Boy, the good ole days are gone when it comes to Windows. I am posting just to help anybody that doesn’t know. This is like a creepy wire tap. If you are actually using Windows 11, make sure to disable and or reduce telemetry in Windows 11 (Privacy). If that actually helps, I am sure there are more ways they send data back but the video link is a simple how to for the telemetry. Here is more info: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wtg_s1GQiMU
how to disable telemetry in windows 11
Install Linux
I’m gonna piggyback off of this to remind everyone to install OpenSnitch and go through the iinitial and super-tedious approve/deny outgoing connections.
there’s stuff on linux that, despite being perfectly offline capable and having turned off everything related to clown sync and remote check this and that, still phones home.
Ha. Beat me to it!
PSA, for people sticking to Windows:
You can get a reasonable level of privacy by installing Windows Enterprise via RUFUS, which also has options for removing restrictions during installation. Massgravel is used to activate your copy of Windows, the Github also having .ISOs for you to use with RUFUS.
ShutUp10 is a piece of software that goes a step further, allowing you to toggle off many bad things, uninstall Microsoft’s AI, and gives a description of what you are tweaking does. The premium version also automatically applies your settings at all times, reverting Microsoft’s constant tweaking of your settings.
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I recently attempted my 2nd migration to Linux through ZorinOS, but that didn’t work out. There are still issues with reliability and user friendliness. As a power casual, there were too many jagged edges to let me feel good about daily driving Linux. Hopefully, SteamOS will change that within three or four years. Linux will someday be our solution to the Microsoft problem, but that year hasn’t yet arrived.
I prefer revisionos playbook over scripts though, never had any strange problems with it.
There are still issues with reliability and user friendliness. As a power casual, there were too many jagged edges to let me feel good about daily driving Linux.
Something is very wrong with Zorin then.
Reliability and user friendliness are why I use linux. I work from home, I can’t afford to have a computer not be reliable. Its why I use linux, it works, it doesnt change unless I do. As for user friendliness, windows is extremely hostile to decent work flows. It is user unfriendly.
Linux will someday be our solution to the Microsoft problem, but that year hasn’t yet arrived.
It arrived for me about 20 years ago. Your statement is ridiculous today.
This is my current solution too, while Win10’s extended support period lasts… I really hope Adobe will support Linux (or a working emulator is made) by the time I need to leave Win10, because I don’t want to touch Win11 with an 11-foot pole lol
Which issues did you have with Zorin?
Assorted things, but the biggest was with AppImages. You are supposed to make them executable with a properties tab, as ZorinOS is intended to be a Windows-like experience. However, at some point, AppImages stopped launching, even after rebooting the system. There was no error messages, just nothing happening after trying to launch them. That is bad for troubleshooting, and is vexing. After three or four days trying to resolve such issues with Linux, I got fed up and went back to Windows 11 Enterprise.
In any case, I will attempt another Linux migration when the time seems right. I will let Valve cook, they will bring friendliness and reliability to the masses.
Why ZorinOS? Maybe try a better distro
Because it is supposed to mix the friendliness of Windows with Linux’s lack of authoritarianism.
There is zero reason to use Windows now. Linux has gotten so good that even a noob can install distros like Ubuntu and Mint. I have Linux running as my main on an old Zephyrus laptop after it arbitrarily installed W11 without my permission or prompting. Windows is spyware and gets isolated in my network.
zero for you perhaps, but I unfortunately need Adobe InDesign and Illustrator (and Photoshop but that has more alternatives), or similar software that has the many professional features I use
also need my games and mods to run on Linux… currently ProtonDB says my Steam library is 51% platinum and gold, and then I haven’t even addressed older or online games
I have to use those tools for work (more so in the past), but I’m on macOS for that stuff. That’s a cost-prohibitive layer though. There’s AffinityOnLinux, but I’ve never used it myself. Raster and vector editing are areas that have been sadly devoid of comparable software.
You’re delusional (saying this as a long time tech support for various new Linux user.s)
Finally someone has common sense
I’m sure I’m overestimating and I don’t care. The majority will keep using malware and complaining about it, while doing nothing to solve it. Not even the bare minimum of searching “what are my alternatives?” I know there’s a massive slice of the population that will live in PC hell until the bitter end.
Agreed.
I still keep and use my Windows partition quite often, and probably will for a long time.
I do find that more and more finds its way over to Linux though, which is very nice
Laughs in Tux
a while ago, i watched a youtube video that opened wireshark on brand new installs of ubuntu and windows with no other apps open
comparing a paid operating system and a free operating system that has been said to have privacy issuesguess which one sent 500 packets in under 2 minutes
I believe I saw the same video. I’m now planning to switch from Ubuntu to Parrot OS.
MS at least permits to desactivate all this crap (naturally not documented, but activated by default), it’s all in the settings, services and registry (eg.desactivate SysMain, whith which MS
stealshare your Bandwidth). Apart there are also a ton of other services and “features” which remain active by default, despite not longer needed since 15 years, eg.Prefetch, IndexService, Hibernate and other (eg.AI), slowing down the system and wasting RAM. Most optimizer apps, like ShutUp10 and others can help, if you don’t want to do it by yourself (!!!). To make easier the access, God Mode still works in Windows 11, or download Super God Mode. Windows always need work to turn it in a fast and usable OS with an reasonable privacy (remember that some telemetry make sense, eg.for update checks (Important security updates, also for drivers)Mandatory to install Portmaster.
With all the effort it takes to figure that out on Windows (yes, even with a guide to follow), it literally would be easier to switch to Linux.
Inb4 needing to pick a distro. Here’s a simple flowchart:
- Do you game with brand new graphics cards and/or brand new games that need driver updates?
- Do you want to tinker?
- If yes, use CachyOS
- If no, use Bazzite
- Do you want to tinker?
- If you don’t buy graphics cards or high end games right after release, or don’t game at all
- Use Linux Mint
Or just install Fedora. I don’t get the love for Mint. Its ubuntu derived, broken by default.
- Do you game with brand new graphics cards and/or brand new games that need driver updates?
Or, and this may be a difficult concept for the Windows-brained to grasp, use an operating system that you don’t have to fight and beat into submission for it to do what you want and only what you want.
It’s your computer, why would you give control over it to anyone else?Linux I’ve had to fight and beat into submission just to try and install it without accidentally overwriting my windows installation, and have all my hardware working. I’ve tried and failed 6 times now
That sounds like you had difficulty determining the correct instructions. Given the wrong instructions, computers will do the wrong thing, and that’s OK. They’re not supposed to think, but do what they’re told.
I’ll admit that Linux still occasionally suffers from UI/UX issues, in that its not always obvious what the correct choice is in a given circumstances. A bit like Micro$lop trained their users for decades to completely ignore any and all error messages and just try what they were doing again, by making their error messages needlessly cryptic and borderline useless.So which one is the trouble? Windows or Hardware? If its windows, well maybe get rid of the problem first. Microsoft is actively hostile to your plans.
If its hardware, that can be tricky, but it sure seems infrequent these days.
Refined is probably the best method of dealing with windows. Give windows and linux their own drives, let refined manage the booting and you choose which environment to launch. Windows will never know the other os or bootloader exists. Also turn off fastboot in windows, the cause of a lot of problems.
I need to keep a windows installation because I need MS Office. LibreOffice is fine 98% of the time, but I’ve got a handful of complex documents and spreadsheets that just don’t render correctly in LO, and I’m not going to spend the weeks it takes to correct them.
I’ll look into refined, but currently can’t afford anything but essentials so it’ll be a ways off before I can get a new HD
The office problem. I moved over a long time ago. Word at that time couldnt handle large documents, and excel was a pain in the ass for the csv data we were getting at the time.
Either deal with that pain over a few weeks, or deal with that pain forever! Maybe the fork of onlyoffice will do what you want.
If its only office you can just run windows inside of linux without issue and have it launch the office application when needed using winapps. https://github.com/winapps-org/winapps
Personally I just keep windows in a docker container for that ultra rare time I need windows.
Yes, but due to the theme of this threat, I think it’s godd to post the possibilities for the users which want or need to use Windows for several reasons. Linux isn’t always the best option for all cases. It may be always a good option to use both, Win and Linux in dual boot.
Windows deleted all my files that weren’t even in one drive this week when one drive had a melt down and killed itself. I stared in disbelief, thanked the heavens I just backed all that shit up recently, laughed, and installed Linux. Didn’t even bother to see if I could recover anything. I’ve been meaning to switch for a long time and just haven’t. Windows made it pretty fucking easy.
Happened to me a while ago, and killed the Linux partition. Between trying to restore everything figure might as week fully jump ship, plus was a good excuse to try a new distro.
Linux Mint is surprisingly good. I have a extra Windows 11 PC with RAID, there is no way I can mess around and try to install Linux on it. It would for sure mess up all of my storage.
You could install it on an m.2 drive.
The computer is from 2009 lol and I’m not buying an adapter. I could get an external hard drive though or a big USB for a live version.
Fair
For Windows 10 and 11 this is just scratching the surface and is next to useless for all the stuff they leave behind.
Use ShutUpWindows10++ (yes it work on 11 too) and THAT will get the vast majority of the stuff that this video doesn’t even touch on.
Please post a correct URL for shutup10++, as I googled it and found github/O-O-ShutUp10 which is most likely a scam.
Does https://codeberg.org/fossarchive/Win11Debloat do the same?
this is the one I’ve been using for many years: https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10
This is another one of the windows negatives. There’s no real standard for tools that debloat or remove the MS malware and decent chance that you end up getting more malware in the process (that might even do what it says it does in addition to installing who knows what, so it’s not even immediately obvious that it might be a good idea to go back to the “wipe storage and install OS” step. Thing could even revert some of the settings later on to encourage users running an updated version of the script (not that I think most would bat an eye at their “OS optimization script” being a thing that continuously runs and auto-updates) and it wouldn’t even be unexpected windows behavior considering how passively hostile they already are with users trying to reduce their stupid shit in windows.
If you start with privacy options, then Winhance, then windows shut up it covers even more ground.
Microsoft … the poster child for Linux migration
It is so bad now, with all the ads and background services sucking up your RAM. I don’t think you can even use Windows 11 properly with 8GB of RAM.
windows 11 idles at 8gb with only a few services in the background.
I know for a fact you can run Windows 11 on 8GB of RAM. I just helped a friend install some software on his 8GB laptop. Now, did I spend five hours uninstalling so many things and snipping Windows down to size? Maybe. But it ran
I have 40 tabs open lol, I doubt it.
If my network connection goes down, I have difficulty using Windows with 64GB RAM.
Why on earth does losing your network connection make the OS unusable? Like, locks up the mouse and can’t use the keyboard unusable?
Could be shortcuts referencing a network drive. Don’t know why this had notoriously caused Windows to freeze and stutter for so many years, but as soon as you lose connectivity it’ll cause chaos.
Ohhhh, that doesn’t make any sense. Sounds something like a “Dead Lock” situation.
Dude I was playing Grounded (the original not the second) last week and my computer was so hot it was insane. I used to play that on my 6 year old laptop with no issues 3 year old gaming desktop shouldn’t struggle. In fact about a year ago it didn’t struggle. At all. Windows is just garbage.
I have never had problems on older Windows like Windows 7.
I miss 7. But my nastalgia lies with 2000
You can make Linux look like Windows XP, 7, or 10. Here’s a guide
Honestly I’m running Windows 11 Enterprise and I haven’t seen any of the shit people complain about. I have Telemetry turned off via a GPO (something Pro and Home don’t get), I didn’t get copilot shoved down my throat and my updates don’t crash my system
How much RAM?
I also run Win11 with 8GB of ram just fine. To be fair though, its a virtual machine and not my daily driver. But the main reason it works is because I used an Ameliorated package that basically strips down the OS to what it should be. (ameliorated.io) I highly recommend it.
16GB, I have other systems on 8GB that are also fine.
But do you run it comfortably with 40 tabs open with just 8gb?..
Hahaha. That’s your own damn fault. Close some tabs, and use bookmarks.
Think again. No it isn’t, I could do that on Linux. That is Windows fault.
And they even top the contributions chart!
Gotta love them for all they do for us, but man… they sure hate their users 🤣
I bailed as soon as they introduced recall.
Haven’t used it Sense and it’s amazing how much freedom and no bloat you have and never realized it.
Just spyware doing spyware things here.
pulls out typewriter
pulls out telegraph
DEAR MICROSOFT STOP (FULL STOP)
edit: Dear Microslop
I have location services turned off in windows on my work computer and MS word really dislikes it. Whenever I do a side by side window with word included I get a notification (from word) that I should enable my location services in settings
Insanity that word should even think to need location services. Wtf Microsoft, clippy would never.
Always trying to peek on you.
turn off the ‘notify when apps request location’ setting at the bottom of settings->privacy->location
Popped a windows 11 laptop behind a firewall for toubleshooting, it logs all traffic that leaves that subnet.
Instantly flooded my logs with all kinds of bullshit.
I only use Win11 as a remote game server to play games with Moonlight/Sunshine without worrying about compatibility issues. To work and daily usage, it’s Linux all the way.
Just a matter of time until I transition 100% to Linux though. In the meantime I run WinUtil every once in a while to make sure to disable most of that shit.
Your data is spread eagle cross the block
Spread…
Is this a start trek reference?
tld;dr: no
While it’s the title of a(n awesome) song by Death Grips, it just seemed an apt description of your data with 11.
