this post was submitted on 23 Nov 2024
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709
Microsoft's official "Bing Wallpaper app" does some nasty, malware-like things to Windows (www.techspot.com)
submitted 3 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
109 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

The app automatically installs Bing Visual Search and includes code to decrypt cookies saved in other browsers, Rivera said, and it also brings a "free" geolocation web API to the system.

The developer discovered "many" nasty tricks Microsoft integrated in Bing Wallpapers, which include trying to change the browser's settings and set Edge as the default system browser. If the default browser isn't Edge, the app will open the default browser after some time asking to enable the previously installed Microsoft Bing Search for Chrome extension.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I’m up to buy a new computer and I’ve never wanted a Macbook but with all the negative changes Microsoft is making I feel it is the time to make the switch.

Microsoft seems to think that we are the product and harvesting data is the default business model moving forward.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

May I interest you in Linux?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

I’ve considered Linux. I work in IT and I know I could figure it out and adapt to it. The problem is my kids and my wife would also need to use it.

To give you some perspective on my decision making process. My wife (who is of the age where she really should be able to figure tech out.) can’t seem to figure out how to print from her phone and complained about how difficult IOS is compared to Android when we switched a few years ago. My kids run to me for all things tech and I usually have to figure out their problems. I’m always genuinely surprised my teenage son hasn’t made an effort to hack the application which restricts his time and access to his gaming computer (I would be secretly proud of him if he did).

So for my own piece of mind I’ll pay the 2x multiple for Apple hardware just so I don’t have to deal with learning a new OS while my family comes to me for basically every tech issue.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 15 minutes ago

I get your perspective, but wouldn't everyone involved also have to learn how to deal with macOS? Learning how to deal with Linux isn't necessarily more complicated

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Apple is no better, they just have a better PR team.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago

Apple is historically better in terms of privacy than Microsoft. From resistance to government data requests to just their posture on data collection, it is an improvement. They rely less than Microsoft on advertisement and service based revenue and more on hardware sales which do not require the same level of invasive collection.

I don’t mean to sing their praises too loudly, but between the two I think Apple is a clear favorite. And couple that with a better, BSD-based, OS and I think you’ve got a winner. Unless of course you include alternate, clearly superior alternatives, like GNU/Linux.

But hardware alone? MacBooks can’t be beat.