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Groups > alt.comp.os.windows-10 > #182806

Re: Today's "Windows 10 concern"

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On 25/03/05 12:18 PM, Paul wrote:
> On Wed, 3/5/2025 8:13 AM, John C. wrote:
>> ...Every   ...single   ...day, some issue rears its ugly head in Windows
>> 10 and I wind up wasting time trying to deal with it. I absolutely
>> detest Windows 10 and all the associated bullshit that this crappy OS
>> requires in order to spy on me and cause me problems. The continual
>> feature degradation and regressions in functionality as well.
>>
>> Unlike a lot of other people, I turn my cable modem and router off
>> whenever I don't need to be on the internet. Today I noticed for the
>> second day in a row, that there is a Microsoft executable named
>> DeviceCensus.exe which runs briefly whenever I start up those two devices.
>>
>> So what is this "DeviceCensus.exe" executable (file path is
>> C:\Windows\System32\DeviceCensus.exe, at least on my system)? The
>> internet says:
>>
>> "DeviceCensus.exe is a legitimate system file in Windows 10, signed by
>> Microsoft. It is part of the Telemetry Framework and is located in the
>> System32 folder. Its primary function is to collect data on your
>> device's hardware usage, _including webcam usage_, and report it back to
>> Microsoft. This helps Microsoft optimize Windows for future updates and
>> fix any bugs.
>>   If you notice that DeviceCensus.exe is using a lot of CPU or accessing
>> your webcam, it is generally safe to keep it running. However, if you
>> want to disable it temporarily, you can do so through the Task Scheduler.
>>   If you have any concerns about privacy or security, it's always a good
>> idea to run a thorough antivirus scan to ensure that your system is not
>> infected with malware."
>>
>> "Legitimate" in whose eyes? And how, exactly, does monitoring my webcam
>> usage serve any purpose in determining which future version of Windows
>> 10 I need?
>>
>> I went into the Task Scheduler and disabled the piece of shit:
>>
>> Open Task Scheduler
>>   Click on the carat next to "Task Scheduler Library"
>>     Same on "Microsoft"
>>       Same on "Windows"
>>         Left click on "Device Information"
>>           Right click on "Device" in the right hand upper pane
>>             Select "Disable".
>> If there's another task named "Device User" under "Device" do the same
>> to it as well.
>>
>> Telemetry is just a euphemism for "Spyware" IMO.
>>
>> Microsoft: "Your privacy is important to us"
>>
>> Sure it is. As in "it's important that we rape your privacy as much as
>> possible."
>>
> 
> https://www.thewindowsclub.com/device-census-in-windows-10
> 
> These descriptions are a bit on the funny side.
> 
> It could be accessing the webcam, to collect PNP info, but
> that story is weak sauce. Unless the device has firmware
> it loads each time, and there are likely better ways to determine
> what firmware is being used, without probing the device.
> 
> The device has already been probed as part of hardware enumeration.
> And that effort should be all that is needed. If Microsoft
> wanted to use their command line version of Device Manager to
> dump the hardware details, they could do that, and then the
> webcam would never be blocked.
> 
> This all started with FrameServe, a subsystem that has no reason
> to exist. I caught a thread a couple weeks ago, which mentioned
> that two video conferencing softwares did not work, because
> "FrameServe does NOT serve frames" :-) which I thought was
> a hilarious declaration. The Device Census, would be part of
> identifying new webcams, and also for preparing the "generic"
> hardware support that replaces the custom driver your
> webcam manufacturer provided.
> 
> My webcam never worked properly, after FrameServe came out.
> When I want to use my webcam, I use it in Windows 7. It
> stays *disconnected* in W10/W11, because it's really useless
> to me. The custom software had digital pan and zoon, and in a
> conference with my doctor, I could "center myself" in the picture
> before the session started. So I would not look like I was slouching
> in my chair or whatever. I can't do that in W10/W11. Feature is not there
> in the generic driver.
> 
> I don't think enabling or disabling that, is going to make
> that much difference to the operation of the machine. No magical
> fairy is going to repair your webcam, based on a hundred million
> broken webcam reports landing on some schmucks desk at Microsoft.
> 
> *******
> 
> For the longest while, I did not pick up the pattern. Each "Improvement"
> had a different back story, throwing me off the path. What they're doing,
> is Microsoft *wants to write all the drivers for everything*. They are
> replacing the drivers. They don't want to allow the RealTek jumbo sound
> driver to install. Instead, they install their lame version of a driver
> with less features. That's the actual plan. So it wasn't "FrameServe"
> after all, it was "break their existing drivers, feed them dreck
> to replace it". That was the plan.
> 
>    Paul

You're right, Paul. And they did the same thing to the popular Twain
driver for most scanners built within the last 20 years or so. The
disabled support for Twain drivers in W10 and for scanner and digital
camera in-box drivers, Microsoft accepts only WIA drivers.

There are workarounds, but what absolute horse shit. Many people are
upset about this. If I hadn't been able to get my scanner to work AND
figured out a way to get my RealTek chipset to use the RealTek HD Audio
Manager, that would have been it for MS on any system I use.

-- 
John C.

Take back Microsoft from India.

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Thread

Today's "Windows 10 concern" "John C." <r9jmg0@yahoo.com> - 2025-03-05 05:13 -0800
  Re: Today's "Windows 10 concern" Mr Xi Ji Ping <ping@china.cn> - 2025-03-05 18:00 +0000
  Re: Today's "Windows 10 concern" Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2025-03-05 15:18 -0500
    Re: Today's "Windows 10 concern" Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> - 2025-03-06 10:33 +0000
    Re: Today's "Windows 10 concern" "John C." <r9jmg0@yahoo.com> - 2025-03-06 17:40 -0800
      Re: Today's "Windows 10 concern" Newyana2 <newyana@invalid.nospam> - 2025-03-07 08:31 -0500
        Re: Today's "Windows 10 concern" Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2025-03-07 19:04 -0500
        Re: Today's "Windows 10 concern" The Car <arriving@dawn.com> - 2025-03-08 10:39 -0800
          Re: Today's "Windows 10 concern" Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2025-03-08 14:36 -0500
  Re: Today's "Windows 10 concern" micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> - 2025-03-06 18:45 -0500
    Re: Today's "Windows 10 concern" Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2025-03-06 20:15 -0500
    Re: Today's "Windows 10 concern" ...w¡ñ§±¤ñ  <winstonmvp@gmail.com> - 2025-03-07 01:02 -0700
      Re: Today's "Windows 10 concern" micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> - 2025-03-08 00:11 -0500

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