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evolution of windows: useful -> adware -> spyware -> tech-support-scam (this story) -> ransomware (automatic full disk encryption is said to be deployed soon)
Automatic full disk encryption, with the encryption key stored at Microsoft, has been a standard "feature" for non-local/domain accounts for many years:

Microsoft may have your encryption key; here’s how to take it back https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/12/micro...

My condolences to whoever will have to clean up after Nadella.
MS has made it clear that their OS is going to collect your private data and become an ad delivery platform and that's as low as it gets already.

Maybe it's ads begging for an antitrust lawsuit today, or it'll be malware serving ads and spreading misinformation tomorrow, but nobody should be shocked by it. Microsoft has made their position clear and at this point Windows users have a choice to either find an alternative OS or bend over and accept whatever Windows is pushing.

And they were doing so well there for a few years I even switched most of my activity to a Windows desktop.
I really liked win2k pro and 7, but even then it was increasingly clear that MS saw any computer running Windows as being theirs to do with as they please. The total disrespect for their users goes back a long ways.
Windows exists on a mini pc on my network. When needed, I turn it on and RDP from my Mac
I wish a Linux desktop team could market and use this as publicity to raise awareness.
I'm glad Linux teams aren't spending a bunch of time/money on marketing. I'd much rather that go into the software. Anyone can search the internet for "alternatives to Windows" (hopefully even if using Bing) and find all the info they need.
People use Windows because of brand recognition and familiarity. The desire to change would happen long before searching on the internet.
Isn't this old news? Has anyone actually moved to Linux because of this?
I did. I built a new PC recently and put Fedora Kinoite on it. There are still rough edges but many less than there used to be, for the most part stuff works "out-of-the-box".

It's my personal machine that I do hobby development and some gaming on. There's a handful of games where the anti-cheat won't work on Linux but the games I play (Counter-Strike, Hunt: Showdown, Halo Infinite) are fine.

Install Lutris from flatpak.
I did... I mean, I had a dual boot setup long before that, and about half my time was in WSL. When I saw ad results in the start menu search on an Insiders build, I changed my boot default to my Linux drive and have booted into windows twice in as many years on my personal desktop.
Last summer, I dual booted Linux for a few weeks and then made the plunge. My reason was that my desktop didn't meet the TPM requirements and I saw the writing on the walls re: subscriptions as a service, Reddit API apocalypse, etc.

To those interested, I say WSL -> Dual boot a browser -> dual boot more -> make the plunge.

It is unlearning/relearning ways of doing things that have been ingrained since elementary school for many of us, so there's an initial learning curve.

This is a new "intrusion" and in fact it even happened on my work computer (Win 11 Pro). I was shocked to see it the other day, but honestly I shouldn't be. We see Microsoft pushing out their AI copilot thing, putting a pride flag in the start menu in June, etc. I can't wait to get my personal computer back to Linux (as soon as I finish up my master's work).
I use my PC less since I got a Steam Deck. I only have Windows for gaming.
Back in the day adware was free at least.
It's pretty close to that, you can run without a license indefinitely now.
The ads pay for the license...
They were doing so well at improving Windows reputation until they started putting ads in it. What a shame.
I haven’t really used Windows on the desktop since the 90s but I DEFINITELY won’t be now.
and... no single screen shoot of it?

what an article!