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They have a Global Device Identifier (GDID) Tracker that functions as a fingerprint for your PC that can surpass VPNs, proxy servers and countries. Although it can't survive a clean reinstall of Windows (it can survive updates), because Microsoft forces you to go to the internet and log in into a Microsoft account, they will be able to get to you.

Microsoft kept it secret and it was only found out when the FBI tracked a hacker thanks to the information Microsoft gave them.

You should be paying attention to this, and possibly consider moving away from Windows. If a government, especially the US government, doesn't like you for some reason, this could be seriously concerning.

This article specifically notes:

For journalism, activism, or domestic abuse situations, skip Windows and use Linux routed through Tor instead of a commercial VPN. A GDID doesn’t care which VPN you use, only that it’s still the same Windows installation.

Other important quotes:

What has researchers uneasy is everything else the case reveals. Costin Raiu, a well-known malware researcher, asked on the Three Buddy Problem podcast how much of this exists on other platforms, and whether it is linked more permanently to hardware. Matthew Hickey, another security researcher, called Windows “surveillance software”.

Two things back that up:

There’s no consent screen. A GDID gets assigned when you sign into a Microsoft Account. Apple’s advertising identifier needs an App Tracking Transparency prompt and a visible reset; Android’s works the same way. GDID has neither, and a Windows reinstall only gets you a new number Microsoft can still get back to the same account.

I literally base 100% of my beliefs about ICE on what they do and say.

If that's not the most evil and inhuman malware ever invented I don't know what is

Anyways, none of the cleaning programs I could find for free actually did anything, and I knew that I knew more about computers than any of the adults in my life, so I had to figure out a solution on my own. Which is how I learned how to use the Windows Command Prompt to manually uninstall things at the tender age of 13.

It worked like a charm and the malware was gone! Of course, I also accidentally uninstalled my taskbar and start menu once, but I managed to get them back after a few hours of ripping out my own hair.

And We Eat Your Experiences Like Candy - Submitted by SeesawSiya

Microsoft has publicly acknowledged the existence of the Global Device Identifier (GDID), a device-specific ID assigned to Windows installations

persists through Windows updates, and cannot be disabled without affecting Windows activation and Microsoft Store apps.

The FBI used the GDID to track Peter Stokes, alleged member of Scattered Spider, across VPN connections, proxy servers, and through four countries over roughly eight months.

There is no consent screen when GDID is assigned. Apple's advertising identifier requires an App Tracking Transparency prompt with a visible reset. Android provides similar controls. GDID has neither.

For the approximately 1.6 billion Windows users worldwide, GDID has been operating quietly in the background without any public disclosure or user controls.

basically, some guy called nightmare-eclipse has found several zero-day exploits in windows and at first contacted microsoft about it but they kept ignoring him (even though they have a bug bounty program, so technically they have to pay him a grant for finding these)

so then he started posting them publicly whenever he found any in hopes of microsoft finally fixing them that way, but of course that leaves windows users vulnerable, because now not-so-nice hackers can see exactly how they can use those exploits. He has found FOUR so far and microsoft did nothing about it.

https://cyberscoop.com/microsoft-coordinated-vulnerability-disclosure-debacle/

Microsoft themselves make most of their money with Azure Linux for their cloud services, not Windows.

They have a Global Device Identifier (GDID) Tracker that functions as a fingerprint for your PC that can surpass VPNs, proxy servers and countries. Although it can't survive a clean reinstall of Windows (it can survive updates), because Microsoft forces you to go to the internet and log in into a Microsoft account, they will be able to get to you.

Microsoft kept it secret and it was only found out when the FBI tracked a hacker thanks to the information Microsoft gave them.

You should be paying attention to this, and possibly consider moving away from Windows. If a government, especially the US government, doesn't like you for some reason, this could be seriously concerning.

This article specifically notes:

For journalism, activism, or domestic abuse situations, skip Windows and use Linux routed through Tor instead of a commercial VPN. A GDID doesn’t care which VPN you use, only that it’s still the same Windows installation.

Other important quotes:

What has researchers uneasy is everything else the case reveals. Costin Raiu, a well-known malware researcher, asked on the Three Buddy Problem podcast how much of this exists on other platforms, and whether it is linked more permanently to hardware. Matthew Hickey, another security researcher, called Windows “surveillance software”.

Two things back that up:

There’s no consent screen. A GDID gets assigned when you sign into a Microsoft Account. Apple’s advertising identifier needs an App Tracking Transparency prompt and a visible reset; Android’s works the same way. GDID has neither, and a Windows reinstall only gets you a new number Microsoft can still get back to the same account.

So? Why am I hearing crickets?

It seriously cannot get worse than this. Microsoft straight up openly admitted that Windows is spyware by definition. They know who you are, they know where you are, they know what you are doing on your computer at all times. VPNs don't help, they can still see and save everything. You cannot turn it off. It is full on surveillance and it has been going on for months without you knowing because there was no consent screen ever.