The Windows 10 Review: The Old & New Face of Windows
by Brett Howse on August 25, 2015 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Operating Systems
- Microsoft
- Windows 10
Why Do I Need a Microsoft Account?
In all versions of Windows up to and including Windows 7, you would create a local account on the computer with a username and password, and log in. Business customers could also have an Active Directory domain, which would allow workers to log in with one set of credentials on any approved domain joined workstation.
Windows 8 introduced the construct of logging into Windows with a Microsoft Account. Logging in with your online profile for Microsoft would then also log you into all of the online services, such as OneDrive for cloud storage, Skype for messaging, and email through outlook.com or Hotmail. Other services, such as weather, could sync your favorites across devices. It also allowed you to optionally sync your computer layout across devices, so your desktop wallpaper, theme, and even your Start Screen layout could all by synchronized across any Windows device you logged into. Also, any password changes would be synchronized as well.
There is certainly people who do not want this though, and Windows 8 made it very difficult to use the Microsoft services if you were not logged in with a Microsoft Account (MSA). During initial setup, the default prompt is to set up the computer with a MSA and although you could bypass this step and create a local account, it was somewhat non-obvious.
For Windows 10, Microsoft has backed off on this somewhat. During setup, the local account option is still not the default, but it is more obvious that you can bypass the MSA login. Most of the built in apps also support login individually rather than at the system level, which gives you the option to log into those services individually if you want to use them, or you can use multiple accounts for things like Xbox in case you have a different profile for that.
Adding a user defaults to MSA but you can choose the link at the bottom to switch to Local Accounts
I think they have found a much better balance with Windows 10 in this regard. Local accounts can now be used without really forcing you to use a MSA for everything. You will lose some features, such as Cortana, if you don’t use a MSA, so it’s not 100% the same but for the people who don’t want to log in with a MSA this is maybe just the way they want it.
So do you need a MSA to use Windows 10? If you want the best and easiest experience, then yes you should use a MSA for Windows 10. You will get the features that we have come to expect from modern systems such as the ability to sync passwords, themes, and more. Hopefully Microsoft will bring back the ability to sync the Start Menu layout like it had in Windows 8 as well, at least as an optional toggle. Windows 10 leverages cloud services for a lot of the functionality, and in order to use these services you have to be logged in. It’s certainly not anything most people are not accustomed to with the rise of smartphones, but there are certainly going to be desktop users who prefer to not log in with their online profile, and for those people they should find the experience a lot better than Windows 8.
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inighthawki - Tuesday, August 25, 2015 - link
Lol this image is so full of crap. Not only can you turn most of it off permanently (And yes, you can disable WU and WD from the services list and it will not start back up) but this image is so misleading. They even photoshopped an ad in the start menu on a setting that doesn't even exist in the RTM build... Come on, that's low. Mos tof the other things such as "tracking keystrokes and browsing history" for wbe browsing exist in Windows 7 and 8. Wi-Fi sense has been known to be blown way out of proportion. Telemtry has also been proven to only provide non-personal information. It collects stuff such as hardware configurations, statistical information like how often you click the start button, and machine crashes. Does this seriously worry you that Microsoft knows that "someone in the world" owns a MacBook pro and clicked the start button 8 times today?You're really just buying into a bunch of fearmongering by a bunch of people who just wanted excuses to continue using Windows 7. If you don't like Windows 10 or don't want to use it, that's fine, but don't cite these ultra poor excuses as the reasons why, as it shows you didn't actually look much further than the surface, and just jumped on the bandwagon.
Notmyusualid - Tuesday, August 25, 2015 - link
Thank you for your (what I believe is an incorrect opinion), but I HAVE EVERYTHING TURNED OFF, and my firewall logs STILL show encrypted packets going out to Microsoft - EVERYTIME I hit a key, and everytime I open a program.So even if somebody starts with a Microsoft Account, their data would be synced to MS, before many would realise what had happened.
There is absoultely nothing you can say that would make me believe that MS deserves access to my contacts. Those are private.
And no, I did not jump on any bandwagon, I did my own testing, came to similar conslusion as the picture stated, and yes, I will be continuing to use Win 7, as I do not like it.
Only Enterprise Editions can disable all modes of telemetry...
inighthawki - Tuesday, August 25, 2015 - link
Oh OK, so you saw encrypted packets going out... So I guess you decrypted them and looked at the content, then? Sending information when certain types of hardware interrupts occur does not mean they are sending personal information or recording your keystrokes like a keylogger. You have no way of knowing what's in the packets, yet you make assumptions that it's a privacy issue. Yet another example of someone pretending they're fully informed because they open up Wireshark and see some packets being sent over the network and "came to a conclusion" about what was really happening.minijedimaster - Tuesday, August 25, 2015 - link
Are you paid to have some shill answer for everything windows 10? "Oh well, so you proved me wrong with your firewall packet captures, but do you REALLY know what it's sending???"LOL, yeah ok... go be a paid shill somewhere else.
inighthawki - Tuesday, August 25, 2015 - link
Sorry if I'm not irrational/paranoid and don't jump to conclusions based on evidence that doesn't actually show any of the claims you're making.Oh no, a network packet! My entire life must now belong to Microsoft's hands!
SlyNine - Tuesday, August 25, 2015 - link
I have to disagree. Your computer sending encrypted packets to Microsoft, even tho you supposedly disabled that stuff, is a HUGE red flag. At that point its up to Microsoft to convince me that they are NOT sending personal information (it shouldn't be sending any). I might have to pass on windows 10 until this gets clarification.imaheadcase - Wednesday, August 26, 2015 - link
Most modern windows OS send data to MS encrypted, almost all programs with internet connectivity do. The OP is prob just looking at the encrypted data it sends to check for windows updates. Has nothing to do with privacy.Holy hell did everyone just step on the jump to conclusions mat. lol
Notmyusualid - Friday, August 28, 2015 - link
It has everything to do with privacy.Every time I press a key, a packet is sent. This is not updates.
Notmyusualid - Friday, August 28, 2015 - link
It IS a Huge Red Flag.This guy is a Microsoft employee.
nikon133 - Sunday, August 30, 2015 - link
You sound like you might be working for competition, though. Apple? Some shady Linux brotherhood? Just saying.