How Windows 7 Knows About Your Internet Connection 434
An anonymous reader writes "In Windows 7, any time you connect to a network, Windows tells you if you have full internet access or just a local network connection. It also knows if a WiFi access point requires in-browser authentication. How? It turns out, a service automatically requests a file from a Microsoft website every time you connect to any network, and the result of this attempt tells it whether the connection is successful. This feature is useful, but some may have privacy concerns with sending their IP address to Microsoft (which the site logs, according to documentation) every single time they connect to the internet. As it turns out, not only can you disable the service, you can even tell it to check your own server instead."
I use a similar shellscript (Score:4, Interesting)
On my N900 I made a similar shellscript that outputs to a desktop widget. It tries to fetch Google.com using the domain name and via a static IP, and based on that it can tell me if the connection's totally dead, uses a captive portal, has bad DNS, or if it's a good working connection. Very handy for mooching off unsecured and public wifi. I just click a widget and know all about the connection I'm on.
Re:Windows (Score:0, Interesting)
Slashdot editors are not "being played." They're in on the whole thing and may even be writing those posts themselves. First principles, Einstein - you believe all those Packt reviews are coincidence? They're being paid off or they're trying to hook up a buddy. In this case, though, I believe it's a garden-variety sheepdog - the editors themselves and/or a persona like eldavojohn or palegray posting a generic, fairly eloquent introduction to further discussion. It is no coincidence that palegray and eldavojohn are both "the maker."
Slashdot is much more controlled than you believe it to be. It was fun once upon a time, but the only reason I post here now is to hear myself talk. Hello me, meet the real me. And my misfit way of life. A dark, black past is my most valued possession. Rollin' down the street, smokin indo, sippin' on Gin and Juice. Laid back.
Re:The relevant bits (Score:1, Interesting)
Everything is so simple on Windows, while I imagine that on Linux (if it had such a feature), you would need to edit a text file with comments in it. Horrible.
Taking into consideration your sarcasm, what is it exactly you find so complicated about using a central mechanism for configuring OS directives? Are we just accepting this highly flawed idea that nonstandard *nix configuration conventions are some golden standard of usability?
Re:WHAT! (Score:5, Interesting)
Mod Parent FUD. (Score:5, Interesting)
My Grandma uses Linux. I installed it for her, yes, but I wouldn't expect her to install Windows or any OS for that matter. I didn't have to touch the CLI to install it. I enabled auto-updates, showed her how to "open the Internet", and where the "app store" is. It's been 2 years. She "accidentally" upgraded to the next LTS release by herself, with no CLI -- A single button click...
My Brother, Uncle & Aunt all use Windows. In the same space of time, They've each gotten infected with malware at least twice, some more than others. Two of them have shelled out cold hard cash for Win7 because "it's more secure than Vista", had to take the computer to a technician to do the "upgrade" for them, and both of them have been infected with malware on for Win7.
Grandma tried to use my Uncle's computer -- She said, "Can you make the mouse less shaky, dear, I have shaky hands and I end up making the files disappear" (she means accidentally dragging them into adjacent folders) -- Gnome has drag & drop threshold... My Uncle's OS's window manager doesn't... her response: "Well, just turn it off and on again and go into the Linux." -- She was a bit upset that my Uncle B. didn't have "the Linux"... "Well why don't you have it? It doesn't cost anything, and the whole screen can zoom in when it's hard for me to read..."
She has a point -- it is free, why not have a dual boot just in case the other OS gets hosed?
My 75 year old neighbor started using Linux last year. He couldn't use a CLI to save his life. Same story as my Grandma -- Now they call me to shoot the shit, not guiltily ask me to remove malware -- My brother and uncle have both asked me to install Linux on their computers at the father's day family get together.
Please -- Stop spreading FUD. If these barely computer literate people can use Linux just as well as they can use Windows, I don't see what all the fuss is about.
Re:Windows (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Worse on Apple (Score:0, Interesting)
Once connected, iDevices follow the same routine to detect the internet connection in the similar manner of Windows. The problem is that there's no registry that can be changed to disable the "feature".
As I mentioned earlier, if all whizzbang features are turned off and there's no app requesting internet access, sleeping iDevices have no business connecting to anything. If you disagree with this concept, then there's no problem for you.
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
Yes it is (Score:1, Interesting)
Useful for stolen laptop recovery (Score:3, Interesting)
If you customized the url to your own personal server this could be very helpful in tracking down a stolen laptop.
Re:The relevant bits (Score:4, Interesting)
System Restore is a tool that says Windows fucks up a lot and needs a lot of help.
registry export for the lazy (Score:2, Interesting)
Made a .reg file for a lazy friend of mine.. basically, it just reroutes the requests to my server instead, as he trusts me more than microsoft, heh.
Feel free to use it, if you want, or edit it to fit your own preferences.
http://www.jarmund.net/stuff/JarmundNCSI.reg [jarmund.net]
I take no responsibility, etc...
PS: I'm slightly less evil than google.
Re:Mod Parent FUD. (Score:5, Interesting)
I dont know what planet you are on, seriously. Did you just Gentoo or something? My family use linux, the kids have always had it, the eldest always had a choice of windows or linux, but got sick of me having to fix windows, and the wireless never worked right.
My friends use Linux, or dual boot. Its always, and I mean always, windows that I have to support. For the past 4 or so years the Linux boxes just work. I dont mess with them, they install software, play games, do their homework, take their pictures, make videos whatever. Sound, Video, and Wireless work. I just got a new laptop, I came home to see my sig other printing. I asked her how was it to set up the printer. She said, I dunno, I just plugged it in. (usb, she doesnt even know what its called). The was no driver to get, no setup nothing. It just worked.
Yes there are issues in free software world, but less then in windows in my experience, and everybody I know who gets used to it and really doesnt miss windows at all.