[AVGWarhawk]

People willing dump their information on Facebook and Google yet Windows 10 is a gather of information looking to take over the world.

This gentleman analyzes it nicely:

Dave Blair, Nerd.

Full disclosure: I'm a Linux nut, so I can't deny feeling a little bit of satisfaction and Schadenfreude that Microsoft are getting a bad rep, again.

Having said that:

This addresses a wider issue – data privacy and why people get excited about it like nothing else. I think it's borderline hysterical. My explanations are as follows:

• I'm special! My data is valuable! Of course. The billions of other users are also special, every bit of data counts. Not really. The data is mainly used for market research, and only once statistically analysed – by other computers. Even if the data isn't anonymized, an individual user's data is only interesting to that one person.
• Computers are running the world! They have spectacular algorithms that can tell your shoe size and embarrassing medical problem from your age, date of birth and favourite colour. Nope, computer algorithms aren't intelligent, they can't pick up nuances and mannerisms. Humans are far more capable of that. For the challenge and to dispel the boredom, I tracked one paranoid "google knows everything" merchant that claimed that they never posted anything private, right down to their address and phone number by following specific topics the person wrote about, writing style and e-mail addresses left on public boards, through to a small ad they'd left on some obscure trading website. Took me half an hour. No supersleuthing needed. No profiling software, however sophisticated, can do that. I simply assume that if anyone wants to find out anything about me, they can do the same.
• The statistical use of the Web would suggest that most of us have been on certain websites we really wouldn't want our boss, family members or whoever knowing about.
• Lots and lots of false information: This or that website can find your IP address! They use Google Analytics, OMG! Sorry, anyone that hosts a website knows your IP address and most web space service providers come with a record of which IP address accessed your website and which website they were referred from. That's what Google Analytics does, only it's a little more refined. Besides, you can't find out who someone is from their IP address unless you give them your name. But then... you've given them your name.
• Conspiracy theories, they're in cahoots with the government, CIA, Mossad, ZOG, Bilderberg Group, NWO and the like... sorry that really only interests conspiracy nuts, I'm not even going to go into that. They don't want to run the world, they want to sell you tampons... but it would be good to know whether you're in the market.
• Helplessness: It's all too complicated and I'm not in control, someone has to help me and ban stuff and look out for me me me. Usually involves the children and old people argument. Ties in closely with Conspiracy and I'm special.
• Specifically Facebook: I'll never understand this. You disclose information on yourself and then get worried it might get used for something. It's in the public domain, anyone can do what they want with your information.

The problem is: It's an elephant shoot. Big companies like Google and Microsoft are easy targets, but they're the last people anyone should be worried about – they have masses of information, and that alone means that finding that special information about you is like finding the needle in the really big haystack. They also have clear and plausible business models that don't involve selling your info to the spam mafia, or worse. Itty-bitty little dotcom companies with unknown provenance – not so much. They might be tempted to boost their tight start-up budget with a little data dealing on the side.