Windows 10 users banned from torrenting by piracy sites because of worries

Windows 95 allowed you to manage files, folders and applications by simply interacting with icons presented in Windows Explorer, the successor to File Manager.

Some torrent websites are banning Windows 10 users over fears that the operating system is sending identifying information back to Microsoft.

Since its release, Windows 10 has been under fire for its invasive approach to user privacy, from passing loads of your data to Microsoft’s servers to stealing your bandwidth and even profiling your Windows usage. Windows 10 has been in the limelight regarding privacy concerns since it was released, with reports claiming that Microsoft can wipe torrents and pirated software from people’s hard drives – a piracy kill switch so to speak.

iTS goes on to state that Microsoft is working hand-in-hand with anti-piracy company MarkMonitor (a company that it has been associated with for quite some time) to surreptitiously pick off torrent users, and eventually go after trackers that feed them.

CNN: Is Windows 10 Really A Privacy Nightmare? According to them, Windows 10 contravenes Russian laws because it “illicitly collects users’ browser history, passwords, location, elements of electronic messages, calendar records and even voice recording”.

Twenty years ago, Microsoft (NasdaqGS: MSFT – news) changed the world.

“We may automatically check your version of the software and download software updates or configuration changes, including those that prevent you from accessing the Services, playing counterfeit games, or using unauthorised hardware peripheral devices.”

Windows 10 returned back to basics, reintroducing the more compact Start menu while adding new features and additions, following an outcry from consumers.

Microsoft’s plan was not only to let users test Windows 95 and help it improve the OS but also to pave the road for the big launch, thus creating a whole new craze ahead of its product’s debut.

Levichev’s call for a ban on Windows 10 was echoed by lawyers from the Moscow legal firm Bubnov and Partners, which has separately filed a complaint with the Russian Prosecutor General’s office over the operating system’s privacy and data collection settings.

Several torrent trackers, including iTS, have banned Windows 10 users, with others set to follow suit.

“I probably won’t install it for a couple of weeks, but just to have it in the house, to hold the box, something fun like that”, one of those who waited in line at the Microsoft store said.

Windows 95 was the first to adopt the interface (GUI) that has evolved into what we still see today in Windows 10.

“What’s particularly nasty is that apparently it sends the results of local(!!) searches to a well known anti piracy company directly so as soon as you have one known p2p or scene release on your local disk …” A selection of 3.5-inch floppy disks allowed the OS to be installed on a PC already running Windows 3.1 or an entirely new machine.

And lest we forget, it was the first version of Windows to have a start-up sound, in this case commissioned and composed by Brian Eno. However, it also means a lot of sensitive personal information is on Microsoft’s servers.