The bare minimum, done under duress Facebook's anemic new pro-privacy measures don't impress me much

In a week which started with the UK Parliament condemning Facebook as "digital gangsters," it appears that Zuck & Co. have decided that they have to do something to turn back the tide of negative PR, and have chosen to make a couple of changes that, frankly, should have been made months ago.

First, as reported by TechCrunch, they're finally going to shut down their spyware-disguised-as-VPN "service," Onavo:

Facebook will end its unpaid market research programs and proactively take its Onavo VPN app off the Google Play store in the wake of backlash following TechCrunch’s investigation about Onavo code being used in a Facebook Research app the sucked up data about teens. The Onavo Protect app will eventually shut down, and will immediately cease pulling in data from users for market research though it will continue operating as a Virtual Private Network in the short-term to allow users to find a replacement.

Facebook has also ceased to recruit new users for the Facebook Research app that still runs on Android but was forced off of iOS by Apple after we reported on how it violated Apple’s Enterprise Certificate program for employee-only apps. Existing Facebook Research app studies will continue to run, though.

With the suspicions about tech giants and looming regulation leading to more intense scrutiny of privacy practices, Facebook has decided that giving users a utility like a VPN in exchange for quietly examining their app usage and mobile browsing data isn’t a wise strategy. Instead, it will focus on paid programs where users explicitly understand what privacy they’re giving up for direct financial compensation.

Second, as reported by TechZim, Facebook are also making changes to their app which will allow users to opt out of having Facebook collect their location data even when the app was not in use:

To address user concerns about the extent to which Facebook’s Android app can access location data, Facebook has now updated its location controls. The new privacy settings will enable Android users to opt out of location tracking when they aren’t actively using the app and have greater control over how much of their location data is saved by the social media giant. With a new option in place, Android users will now be able to decide whether or not they want Facebook to be aware of their location at all times.

Again, while both of these are good changes, they're also obvious changes which should have been implemented months ago. If they'd announced these changes immediately after these scandals broke, I'd have been impressed with the speed of their response, even if it took them a little while to actually patch the changes into their app; instead, I can only cynically assume that they've been keeping these in their back pocket, ready to deploy in a week where Facebook desperately needed some good PR.

Confirmed: Windows 10 will not make "1 Billion by 2018" target

From ZDNet:

A little over a year ago, with much fanfare, Microsoft execs drew a line in the sand, predicting that Windows 10 would be installed on 1 billion devices by mid-2018.

But Microsoft officials conceded today, July 15, that they likely won't make that deadline.

My ZDNet colleague Ed Bott noted at the end of a blog post Friday that Microsoft officials still think they can hit the 1 billion Windows 10 market, but that "it's unlikely to happen by 2018 as originally projected".

I asked Microsoft for further clarification and received the following statement from a spokesperson: "Windows 10 is off to the hottest start in history with over 350m monthly active devices, with record customer satisfaction and engagement. We're pleased with our progress to date, but due to the focusing of our phone hardware business, it will take longer than FY18 for us to reach our goal of 1 billion monthly active devices. In the year ahead, we are excited about usage growth coming from commercial deployments and new devices -- and increasing customer delight with Windows."

This is when I'm supposed to talk about how I hate to say, "I told you so," but I'd be lying -- it's actually one of my favourite things. Also: called it.

Microsoft was apparently expecting Windows 10 to get a big bump from the sales of tablets and 2-in-1's (in spite of iPad Pro outselling Surface in that slice of the market) and from phones and other mobile devices (in spite of the fact that nobody wants a Windows phone). I've said all along that the only reason that made sense for pushing Windows 10 so aggressively on PC was if it was failing on other devices, and that's now confirmed, although Microsoft are apparently still hinting at "some kind of Surface Phone type device" launching in 2017.

I wonder if the long-term damage done to their relationship with PC customers, and the loss of trust and goodwill that comes with using deceptive and coercive tactics to push us into using an OS that's loaded with built-in adware and spyware, still looks like such a bright idea in Redmond?

Here's another prediction: July's OS market share numbers will show little to no movement for Windows 10. I think that today's admission that the 1B target is impossible is Microsoft getting out in front of that story before numbers become available, thus abandoning their previous strategy of pretending that they might still make their target. Put a pin in this one, folks, and place your bets.

An offer you can refuse

OK, I'll admit it: I was just tickled by the title of this PC World piece:

The clock is ticking, folks. If you want to upgrade to Windows 10 for free, you only have until July 29, 2016 to do so. And most people should! Windows 10 is the best Windows yet, chock full of handy new features, sleek under-the-hood improvements, and headache-killing extras.

But it’s not for everybody. There are some very real, very valid reasons not to upgrade to Windows 10.

If you’re on the fence about whether to accept or reject Microsoft’s freebie, read on for some concrete justifications for staying put.

Their list of reasons?

1. No Windows Media Center or DVD support
2. No desktop gadgets or widgets
3. No OneDrive placeholders
4. No control over Windows Updates
5. Privacy concerns
6. Ads and more ads
7. Microsoft's aggressive upgrade tactics
8. Software compatibility
9. Hardware compatibility
10. Ain't broke, don't fix it

I'm not using OneDrive for anything, or any desktop gadgets or widgets, but I find it easy to agree with all the rest of these. In fact, the last one (highlighted in bold), were all included in the list that I posted in June, although I think I'd combined the advertising and privacy issues into a single bullet point.

Well, that didn't last long

Because Microsoft are Microsoft, and Microsoft are the worst, they've now got a new GWX strong-arm tactic to replace the one they just did away with: a full-screen nag screen. Yes, that's right: they took something that was already wildly unpopular, and made it worse. Again.

From Myce:

Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users who didn’t want to upgrade to Windows 10 and deleted the ‘Get Windows 10’ application from their computer, are now targeted by Microsoft with a full screen message urging them to upgrade to Windows 10.

The message is caused by KB3173040 and its headline states, “Sorry to interrupt you but this is important, Windows 10 free upgrade offers ends July 29”. The message goes on with, “Microsoft recommends upgrading to Windows 10 – the most secure Windows ever built. The upgrade is free and you can easily roll-back to your current operating system within 31 days if you decide Windows 10 is not right for you. We’ll check for compatability before starting the upgrade. Over 300 million people have upgraded. Upgrade your PC before the offer ends”.

Users can then select to either upgrade now or to be reminded later. It’s also possible to select to be notified three more times or to be never notified again.

They just won't learn, will they?

Microsoft to finally fix GWX alerts

Victory! Kinda.

From Silicon Beat:

Microsoft has heard the complaints about the tactics it’s using to push Windows 10 on users, and it’s finally doing something about them.

Later this week, the company plans to roll out an update for Windows 7 and 8 that that will change the alerts it has been using to promote Windows 10. Unlike before, the alerts will now offer users a clear choice to decline Windows 10. And if users click on the red “x” button to dismiss the alert, Windows will no longer consider that a confirmation that users want to upgrade to Windows 10.

[...]

In addition to changing how the Windows upgrade prompts work, Microsoft is offering free tech support to all customers who are having trouble with Windows 10, [Lisa Gurry, Microsoft’s senior director for Windows] said. If users whose PCs were upgraded to Windows 10 want to return them to their previous operating system, Microsoft’s customer support staff will walk them through the process free of charge, she said.

[...]

Many users have complained that they have been unwittingly upgraded to Windows 1o or have had to repeatedly dismiss notifications pushing them to upgrade. Last month, a Sausalito woman won a $10,000 judgment against Microsoft after she sued the company because her computer became almost inoperable after trying and failing to install the Windows 10 update, which she hadn’t authorized.

Windows users can return their computers to an earlier version of the operating system, but some have found that their files have been corrupted or drivers used to interact with printers and other accessories have been deleted.

Full court press

After weeks of horrible PR surrounding their strong-arm GWX tactics, Microsoft seem to have weathered the storm and are now bringing the hardest sell they can to bear on remaining non-Win10 users. Pro-Redmond outlets are flooding the 'net with articles urging users to switch, even if they only switch to Win10 so that they can switch back, reminding us over and over again that time is running out, and that it will cost us later if we don't switch now.

Don't believe the hype. If you're running Windows 7, and you're happy with it, then you don't need to switch to Windows 10, and here's why: