Man starkers......sometimes you just come across as so cranky!....

Obviously to each his/her own and I absolutely respect your opinion......but I just have to voice mine again.  As Doc also pointed out above obviously some of the mentioned 'privacy concerns' about Win10 are necessary to its smart operation and while some (you obviously as well) feel strong disdain for anything resembling 'smart technology' some of us actually use it and quite happily/sucessfuly in our day to day.

For instance.....every screen (TV or otherwise) in my home has the capability to have content delivered to it from any computational device (desktop, notebook, tablet, phone) by way of some very 'smart technology' (ie. Chromecast, Miracast etc. etc.).  It doesn't matter where I find myself in or around the home nor does it matter which device I am presently using, any and all content available to me can be delivered anywhere.  Hell......thanks to a little wonder called 'slingbox' I can even deliver my own live HD satellite feed (or anything residing on a DVR) to any device on the road while driving to the cottage.  All of that is pretty 'smart tech'.  Sure there are 'privacy' trade-off's and I'm sure all companies involved in my tech utopia (MS, Google, Slingmedia, Samsung, Nokia etc. etc.) are probably rubbing their hands in glee over all of the 'advertising data' they garner through me.  Thing is.........I don't really care.  If it means I can enjoy what I just described to you.......I'm good.

As long as I can play with my toys I'm happy. So what if a bunch of ads get to my email. Spam folder is your friend. Delete...delete...delete. Besides, if my personal stuffs not out there, what can they do? They can't see nuthin' 'cause my camera's eye has been covered with black electrical tape and been disabled. So even if some dastardly dildo manages to turn it on remotely all they get is....................black on black.

*my two cents* 

http://www.zdnet.com/article/no-microsoft-is-not-spying-on-you-with-windows-10/

Yeah, I got a thorn in my paw while out walking and no good Samaritan to pull it out.

Thing is, I neither want or need all that smart tech you speak of enjoying so much.  I have a Bluray player that plays all my discs, and I have a media player that plays any music or video I have on HDD, but I don't need them connected to everything including the fridge, washing machine and toilet.  I then have my Pcs with Win 8.1 that provides access to the internet, and my phone to send and receive calls 

Yup, I'm pretty happy with that... but if ever I get that old and infirm.... and/or just plain lazy, I'll get me some of those smart ass gadgets that do everything.... including wipe my arse and clean my dentures.

Seriously, while I like new toys, I'm not prepared to surrender everything that's me to get them. 

That's just it, it's not about getting old, lazy, liking new toys or 'surrendering everything that's me'.  For me it is about making available tech work for me.  What good is all of the tech in the world if it can't be used to make my life better/easier in some way?  The example I posted about is not about me being lazy or being impressed by the latest toys, it is purely about making my life (and the lives of those connected to me) easier in even some small way.  When friends/family come by instead of crowding around someone's tiny phone/tablet in order to view that all important youtube video, family photo or other media with one simply click/tap of a button the desired content is sent to one of the screens/audio systems (wireless soundbars etc. are so handy for this as well) in the home.  Placeshifting media and being able to access anything anywhere has also cut down on what I carry with me when I travel.  Carrying USB sticks or external HD's around has been eliminated, all of which is technology working for me.  If that makes me lazy or just impressed by new toys in your eyes I guess it'll have to do.  Obviously the both of us use tech in different ways, no problem there........and while (as I already stated in my previous reply) I'm sure all of the corporations involved are gleaning some info which may be valuable to them from my activities I do not agree that I am having to 'surrender everything that is me' in order to enjoy same.

Excellent read ID, thanks for the link.  

It's a shame that article makes no mention of WiFi Sense.  That one feature has Win 10 banned from my household.

And the part about the big Torrents not being worried...well...not sure that's a recommendation.

Everyone can decide for him/herself...I don't trust MS to be on the up and up. They've got their interests, I have mine.

@ the_Monk

I'm happy that you're happy with your smart tech and devices, but really, I have no need of such sophistication.  I don't travel very far or wide due to vertigo and mobility issues, so my needs are down to a tablet to check forums and etc, a phone to send or receive calls.  I don't bother with viewing video on my phone, screen is too small and piddly to bother, so IF I want to view a movie while out I'll do so on my 13.5" tablet via a USB stick... cos really, it's not a lot extra to carry in my satchel case with my other bits n' pieces [wallet; relevant documents; glasses; prescriptions, etc]

At home I'm happy enough to watch pay TV/free-to-air [IF there's anything decent on] and fiddle around on my PCs... meaning I have neither high expectations or high demands.  I'm happy that my Bluray player is internet capable, if I ever needed it, but so are my TVs and PCs... but I can only watch/focus on one at a time and have no need to stream from this device to that device to another.  I can only be in one room at a time, and while I have 3 TVs, I generally plan to watch whatever in whichever situation suits me best at the time.... in the man cave, feet up in bed or sitting on the lounge, etc.  To have stuff streaming all over the place would be overkill for me cos it's just me, and my needs are fairly simple.

I suppose some would say 3 TVs and 3 working PCs is overkill, but such things aren't portable and I don't live in just the one room.  Anyway, this is far removed from the OT and not relevant to it.

As for Win 10, if people are happy to use it then good for them.  I'm just not that trusting.  Yes, there are opinions on both side of the 'privacy' fence, and both sides present plausible arguments, but my reason for not upgrading is not just about 'snooping' concerns.  I simply don't like the look of it, what with the butt ugly UI, horrendous icons and a start menu that looks like it was retrieved from a Fisher Price Dumpster.  Without WindowBlinds, IconPackager and CursorFX, it is unusable for me.

Oh, and this article http://www.zdnet.com/article/no-microsoft-is-not-spying-on-you-with-windows-10/ doesn't prove a thing,  It's just another opinion by another tech writer.  Look, they can all interpret the EULA and privacy agreement however they want, when Microsoft says it will read the content of my emails and personal documents so it and its partners can target me with specific ads, well that's more than enough for me.  I don't want ads.  Period.

Odd, I turned it off during install. Ran this program and found that it was back on. I have since gotten in the habit of running this program upon booting up and each time I find that this wifi sense is back to being enabled... Not sure if it relates to me using a VPN or not. But going into Settings, I don't see any option to "Manage WI-FI Settings" to double check if it's still off. Not sure how you use the "#_optout? option. Could you explain further? Thanks!

I normaly gladly give a step by step tutorial for stuff like this, 
But it seems that i shouldnt do it as often since people just copy the steps without questioning whats actually happening.

So pleased dont be mad if i ecourage you to google "ssid_optout" 
it will benefit you´re security aswell as understanding.

here is a link if you cant find something usefull
You might also be interested in phrase/commands like _optin or the term "DEP"







 

If I remember correctly, it was something I was able to turn off during setup/install of Win10.

LOL, no, I'm not mad. Thanks. I was thinking you were talking about some setting within Windows to change the SSID, not just within my router. It's odd. The program from Ashampoo lets me "fix" the security leak of WiFi Sense, but if I run it a 2nd time right after the first run, it still shows WiFi sense as being enabled. It seems the program tells me that it can't turn it off... So I changed my Router's SSID as recommended and will see if that makes any difference.

The normal wifi/sense settings should be listed under your network and internet settings and should include 2 checkboxes or sliders for you to disable sharing.
Start button- the settings wheel - network and internet - wifi 
at least that is where they used to be as i remember - could be that they changed it though not sure since i dont run any wifi