DonDamm

but, but,.... nobody reads them!!! (and being a nobody, you know I do, yes?) Truly, most of the folks I help can't install a program without messing it up, much less actually read the EULA. That's why there's so much crapware that's entirely legal because the folks clicked "OK". Sigh. :^)

Using host file entries from something like someonewhocares.org which now has a partial list of MS telemetry sites at the end goes a long way to bringing some sanity back into W10. I'm still using a modded W7 on my main rig because it has been soo stable for the last 7+ years or so, but I've found that those telemetry blocking entries have some side benefits like making Skype usable, too!! they block the ads there. Whew! What a relief! The longer term question is why should we have to go to such convoluted lengths to use our own machines? Part of the answers lies in other fundamental parts of US law. Such as, who owns your personal data? Europe has a Data Protection Act that pretty much works, though it's not perfect. The US on the other hand has none, and I'm pretty sure AustralAsia also have none. A first step in rectifying all this nonsense is to clearly define that an individual's data belongs to the individual and that any keepers of it, even with permission, are held liable for breach. That's why you can give your bank account number to someone for payment in Europe because your account is safe and the bank is liable. Not so in the US. they don't use 2-factor or transactional authentication and allow unsecured third party access to supposedly secure login and account pages (check chase with ~9 unsecure servers connecting!). Etc,etc. I won't go into more detail here, but this lack of data protection has given us unbridled arrogance of an increasing number of corporations, local and global. The entire SmartMeter programs of gas and electric companies across the US are a sham. Not the idea, but the implementation and liability issues. PG&E in California now makes users pay $10 to have their meters read (which they were compensated for long ago in rate schedules). It is insane, but there it is. As long as the fundamental issues are not addressed, we will continue to struggle against the onslaught on our privacy and control. And we will pay for it. Think TPM! They want to control access to all you do! lol :^)

@NoelC the addys you mentioned above belong to the following 104.73.38.54:443 Alex Xu, 1578 Virginia Road, San Marino, CA; Defense.Net, Inc, Jacksonville FL 157.55.240.220:443 Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA 157.56.96.58:443 Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA 172.224.177.145:443 Akamai Technologies, Inc., Cambridge, MA 172.224.178.197:443 Akamai Technologies, Inc., Cambridge, MA 172.224.180.140:443 Akamai Technologies, Inc., Cambridge, MA 178.255.83.1:80 Comodoca, Unit 7, Campus Road, Listerhills Science Park, Bradford, BD7 1HR, United Kingdom 178.255.83.2:80 Comodoca, Unit 7, Campus Road, Listerhills Science Park, Bradford, BD7 1HR, United Kingdom 192.116.242.20:80 Srartcom Ltd, Petach-Tikva,Israel www.startssl.com 23.15.5.197:80 Akamai Technologies, Inc., Cambridge, MA 23.15.5.213:80 Akamai Technologies, Inc., Cambridge, MA 23.4.37.163:80 Akamai Technologies, Inc., Cambridge, MA 23.4.43.27:80 Akamai Technologies, Inc., Cambridge, MA 23.74.2.58:80 Akamai Technologies, Inc., Cambridge, MA 23.74.2.88:80 Akamai Technologies, Inc., Cambridge, MA 64.4.54.116:443 Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA 65.55.44.108:443 Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA 66.119.114.157:443 NITNETWORK, 3867 SE Evans Terrace, Stuart, FL It is interesting to note that they are all through port 80 (http) or 443 (https). Akamai is a major player and is involved in both good and bad stuff. I've never heard of NITNE or NitNetwork. :^)

On a side note, I recently got a query about the asterisk in Notepad indicating a change in file content. On checking I found that in all the versions I checked, XP, W7, W8, and W8.1 the native notepad.exe had NO asterisk! Apparently, Ms finally learned that folks like that and added it to W10! My friend had been using a modded XP which I'd substituted Notepad2 for the original many many years ago. Both Notepad2 and Notepad++ sport that asterisk. I prefer Notepad++ for just about everything, though I have't played with many others like EditPlus, MetaPad, or AkelPad, though I've used and like TextPad. :^) Drugwash, let us know if you code an editor, okay?

The Internet of Things reminds me of the myriad ID 10T problems so many of us run into... lol :^)

Guess we're going to find out soon enough. The little icons tjo update to 10 showed up last night on my 8.1 rig and various others with Win7 and 8 I've seen so far today. I'm not ready to offer my working notebook to it just yet, though. Curious to see the build number offered! :^)