large groups of people - some of whom you likely do not trust - do have an advantage over you. The only motivation for sharing the source code is to gain regulatory approval for deployment in foreign government networks that require certain assurances for market access. This has nothing to do with empowering third parties or giving them the freedom to modify the software or share it with others.

Inescapable Telemetry

The fact that there is no way to completely remove or disable telemetry requires further consideration. For instance, non-enterprise editions do not permit anyone to completely opt out of the surveillance "features" of Windows 10.

Quote: Even when told not to, Windows 10 just can’t stop talking to Microsoft.

Quote: Windows 10 Sends Your Data 5500 Times Every Day Even After Tweaking Privacy Settings.

CheesusCrust also disabled every single tracking and telemetry features in the operating system. He then left the machine running Windows 10 overnight in an effort to monitor the connections the OS is attempting to make.

Eight hours later, he found that the idle Windows 10 box had tried over 5,500 connections to 93 different IP addresses, out of which almost 4,000 were made to 51 different IP addresses belonging to Microsoft.

Even if some settings are tweaked to limit this behavior, it is impossible to trust that those changes will be respected. Even the Enterprise edition was found to completely ignore privacy settings and any attempts to disable contact with Microsoft servers.

Any corporation that forces code changes on a user's machine - despite Windows updates being turned off multiple times before - is undeserving of trust. Windows 10 updates have been discovered to frequently reset or ignore telemetry privacy settings. Microsoft backported this behavior to Windows 7 and 8 for those who held back, so the odds are that Windows users are already running it.

Forfeited Privacy Rights

By now, the reader should be convinced that simply using any version of Windows results in a complete forfeiture of the right to privacy. Windows is incompatible with the intent of Kicksecure (and the anonymous Tor Browser), since running a compromised Windows host undermines the trusted computing base, which is a fundamental part of any threat model. Privacy is inconceivable if any information that is typed or downloaded is provided to third parties, or if programs bundled as part of the OS regularly "phone home" by default.

Targeted Malicious Upgrades

Microsoft Windows is not designed to be resistant to targeted malicious software upgrades of the Windows operating system or applications from the Windows Store.

A targeted malicious software upgrade refers to singling out specific users and delivering malicious upgrades only to those selected individuals.

Most users utilize a Windows Live ID, as this is encouraged by Windows, and it is commonly associated with their real names and IP addresses.

When installing or updating applications through the Microsoft Store, Microsoft is aware of the user's Windows Live ID, and therefore also knows the user's real name and IP address. As a result, a coerced or compromised Microsoft Store could single out specific users and deliver malicious software containing malware with features such as remote control, remote viewing, file upload and download, microphone and webcam snooping, keylogging, and more. This risk also exists with any operating system that uses a corporate-controlled, walled garden app store, such as those operated by Apple, Google, or Amazon.

Given Microsoft's already well-documented privacy-intrusive behavior, as described elsewhere on this page, it is reasonable to assume that the same risks apply to Microsoft Update.

By comparison:

• Most Linux distributions usually do not require an email-based login to receive upgrades. However, users can still be singled out by IP address unless they opt in to use something like apt-transport-tor, which is not the default.
• In the case of Whonix and Kicksecure, all upgrades are downloaded over Tor. This prevents the server from delivering legitimate upgrade packages to most users while singling out specific users for targeted attacks.

Opinion by GNU Project

The GNU Project opinion is that Windows is "malware" due to the threats it poses to personal freedom, privacy, and security, meaning the software is designed to function in ways that mistreat or harm the user.

Interpretation of Opinion by GNU Project:

Word definitions: Spyware is a type of malware.

Quote from Wikipedia on malware:

A wide variety of malware types exist, including computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses, ransomware, spyware, adware, rogue software, wiper and scareware.

If that definition is accepted, then it follows that if one agrees "Windows is spyware", it logically follows that "Windows is also malware". This explains the GNU Project's rationale for labeling Windows as malware.

Windows is considered malware by definition based on its behavior. The fact that individuals may trust Microsoft with the data it collects by default does not change that classification.

Opinion by Free Software Foundation

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) writes quote:

Microsoft uses draconian law to put Windows, the world's most-used operating system, completely outside the control of its users. Neither Windows users nor independent experts can view the system's source code, make modifications or fixes, or copy the system. This puts Microsoft in a dominant position over its customers, which it takes advantage of to treat them as a product.

Windows Insecurity

Microsoft's willingness to consult with adversaries and provide zero days before public fixes are announced logically places Windows users at greater risk, especially since adversaries buy security exploits from software companies to gain unauthorized access to computer systems. Even the Microsoft company president has harshly criticized adversaries for stockpiling vulnerabilities that, when leaked, led to the recent worldwide ransomware crisis. This is elaborated in chapter Adversary Collaboration.

Windows is not a security-focused operating system. If it were, it would, for example:

• Not upload user data to Microsoft servers.
• Minimize the data stored on or accessible to Microsoft servers. (Windows Surveillance)
• Use end-to-end encryption whenever possible.
• Be resilient to targeted malicious upgrade attacks by not linking software installation/upgrading to a Windows ID and/or by providing an option to download software over the Tor anonymity network (or hypothetically a next-generation anonymity network developed by Microsoft).
• Not upload full disk encryption keys to Microsoft servers (see chapter Windows Backdoors, category Encryption).

Such security standards are entirely affordable, because Microsoft makes billions in profit and are very realistic, as some Freedom Software Linux distributions have already implemented these.

Due to Microsoft's restrictive, proprietary licensing policy for Windows, there are no legal software projects providing a security-enhanced Windows software fork. There are security-enhanced Windows software forks, but these are illegal, violate Microsoft's copyright, and are provided by anonymous developers. In contrast, the Linux community has multiple Freedom Software Linux variants strongly focused on security, such as Qubes OS.

Microsoft provides Tyrant Security, not Freedom Security. (Freedom vs Tyrant Security) Windows includes some innovative security technologies; however, its privacy and user freedom are severely lacking. Security and privacy are closely connected.

Quote Bruce Schneier: Security vs. Privacy, The Value of Privacy:

There is no security without privacy.

Quote HulaHoop:

I equate privacy with security because they are very much related in the real world, especially for whistleblowers.

Windows Historic Insecurity

Microsoft updates have historically used weak cryptographic verification methods such as MD5 and SHA-1. In 2009, the CMU Software Engineering Institute stated that MD5 "...should be considered cryptographically broken and unsuitable for further use". In 2012, the Flame malware exploited weaknesses in MD5 to fake a Microsoft digital signature.

Before Windows 8, there was no central software repository comparable to those used by Linux distributions, where software could be safely downloaded. This means a large segment of the population remains at risk, since many Windows users are still running Windows 7.

https://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2023/Feb/14

Windows Software Sources

On the Windows platform, a common way to install additional software is to search the Internet and install the relevant program. This is risky, as many websites bundle software downloads with adware, or worse, malware. Even when software is downloaded from reputable sources, these sources often behave in insecure ways. For example, if Mozilla Firefox is downloaded from a reputable website like chip.de, then until recently, the download would have taken place over an insecure, plain HTTP connection. In such cases, it is trivial for ISP-level adversaries, Wi-Fi providers, and others to perform man-in-the-middle attacks and inject malware into the download. Even when HTTPS is used, it only provides a very basic form of authentication.

To keep a system secure and free of malware, it is strongly recommended to always verify software signatures. However, this is very difficult - if not impossible - for most Windows users. Typically, Windows programs do not include software signature files (OpenPGP / gpg signatures) as is common in the GNU/Linux world.

Tools for digital signature verification are not installed by default on the Windows platform. Neither SignTool (Authenticode) nor gpg4win come preinstalled. While they can be manually installed, this creates a bootstrap problem: these tools themselves would have to be downloaded over HTTPS, offering only minimal authentication. In contrast, most Linux distributions include GnuPG for software signature verification by default.

For these reasons, it is safe to assume that virtually no Windows users are regularly benefiting from the strong authentication provided by software signature verification.

The Windows 10 App Store does not suffer from this issue, as it performs software signature verification; however, many applications are not available through the Windows App Store. In the Windows ecosystem, software signature verification is far less culturally widespread.

By contrast, most Linux distributions provide centralized software repositories. For example, Debian and Debian-based distributions use APT, which offers strong authentication by verifying all downloads against the Debian repository signing key. This process is automatic and enabled by default, requiring no user interaction. APT also displays a warning if there is an attempt to install unsigned software. Even when software is unavailable in the distribution's software repository, in most cases OpenPGP / gpg signatures are available. In the Linux world, it is practically possible to always verify software signatures.

No Ecosystem Diversity Advantage

The popularity of Windows platforms on desktops actually increases risk, as attackers regularly target this near-monocultural operating system environment. A security bug is often exploitable across many versions of Windows deployed globally, making them what is known in security terms as a "class break". For example:

• The Wanna Decryptor ransomware attack that spread worldwide was solely focused on Windows platforms.
• Flaws in Internet Explorer and Edge have previously allowed attackers to retrieve Microsoft account credentials.
• Point-of-sale terminals running Windows were previously taken over to collect customers' credit card numbers.

Intransparency

Windows source code is unavailable for public review or building by independent third parties.

Microsoft Windows has none of the advantages of Open Source, Freedom Software, but also cannot fully benefit from security through obscurity either. This point is further discussed in chapter Shared Source.

There is no public issue tracker for Microsoft Windows where any reasonable user is allowed to post or reply. There is a public list of vulnerabilities, but it lacks public discussion among developers and/or users. Microsoft's internal issue tracker is private and inaccessible to the public, even for reading purposes. The ability of the public to gain insights into Microsoft’s planning and development processes, or to participate in the development of Windows, is significantly limited. This is common among closed source, proprietary software projects. The community is largely excluded from development. In contrast, Open Source projects often maintain public issue trackers where anyone can post and reply (except in the case of embargoed security issues).

When users encounter problems and seek help, the common advice is often to "reinstall Windows". Due to the closed source nature of Windows, analyzing issues, creating bug fixes, and developing workarounds is considerably more difficult.

Reverse engineering is sometimes cited as an alternative to the lack of access to Windows source code. However, reverse engineering is much more difficult and limited in scope. For example, the forced updates and forced upgrades instances where Windows ignores the user's automatic update settings (as documented in chapter Windows User Freedom Restrictions)—were not foreseen or published by anyone performing reverse engineering. Users were taken by surprise.

Using Earlier Windows Versions is No Good Alternative

When users learn about shortcomings, anti-features, or spyware features of Windows, they often consider avoiding newer versions or downgrading to earlier versions of Windows as an alternative.

However, this is not a solid long-term plan, as security support for older Windows versions is being discontinued. Without ongoing support, newly discovered security vulnerabilities will remain unpatched.

• Microsoft has dropped support for Windows 7 and 8 on recent processors following the release of Windows 10.
• Microsoft has made Windows 7 and 8 non-functional on certain new computers, forcing many users to switch to Windows 10. For example, support was dropped for all future Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm CPUs.
• Microsoft ends support for specific platforms - such as Windows XP - and software, including popular Internet Explorer versions, even after users have built strong software dependencies around them.

This approach is further undermined by forced updates and forced upgrades, as discussed above.

Terrible Company

Microsoft has historically been hostile toward Freedom Software. Microsoft has acted as a patent troll, claiming that Linux infringed on its intellectual property. Despite the backlash over this claim, Microsoft never substantiated the accusation, never sued anyone, and never issued an apology. References:

• Now defunct website Show Us The Code, archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20071120042104/http://showusthecode.com/responses.htm
• Internet search term: "microsoft" "Show Us The Code"
• https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/microsoft-and-patent-trolls
• https://openinventionnetwork.com/

Other references:

• https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/12/stupid-patent-month-microsofts-design-patent-slider
• Microsoft used the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) to shut down reverse engineering of Skype. See DMCA notice received by and published on GitHub.

The Tyranny of the Default

Quote from The Tyranny of the Default:

“‘The tyranny of the default’ [is] the expression I like to use for: we know most users don’t go in and change things. They just assume that someone smarter than them chose the settings that are best for them, and so they say ‘YES’ a lot when they’re asked questions. What that means is that if it’s enabled by default, it’ll tend to stay on.”

Any anti-features of Windows, such as telemetry, cannot be excused by the argument "but it can be disabled". That is, at best, a workaround - not a fix. The fact remains: for most users, if it’s enabled by default, it will tend to stay on.

Changing defaults requires awareness of the issue, the ability to use search engines to find documentation, and the technical skills to make the change. This is often not the case for non-technical users. Even technical users might forget to reapply changes in situations such as after a reinstallation. Therefore, default settings matter.

Nuisances

• "Reinstall Windows": When users encounter issues and search for help, they are often advised to "reinstall Windows". Due to the closed source nature of Windows, it is far more difficult to analyze issues, provide bug fixes, or develop workarounds.
• Windows updates often take a long time and require multiple reboots.

The typical update process:

1. User runs Windows Update.
2. Windows downloads and installs updates.
3. A reboot is required; during shutdown, Windows takes a long time to finalize some updates.
4. On the next boot, Windows takes additional time finalizing updates.
5. Windows Update reports more updates are available. Return to step 1.
6. This cycle may repeat several times.

By comparison, for Debian-based distributions, a single command "sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade" is sufficient to download and install all available updates. No extra time is required during shutdown or the next boot, and no further updates are typically needed immediately after reboot.

• Advertisements:
  • Windows displays advertisements for Microsoft products and partner offers.
  • Windows inserts advertisements into File Explorer to promote paid subscriptions.
• Windows is less flexible. While Linux distributions can easily be installed to a USB drive or transferred between hardware by simply swapping hard drives, these tasks are significantly more challenging for Windows users.
• Windows is difficult to modify. For example, Qubes Windows Tools for Windows 10 are still not ready.

Freedom Software Superiority

Based on the preceding sections and analysis, it is strongly recommended to learn more about GNU/Linux and install a suitable distribution to safeguard personal rights to security and privacy. Otherwise, users must exert significant effort to play "whack-a-mole" in disabling Windows anti-features, which routinely subject them to surveillance, restrict choice, deliberately weaken security, and harass through advertisements, forced updates/forced upgrades, and more.

See also: Avoid Non-Freedom Software.

Conclusion

Can Windows 10 be secure for huge enterprise-level customers? In theory, maybe. These customers might have access to Windows Shared Source, which might even be complete enough to build Windows from source code. However, this cannot be known for sure due to the high requirements to gain access to the Windows source code and the obligation to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). Even if the author of this page had such access, it could not be discussed here due to NDA restrictions. These customers might also be able to avoid the otherwise inescapable Inescapable Telemetry by building their own Windows installer ISOs and updates from source.

In practice, however, it is foolish to trust any version of Windows coming from an entity that has repeatedly proven itself untrustworthy. It is far better to move on and use sustainable alternatives.

Can Windows 10 be secure for laymen users? Probably not. Due to Windows Error Reporting (WER) and Core Dumps Privacy Issues, telemetry, spyware, and keylogger features (see chapter Windows Surveillance), excessive amounts of private user information end up on Microsoft servers. Microsoft is legally compelled to cooperate with governments that employ thousands of analysts, making the data vulnerable to misuse. Such data can be exploited using parallel construction - a technique for circumventing constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.

While security updates are necessary for any operating system, the issue with Microsoft is that these updates often include more than users expect. In the past, updates were altered to phone home, even when telemetry was disabled. Examples include Inescapable Telemetry and forced updates/upgrades.

Windows openly admits to data mining and presents users with so-called "choices" regarding what data is shared. However, third parties have consistently demonstrated that these user choices are ignored, and there is no way to completely disable data collection.

Does Windows result in a net gain or loss of privacy worldwide?

A proprietary, security-hardened version of Windows that resists third-party spyware - but includes built-in data snooping - results in a net loss of end user freedom, privacy, and increased security risk, as NSA has been known to exploit Windows error reporting.

In contrast, a less security-hardened Freedom Software operating system may be more vulnerable to active attacks, but with no privacy-invasive code included by default, it provides a net gain in privacy by default. Nothing is reported anywhere unless a targeted attack is deployed.

Forum Discussion

https://forums.whonix.org/t/host-operating-system-selection-wiki-page-discussion/11303

See Also

• Basic Host Security
• Advanced Host Security
• Miscellaneous Threats to User Freedom
• Avoid Non-Freedom Software
• Tyrant Security vs Freedom Security
• Why Kicksecure is Freedom Software
• Unsubstantiated Conclusions
• Kicksecure Policy on Non-Freedom Software

References

Kicksecure A secure by default operating system with the latest security research in place.

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