Windows 8 and Privacy

[juvera]

http://investmentwatchblog.com/leaked-g ... s-the-nsa/

[SYSTEM]

I recommend reading the comments of the article as well. The very first comment:

*SOMEONE* misunderstood what a TPM chip is, does, and what purpose it is supposed to fulfill - and not just a little. A lot.

The TPM chip allows you to have the TPM chip give you an encryption key back, as long as the software is still in a "safe" state. That is, it can verify your bootloader, kernel, some userspace tools - If one of them is off, you won't get the key. An example use is BitLocker, where the key is used to access the disk. If something has been changed, the system won't boot without manually typing in the key (which it tells you when you initially set it up). I personally use it on my Linux workstation for a dm-crypt'd partition. (Another fuck up in the article - it works just fine on Linux).

What the TPM *doesn't* do, is give you a backdoor. The only functionality it provides is the capability to give you back an encryption key. It also supports some features ("Remote attestation", for example), that were never put to use, nor are really useful/dangerous. And yes, just like Windows can get the key out, so can you. As long as the verified environment is intact (If it isn't, Windows won't be able to extract the keys either), you can ask the TPM chip, and it will answer.

The TPM chip doesn't not protect, affect, nor enable the implementation of a back-door. Windows 8 can easily have one, so can Windows 7. The TPM has no say in it. Do your homework.

Some unbiased information about TPM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trusted_Platform_Module

In addition to what the comment said, TPM 2.0 specifications haven't been released and TPM 2.0 chips don't exist yet.

[bzl333]

i dont know about TPM in particular but i would just plan on any Windows OS being compromised by NSA and other govt agencies. The way they work is float these rumors for a few years that are eventually officially denied and then years later you find out that what they said was a lie and in fact its much worse than what you had suspected. just like IRS scandal - "oh, just a few rogue agents in the Cincy office" (wrong). Benghazi, all of this spying by NSA with PRISM and the others, the huge building in Utah, its just one bald faced lie after another.

[webfork]

i would just plan on any Windows OS being compromised by NSA and other govt agencies

Few things popped to mind on this:

• I don't think anyone is under the impression that Microsoft puts together the most secure operating system. We use it because it's popular and it has lots of features and software; if there was good Mac/Linux freeware, I would likely be a regular on a different forum.
• More germane to the forum, one real way to protect yourself is to keep your activity online to a minimum and portable software can help with that, generally not requiring an Internet connection. The more that Microsoft requires a net connection and moves to "the cloud" the less I care about their offerings.