Andy Burns <
use...@andyburns.uk> wrote
Four important related things...
1. First, I very much appreciate that you're both adding value.
As we're a team, where nobody knows what everyone knows.
Together, we're like a football team, moving the ball forward.
Every time one person asks a question, all the rest of us learn.
2. Second, I never understood this Microsoft "_optout_" directive.
I used it for a while; but I never understood what it does.
For example, where in Windows 10 or 11 do you turn it on/off?
3. Thirdly, the "_nomap" & _optout_" were/are needed because 999
people out of a thousand are incredibly ignorant so they
leave their computers/phones set up at the marketing defaults.
(Most are scared like little rabbits to "change" settings.)
The problem is we're being attacked (figuratively speaking)
from most people who are not only stupid but incredibly rude.
4. While all the above applies to many privacy based settings,
lastly, we discussed this, long ago, as I remember Carlos
Paul & Marco Moock & even Andy Burns talking about it, where
it was my understanding at that time (long ago) Microsoft stopped
using "_optout_" in the 2016 Windows Anniversary Edition.
So I stopped using it as I trust those people.
Given those points, what's important is to confirm what the status is.
Jeff's link <
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32289798> doesn't
exist for me (can someone else try it?) but Andy's link works fine.
<
https://account.microsoft.com/privacy/location-services-opt-out>
That's interesting, as you have to give away your privacy to get it.
Both Google & Microsoft implemented their "opt out" methods that way
because they knew nobody would opt in (which is a telling observation).
But we're stuck with it.
And we're stuck with 999 out of 1000 people being incredibly stupid.
Andy's link is good - because it implies Microsoft is still using the
database, but let's figure out whether Microsoft operating systems are
still using the Wi-Fi access point "_optout_" directive or not.
<
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=does+Microsoft+%2B_optout_>
*Microsoft Disables Wi-Fi Sense on Windows 10*, May 18, 2016
<
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2016/05/microsoft-disables-wi-fi-sense-on-windows-10/>
"Microsoft has disabled its controversial Wi-Fi Sense feature,
a component embedded in Windows 10 devices that shares access
to WiFi networks to which you connect with any contacts you
may have listed in Outlook and Skype, and, with an opt-in,
your Facebook friends."
"We have removed the Wi-Fi Sense feature that allows you to
share Wi-Fi networks with your contacts and to be automatically
connected to networks shared by your contacts," wrote Gabe Aul,
corporate vice president of Microsoft's engineering systems team."
So here's the conundrum since I'm a creature borne of sensible logic.
a. If Microsoft is no longer using "_optout_"
b. Then why is Microsoft allowing you to opt out of their database?
Another conundrum is whether we still need to add it to our AP SSID?
Do we?
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