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POV) You use Windows 11 and set up Pihole for the first time.
(sh.itjust.works)
This is AFTER debloating all the MS bs as much as I can.
The amount of MS telemetry is just mindboggling.
Do you consider Microsoft a "reputable company?"
Yes, but maybe “reputable” isn’t the right word. Realistically, it’s anyone who would potentially face billions in a class-action lawsuit and could actually afford to pay up without going bankrupt. It’s just not worth the risk to getting a few extra $million to pull in telemetry data to the already expansive list of marketing data they collect and monetize.
For example, I would doubt that Hearthstone (Blizzard, revenue $8.7B) sells their app telemetry data. But I could definitely believe that Hill Climb Racer (Fingersoft, revenue $30M) does, or at least integrates it with ad targeting products.
Microsoft has more to lose than almost any other tech company. They also have more process, legal enforcement, and bureaucracy than most other tech companies.
There's no fear of a lone engineer moving fast and breaking things at Microsoft. If someone at Microsoft had an idea for how they'd use your data they'd have to pass it through 5 chains of command, 2 tech orgs, and Legal just to begin the process.
How many times have I heard this sort of talk about companies only to eventually learn of their unreported flagrant disregard for the rules...
Sure they probably have some bureaucracy but forgive me if I'm not so confident on their unimpeachabilty.
You are absolutely right. There's some glaring hacks in Azure to cross tenancies or get into the fabric that they're completely silent on...
https://arstechnica.com/security/2023/08/microsoft-cloud-security-blasted-for-its-culture-of-toxic-obfuscation/
https://infosec.exchange/@briankrebs/110820474957163710
I mean, it does have a reputation...