Total Information Shutdown. Tell me I'm paranoid.

Microsoft is one of THE examples of a megacorporation. They strive for monopoly, and in fact, in the home PC market, they do to an astonishing degree.

Consider the TREASON to americans that other megacorporations have perpetrated in the case of domestic spying.

Now tell me that it is unlikely that Microsoft has (had to) built in a backdoor in their OS's allowing the US government to shut down each and every home user?

bmc

PS: I've been wanting to go Linux, went up to dual boot but...I'm a gamer.

http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9909/03/windows.nsa.02/

"Andrew Fernandes of Ontario-based Cryptonym Corp. and his colleagues now say the NSA holds the second key because they found that a recent service pack for Windows NT failed to cloak the second key, revealing it as "_NSAKEY."

"In the data security profession, those three initials only mean one thing: National Security Agency," Fernandes said.

Microsoft denied that the key belongs to the NSA, saying instead that the "_NSAKEY" label simply means the cryptography architecture meets the NSA's standards for export.

"These reports are completely false," said Microsoft spokesman Dan Leach. "

Who ya gonna believe ?

Corporate sponsored spokesman.

Well one deciding factor is that the spokesman just happens to be speaking for the manufacturer of the inane operating system "Vista"

It's a really strange world out there when the RFIDs and spychips are being turned on the victims of 9-11 in order to "protect" us from further acts of violence. It seems that the cure they're prescribing is worse than the original malady.

How 'bout this: Use a Linux live-CD to find that key, and delete it. (But back up your registry first.)

Also, use the live-CD to find what other stuff Windows is hiding from you. I found pictures and stuff from websites I visited YEARS ago...and I use programs that supposedly clean up all your temp files.

Linux makes it easy to view a lot of things that MS doesn't want you to see....

Or maybe not.

Not about a backdoor. That wouldn't surprise me. But shutting down home users and leaving businesses up and running? Businesses rely on contact with home users.

So, while I'm sure they know every damn thing you ever did on the net, no, they won't be shutting you down. Especially not while you're trading stocks from your online account, or putting money in your online account, or bidding on eBay with your online account.

Happy now?

I am talking about a moment like a public outpouring over the next stolen election, followed by tasering "insurgents" into camps and the like.

So yeah, thanks but still paranoid...

You should have seen the outpouring over Florida 2000. I know I did. 5,000 messages a day on Salon's Table Talk Florida threads. Had to skip hundreds at a time.

Outpourings don't mean squat. You're still paranoid.

But I do not believe nothing can cause an uproar that would shut the government (and the corporations) down.

I'm talking about general strikes and the like.

But go on.

they've nearly accomplished that feat. Vista is bloated spyware that you never own, but simply borrow.

I think Steve Jobs said it best when he said, about M$, that they have no class. They also have no ethics, and are in bed with the MIC.

So yeah, it's a safe bet there's a back-door.

http://www.itbusinessedge.com/item/?ci=20916


http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/6149/983/


Mainly, it centers on the so-called "software protection program" which is really just a M$ way of saying spyware.

I totally agree on Vista being WAY to intrusive, having been busy setting up my wife's laptop as a techie XP user.

And on "Google-powered", all of a sudden many community sites starts to look like youtube, and they are all google powered.

But google also has picasa, a picture management tool. I had this installed and it did all kinds of unusual stuff. Scanning and connecting to the internet without me asking so is across my line... :shrug:

If there is one, government wouldn't shut it down because it would be too overt.

Also, why would MS do that anyways? What would be their gain? Other than losing all their market as people switch to alternative Operating systems.

no

I don't trust M$, given their past record.

As to Linux, dual boot is fine, but I would recommend "fire-walling" the MS side, by not allowing outside access. I did this on a friend's machine: loaded 98SE (last edition I have), loaded (OpenSuSE) Linux, then simply did not set up 98 to go out to the net.

I chose OpenSuSE because I could download all the disks. She has only dial-up access (when I get around to setting it up), and Ubuntu variants need internet access to download programs.

1: Name one company that by design doesn't want to be a monopoly, have no competition and infinte income. That's kind of the point. Each company uses different methods to find success. Some above board, others not so much.

2: Microsoft doesn't need to put in a backdoor. Thanks to the millions of people who never update their software to prevent attack by newer viruses and other malware, there are plenty of systems that can be used by any group that wants to pay for it. Look up bot-nets.

3: Linux is not any better. If you know how to secure a Windows machine, it can be every bit as secure as a Linux box. More so, since the majority of people on earth don't know the first thing about Linux and just do what websites tell them to do while configuring it.

4: Shutting down each PC is hard. Shutting down the power or networks between each PC is easy. If you're that far gone, go buy a generator and a satellite network system.


And here's the biggie: Computers keep people off the street. Take away myspace/World of Warcraft/DU and people might actually go outside and get mad about things. I'll be worried if the cable and dish companies drop their rates for movie channels, ISP prices fall and speeds increase for no reason. THEN I'll be worried, because those things go against a corporation's goal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SELinux

BTW: I think you're paranoid.

I know I'm paranoid. Doesn't stop me from being so unfortunately. ;-)

Why do you think I am in this case?

But I bet they could always send one cloaked as a security update.

I know, I've tried and upon a certain boot it nevertheless did install an update without any question.

because more and more of them are conducting business online with their customers, from ordering to bill paying.

Plus, a hack would be available and probably sent out by Microshaft, itself, within a week because they don't want to lose us all to Linux or Mac.