German Government Warns Key Entities Not To Use Windows 8 – Links The NSA
According to leaked internal documents from the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) that Die Zeit obtained, IT experts figured out that Windows 8, the touch-screen enabled, super-duper, but sales-challenged Microsoft operating system is outright dangerous for data security. It allows Microsoft to control the computer remotely through a built-in backdoor. Keys to that backdoor are likely accessible to the NSA – and in an unintended ironic twist, perhaps even to the Chinese."
"The backdoor is called “Trusted Computing,” developed and promoted by the Trusted Computing Group, founded a decade ago by the all-American tech companies AMD, Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, and Wave Systems. Its core element is a chip, the Trusted Platform Module (TPM), and an operating system designed for it, such as Windows 8. Trusted Computing Group has developed the specifications of how the chip and operating systems work together."
*In short, users of Windows 8 with TPM 2.0 surrender control over their machines the moment they turn it on for the first time."
http://www.businessinsider.com/leaked-german-government-warns-key-entities-not-to-use-windows-8--links-the-nsa-2013-8
= new reply since forum marked as read
Apple phased out the surveillance chips in 2009. Linux doesn’t comply with the standards, and Linux machines cannot use the technology. Microsoft defended itself the best it could. The TPM is activated by default because most users accept defaults, it said. If users would have to activate the functions themselves, many users would end up operating a less secure system. And of course, government regulations that would require that users have the option to opt in or out would be unwise.
Instead, hardware manufactures could build machines with the chips deactivated, Microsoft said. If you want to have control over your computer, that’s what you’d have to buy. Another option would be to switch to Linux machines, something that the city government of Munich has started 10 years ago; the changeover should be complete before the year is up. This end of the NSA debacle cannot possibly be twisted into bullish news for Microsoft.
It ain't beautiful unless you like the tablet look. It's no faster than 7, and stable?
And you couldn't pay me to use a Mac. I run 6 computers here, 3 with Windows and 3 with Linux.
