Torrent Trackers Officially Ban Windows 10
Can Microsoft wipe torrents and pirated software from your hard drives if you install Windows 10? The ‘terrible privacy policy’ of Windows 10 has forced torrent sites including iTS, FSC and BB to ban Windows 10 users altogether.
If you use Windows 10 then Microsoft’s end-use license agreement (EULA) could allow the company to disable counterfeit games and illegal hardware. Portion (7b) states:
Quote:
“We may automatically check your version of the software, which is necessary to provide the Services and download software updates or configuration changes, without charging you, to update, enhance and further develop the Services, including those that prevent you from accessing the Services, playing counterfeit games or using unauthorized hardware peripheral devices.”
To protect its newest operating system, Microsoft can also run a torrent tracker in order to check for illegal Windows 10 files, which may lead to the distribution of pirated versions of the OS. The tracker is designed to ban such files, to locate them on the hard drive and to even locate the other people with whom these files have been shared with. Thanks to the new EULA, Microsoft can install software updates that have the power to block the access to unauthorized peripheral hardware devices.
Torrent tracker iTS banned Windows 10 users and now redirects those users to a video called “Windows 10 is a tool to spy on everything you do“. iTS also issued the following statement:
“Many of you might have heard or read about the terrible privacy policy of Windows 10 recently. Unfortunately Microsoft decided to revoke any kind of data protection and submit whatever they can gather to not only themselves but also others. One of those is one of the largest anti-piracy company called MarkMonitor.
Amongst other things Windows 10 sends the contents of your local disks directly to one of their servers. Obviously this goes way too far and is a serious threat to sites like ours, which is why we had to take measures. Since last Thursday Windows 10 is officially banned from iTS. Members using it get redirected to a video that eggsplains [sic] the dangers quite in detail hoping to enlighten as many people as possible.
Perhaps at some point special versions of Windows 10 will surface that would successfully wipe all those outrageous privacy violations but until then Windows 10 is not welcome here in the interest of this site and all iTS members.”
BB staffers told its users, “We have also found [Windows 10] will be gathering information on users’ P2P use to be shared with anti-piracy group. What’s particularly nasty is that apparently it sends the results of local (!!) searches to a well-known anti-piracy company directly so as soon as you have one known P2P or scene release on your local disk … BAM!”
Staff from the torrent tracker FSC warned, “As we all know, Microsoft recently released Windows 10. You as a member should know, that we as a site are thinking about banning the OS from FSC. That would mean you cannot use the site with the OS installed.”
Do you think the privacy concerns about Windows 10 have been blown out of proportion? Or the sites are justified in banning the new operating system over privacy concerns?
