The official "Bing Wallpaper app" does some nasty, malware-like things to Windows
www.techspot.com
Some third-party software companies behave like true malware sellers, packing their products with really questionable functionality and hidden payloads. When Microsoft shows the same behavior, however, Windows...

The app automatically installs Bing Visual Search and includes code to decrypt cookies saved in other browsers, Rivera said, and it also brings a “free” geolocation web API to the system.

The developer discovered “many” nasty tricks Microsoft integrated in Bing Wallpapers, which include trying to change the browser’s settings and set Edge as the default system browser. If the default browser isn’t Edge, the app will open the default browser after some time asking to enable the previously installed Microsoft Bing Search for Chrome extension.

  • red_pigeon@lemm.eeEnglish
    6711·
    11 days ago

    I’m not a windows fan boy, in fact I haven’t used one in years, and have no intentions to.

    But this is a weird way of thinking about MS shenanigans.

    • Hate it or like it, windows update is still an update to your system, to fix security vulnerabilities even. I wish they had implemented it in a user friendly way. But it is NOT a thing that disrupts you with ill intent as you mentioned here.
    • That is a task manager running some process. But no indication on what the process is !
    • Enabled by default is an horrible design decision no matter who does it. I agree on that. But this is NOT unauthorised access. You signed up for it when you decided to use windows.

    Again I don’t like MS. Hate them for their bad decisions, but don’t hate them by misrepresenting them.

    (My comment is only about this screenshot posted here)

    • RunawayFixer@lemmy.worldEnglish
      101·
      10 days ago

      An example of ill intent on Microsoft’s part: https://mashable.com/article/windows-10-upgrade-snafu-analysis

      If you haven’t used windows in years then you might not know how bad it has gotten, but … it’s bad. Windows update is not just for security updates, it’s also there to change users default browser to edge, their search engine to bing, trick them into using onedrive (too bad if the synced files get corrupted), old features get disabled for no good reason, it hijacks other browsers to show messages and change browser settings, …

      All those things are definitely not for security, but rather a way for Microsoft managers to meet KPI, for example: they want more users of a new application, so they remove the old way of doing things and boom, their quarterly report looks prettier. And to top it all off Microsoft doesn’t test updates properly anymore in house, so it’s the customers who are life testing that shit. And because those users have to keep updating windows for security, Microsoft has them over a barrel.

    • Phoenixz@lemmy.caEnglish
      71·
      10 days ago

      When I update my Linux machines, they won’t override MY settings, something that Microsoft notoriously does all the time, changing settings intl their favor. Every time you try to cut the Microsoft bullshit down to a minimum, Microsoft will just try and restore it to it’s “full glory” again.

      Yeah, i do consider all Microsoft software to be malware