Windows 10 Will Soon Give Users More Control Over App Permissions (engadget.com) 76
An anonymous reader shares a report: The software giant has revealed that you'll get much more control over what apps are allowed to do with your device. Where you previously only had control over location sharing, the Fall Creators Update will ask you to grant permission before accessing all kinds of potentially sensitive hardware and software features. It'll ask to use your camera and microphone if you have a video recording app, for instance, or check before offering access to your calendar and contacts. You'll only get these prompts for apps installed after you move to the Fall Creators Update; you'll have to dive into your privacy settings to review permissions for apps you already have. Even so, it's an important boost to Windows' privacy security levels. Much as on phones, where fine-grained permissions are already fairly commonplace, you might not have to worry as much about malicious apps spamming your contacts or hijacking the camera.
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Of course, you still can't turn off sending whatever data Microsoft feels like it wants to Microsoft...
I can hear the cries already (Score:2, Funny)
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Hey suckers you carry on using Apps and the rest of us over 50 will stick with conventional desktop applications. I imagine they already know when to start advertising funeral services to losers like you. At least for the moment Classic Shell hides all of these pieces of marketing malware in a drop-down menu that I have never bothered to explore. Though I have bothered to disable anything that they hook to in the settings. Enjoy your walled garden!
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And if you are one of those who also has aero disabled and has the classic look here is what the kids think of it today [youtu.be] :-)
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And? Kids lack knowledge, experience and wisdom. They have the least credibility out of anybody.
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Most kids today have grown up in a world with apps, smartphones and a complete disregard for data privacy, and i hate it with a passion. My iPhone won't even play music if it can't get a good 3G signal any more. That was a simple fix though, i took out the SIM card and put it in a Nokia 3310
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Right they fail to see how the gray Windows 95 GUI was the best overall!
They said it lacks interactivity and is dull. The Windows 10 tiles and phone widgets get up to date mail, news, etc. You do not even need to open them. All the old peopl (I am 40 I may add) complain about how it looks funny but can't cite an example on why it is inferior to older stuff.
Sorry, but I agree with the grandparent here on learning new things is hard on muscle memory even if it is an improvement. I heard the same people cry on
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Re:I can hear the cries already (Score:4, Insightful)
Don't confuse hating change for worse with hating change in general.
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Why can't they make it work like Windows 7? In Windows 7 I can grant different users and groups access to only the things they should have access to. In turn, I can make any application run under whatever permissions I want. Why the fuck is Windows 10 going backwards and taking control away from users?
Also I see nothing in there about Windows 10 removing the spyware, removing the adware, restoring user control over updates or giving users the ability to purge worthless bloatware like "Windows Store", "Xbox"
The cries should be for software freedom. (Score:1)
So despite knowing that Microsoft is an early NSA collaborator, forcing [gizmodo.com] and tricking [theguardian.com] users into "upgrading" to Windows 10, distributes proprietary software (all of which is untrustworthy by default which prevents even technical users from fixing problems and distributing improved software to others), and Microsoft blatantly disregarded user choice and privacy [eff.org], shipped with bad defaults for privacy [archive.org], got caught lying to users about how Windows 10's euphemistically named "privacy controls" worked [arstechnica.com], you believe
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Please re-read my post slowly and in its entirety, or consider reading virtually any other post I've written on /.. I clearly point out that proprietary software is the problem and software freedom is the fix. The points I linked to in the grandparent post refer to Microsoft specifically because that organization is relevant in this thread, not because Microsoft is somehow a more unacceptable proprietor than other software proprietors.
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BSD, OpenBSD
MS still dreaming of winodws mobile (Score:3)
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This feature already on mobile Win10 (Score:2)
Whatever (Score:2, Insightful)
Microsoft Operating Systems Privacy Software Windows 10 Will Soon Give Users More Control Over App Permissions
What about Windows 10 giving users more control over OPERATING SYSTEM Permissions?
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People actually use "apps" for Windows? Like for real? As in this isn't a hoax?
I don't think anyone not on Microsoft's marketing team does. And for actual work even they still use programs not apps.
(Seriously, I still think windows "apps" are some kind of extended April Fools gag.)
That's a tragedy not comedy.
Slashdot Comments (Score:2, Insightful)
It's a thing we've wanted before? That other OSes we like do?
Doesn't matter! M$ is teh evil!!1
How about these permissions (Score:2)
Get off my device and go disable the windows store entirely.
I really don't need an "app store" for a company that can't even field a cell phone platform. Heck, I don't need an app store from the 2 who CAN! If I want to install something I'll go download the bits and run it the old fashioned way thank you very much. (even if it's .apk not .msi or .exe)
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or .pkg or .mpkg or .deb or .rpm or .tgz or .inf or .zip etc...
That's not how it will work (Score:5, Insightful)
How it will work, is, each app will ask for a buttload of permission for stuff you'd think it doesn't need, like a puzzle game asking for camera permissions, but the app will not run unless it gets those permissions, so most users will give up and grant every app all permissions, thus making the whole exercise pointless.
Re:That's not how it will work (Score:5, Interesting)
True that. And MS is doing the same itself; today Windows version of Skype asked if it was ok to install a update (funny question itself, as I have disabled automatic update checks on it) and the dialog gave two options; Yes and Later. Pressing Later-button just closes the Skype immediately. Only way to bypass that dialog was to answer yes. Why not be honest that we give you no choice but do as we tell you or cry and do as we tell you? And if the MS did not try to make the Skype UI worse and more phone-like on every version, people might actually want to update it.
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Sticking with Windows 9 (Score:3)
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It's just like crosswalk buttons. (Score:2)
Clarification (Score:5, Informative)
Just so people know, this has nothing to do with regular Windows software, just Windows Store apps... which no one cares about.
https://blogs.windows.com/wind... [windows.com]
"Starting with the Fall Creators Update, we’re extending this experience to other device capabilities for apps you install through the Windows Store."
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WTF are you talking about? There are hundreds of thousands of sources for Windows software.
The only reason for a Windows Store is to give Microsoft a cut of the purchase of other people's software.
I'd rather the headline be: (Score:4, Informative)
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This. Windows 10 is what brought about my Year of Linux on the Desktop (2015). I still maintain a Windows 7 machine for gaming but that will change someday.
Solved a non-problem (Score:2)
you might not have to worry as much about malicious apps spamming your contacts or hijacking the camera.
I already don't have to worry about that, since I won't touch the app store with a ten foot pole.
Now, will Microsoft address real security issues, such as allowing us to turn off all the telemetry?
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