Ever since Microsoft launched the free Windows 10 upgrade, we’ve been covering the various options available for you to install the latest and greatest Windows operating system. It turns out that more than a few people are not very happy about Microsoft’s practices in regards to getting Windows users to upgrade. Todd Kleinpaste is one of these users, and is the founding signature on a new change.org petition to get a digital rights group called Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) to investigate Microsoft for ‘malicious’ Windows 10 upgrade practices.
This board is autonomously changing all links to be redirected through that viglink site, including the one you posted, Techie007. They want to make money off us, and someone is being paid for the tracking info.
The proboards site may be just as much at odds with our goals for private and safe computing as Microsoft. Everyone in the world is trying to make money off users, and at the same time trying to lower our expectations.
Once it fails in the browser I normally just cut off the first part of the URL then change the %3A to a colon.
Frankly, it's disincentivizing me to participate here, as I'm sure it is others as well.
This board is autonomously changing all links to be redirected through that viglink site, including the one you posted, Techie007. They want to make money off us, and someone is being paid for the tracking info.
The proboards site may be just as much at odds with our goals for private and safe computing as Microsoft. Everyone in the world is trying to make money off users, and at the same time trying to lower our expectations.
Once it fails in the browser I normally just cut off the first part of the URL then change the %3A to a colon.
Frankly, it's disincentivizing me to participate here, as I'm sure it is others as well.
-Noel
Aww man! I couldn't believe that Mike would've embedded such a link, but when I posted, mine was redirect-free for a couple hours. This new ProBoards behavior is sneaky and uncalled for. What do they even stand to gain anyway?
Microsoft, is Windows 10 the best you could do? Really? After promising to listen to our feedback, what a letdown!
Why does anyone do anything any more? They want to make a buck off us. We freely provide the content people want to see and the advertising dollars roll in for the server maintainer. And like most content authors in the world we're treated with contempt.
-Noel
Author of the "How to Configure the 'To Work' Options" series of Windows books. Not feeling enough love to do one for Windows 10.
Post by Locutus deBorg on Jun 13, 2016 22:38:04 GMT -6
> Wait, are you saying the board is delivering a script that's changing the links on the fly within our local browsers?
that's usually how it works I can go to the link without getting bounced, first comment about untrusted connection was due to fortinet / fortigate on the wireless at the office nothing allowed here:
Last Edit: Jun 13, 2016 22:43:08 GMT -6 by Locutus deBorg: text
I find the lack of configuration options disturbing !
I felt a great disturbance in the force.. as if millions of win 7 systems suddenly cried out in terror.
Post by Locutus deBorg on Jun 15, 2016 9:31:00 GMT -6
Noel if you know, or know anyone who knows JS, those .js files can be downloaded and inspected for "malicious" or suspect scripting using notepad or similar text editor, drag n drop the file onto the editor window and have a peek
I find the lack of configuration options disturbing !
I felt a great disturbance in the force.. as if millions of win 7 systems suddenly cried out in terror.
So much of javascript is obfuscated nowadays I rarely look any more.
I believe that Google download is just a big library of utility functions. It's how they're used by a combo of other scripts on the site that make the bad stuff happen.
Any more it's a virtual certainty that if you allow things to run on your computer - no matter how well locked-down it is - that someone will try for THEIR benefit to run something you'd rather not run.
It's not like we CAN'T figure out how it's happening, but it's just another complex problem in a world overflowing with complexity. Who has time to figure it out, then find a cure? All this BS is wearing us all down.
-Noel
Author of the "How to Configure the 'To Work' Options" series of Windows books. Not feeling enough love to do one for Windows 10.
I looked though the JavaScripts and discovered that most of the ones in "s3268.storage.proboards.com/6363268/j/" are to add features that Ami had worked on. Things like the Karma system, the mirror reflection under our avatars, the thread rating system, shoutbox better refresh, and so on. The main ProBoards script (storage.proboards.com/f/js/proboards.combined_330.js) specifically mentions Viglink multiple times, but as you found out, doesn't seem to be the one responsible.
Perhaps more enlightening however, are the following threads I found here on ProBoards:
"We detect when VigLink doesn't properly load on forums due to being blocked, and we rewrite outbound links using JavaScript. If you whitelist the VigLink script you won't have this issue."
Sorry, but it's not likely I'm going to be allowing it any time soon.
It all boils down to our repeatedly inviting this javascript into our computers - presumably because we find value in interacting here.
When you look at the big picture, it's a value proposition - it always is... "Do I find enough value in these interactions to have to deal with the attempted intrusions by this site?"
At the moment, given that following links is slightly more labor-intensive, but everything else pretty much works, for me it is - by a small margin.
I was scouting around in IE's settings to see if there's some latent way to block a particular script or behavior... Haven't found anything yet, but it seems like it ought to be possible.
I was scouting around in IE's settings to see if there's some latent way to block a particular script or behavior... Haven't found anything yet, but it seems like it ought to be possible.
-Noel
I will turn off JS in Opera and see what happens
Shoutbox vanishes, Login redirect, Can NOT add attachments..... No more speed scroll up/down arrows, Can view all the images without redirect/ads THATS a PLUS ! First time i noticed the thumbs up/down(like/dislike) function at bottom of images. Must be logged in to vote. Uh....who exactly is voting on those images ?
Last Edit: Jun 18, 2016 13:46:53 GMT -6 by Bayer A.User
Post by Locutus deBorg on Jun 18, 2016 14:16:41 GMT -6
Noel > I was scouting around in IE's settings to see if there's some latent way to block a particular script or behavior
IE is an all or nothing browser when it comes to JS allowed / not allowed there isn't any NoScript type of on the fly granularity for IE you either allow all JS or disallow all JS in inetcpl.cpl while you can set the various scripting options to prompt it doesn't tell you which domain(s) the current prompt dialog is for and can quickly become extremely annoying with upwards of over 20 yes / OK clicks on prompts before the page actually loads anything
the only other thing available is leveraging the IE trust zones eg. Spybot Immunizations adds over 15,000 entries directly into IE for blocking spyware / malware domains
I find the lack of configuration options disturbing !
I felt a great disturbance in the force.. as if millions of win 7 systems suddenly cried out in terror.
Right, but even the trust zone can't distinguish the specific script (or behavior) that would stop this redirection activity but allow other automation from proboards.com to occur.
It's a bit surprising that no one has crafted a NoScript-like feature for IE.
-Noel
Author of the "How to Configure the 'To Work' Options" series of Windows books. Not feeling enough love to do one for Windows 10.
<Rick> Good video. It's almost hard to believe that at one time Windows 98 was the resource hog, but even then, it still ran circles around what Windows 10 can do on today's modern hardware and look a heck of alot better doing it.
May 25, 2021 22:55:12 GMT -6
<Rick> As stated elsewhere, So much for the launch of Windows 11, "The Great Crash." Myself, I had a hard time getting into the site listed above, when I did get in, the video was partly done and then it crashed. There has been many other reports of crashing.
Jun 24, 2021 9:52:33 GMT -6
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<Rick> I see Microsoft has been very quick to pull down reports of site crashing regarding the Launch of Windows 11 on the Microsoft Insiders forum.
Jun 24, 2021 9:57:31 GMT -6
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<Rick> The rebroadcast is working okay.
Jun 24, 2021 11:00:25 GMT -6
<Rick> With reports of people being able to install the dev-edition of Windows 11 on machines not meeting spec, I thought I would give it a what-the-heck try. Lucky me, I'm caught in the downloading, doesn't meet spec, clearing, re-downloading loop on my machine!
Jul 2, 2021 7:08:46 GMT -6
<Rick> I've recently purchased a license for ArcaOS from www.arcanoae.com/ to play with. First impressions, it's still OS/2, but it now has a Linux twist to it.
Jul 2, 2021 7:32:53 GMT -6
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<dozrguy> laptop shit out and am stuck buying a new one. os win11 as fucked as win10 was?
Oct 2, 2021 12:56:10 GMT -6
<Rick> Let's see ..., my impression of Windows 11 is that it is a spruced up version of Windows 10 requiring a 64-bit processor plus a piece of security hardware that is less than 4 years old in order for it to run.
Oct 4, 2021 18:25:49 GMT -6
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<Rick> On the plus side, Microsoft is supposed to be supporting Windows 10 for some time to come for those of us still using systems with I7 or older processors.
Oct 4, 2021 18:44:35 GMT -6
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<dozrguy> i tried installing win10 om the 'shitout' pc this morning usung media creation. EPIC FAIL! went into an endless bootloop. win7 reinstalled just fine
Oct 21, 2021 11:23:38 GMT -6
<dozrguy> STILL so much bullshit and so little time for the kiddie ideas from the hill. My new laptop (MSI GE 11-UH461) would be an awesome "10" machine but because of Winblows I can only give it a "2"......wasted $3500
Oct 27, 2021 9:36:47 GMT -6
<Rick> Hello. Just checking in.
Mar 17, 2022 10:46:54 GMT -6
<isidroco> Each new w10 update adds >100000 useless files to \Windows\Servicing\LCU\Package_for_RollupFix... folders. Even in a SSD takes time to delete that stuff. In each version they manage to worsen stuff.
Mar 27, 2022 16:14:51 GMT -6
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<dozerguy> still traffic here?
Oct 9, 2022 17:32:44 GMT -6
<Rick> No, there does not seem to be very much traffic these days. I still check in from time to time.
Oct 9, 2022 20:08:58 GMT -6