I am a new to OS X and am still discovering its peculiarities but considering the ongoing privacy firestorm created by Win 10 (and now apparently forced upon Win 8 and 7) I am wondering does OS X having anything remotely like privacy violations of Win 10?
Thank you in advance for helpful answers.
Yes it does.
Funnily enough many of the issues are similar to what exists in Windows 10. I'm by no means an expert from what i've found:
Spotlight. It can and at times does send personal location data, what you search, suggested terms and even private email and text messages back to Apple. It also ignores some privacy settings in Mail when loading attachments and images.
Without any obvious notification to the user, Yosemite will now upload your unsaved content within Apple apps to iCloud. (Which of course was hacked not too long ago remember)
Apparently it also sends identification information about the machine back to Apple too.
There are some additional issues I didn't mention. Also important to note that Apple doesn't give a shit about OS X or the people who use it. Only iOS. So they essentially stopped most development. As a result Mac OS often has many more vulnerabilities in it than you may expect.
This chart. It is from 2014 mind you but still relevant. Linux is so high because it groups most of the distributions together. Individual distros range from 15-40 or so total vulnerabilities. Apple's main defense is obscurity. Not many people use it so it isn't a desirable target.
That sums it up.
I am not new to comps but to OS X and what u say about Spotlight is perhaps true but does not nearly rise to the lvl of Win 10 privacy violations.
I appreciate ur answer but the pro-Linux propaganda is a bit much (security by obscurity is much more appropriately applied Linux than OS X my friend) OS X architecture makes it quite safe as well. My specific point relates to Windows 10 privacy violations not whether or not OS X has had a bug or two in it.
In the case of Linux, anyone can look through the source code so its bound to have more bugs found.
Good point. Also many developers so with more cooks in the kitchen. Of course that also means more people looking over the code so hopefully they'll catch more too.
If you don't like pro Linux "propaganda", then I apologize for starting some more of it. I like Linux, and some times I even slip that stuff in by accident.
Look I told you what I found out. Criticism of Spotlight is well founded and Apple has even released statements to address it. None of which were satisfactory IMO. And yes it is pretty much the same as Windows 10. Privacy concerns from Windows 10 are overblown IMO but most relate to the search functionality and OneDrive integration. That is basically the issues in OSX in the terms of Spotlight and iCloud. There is also the mail issue. Like Windows many of these things can be disabled or fixed. At least with Windows it asks about it right when you install.
I don't really get how that was "pro-Linux propaganda." I am in no way a vocal proponent of desktop Linux. I don't believe that on the desktop it is a truly viable alternative to Windows. Ask most people on this forum and they will tell you I am no stranger to criticizing Linux.
Well "My Friend" you're wrong. Linux is one of the most widely used OSs in the world. If not the most used. Routers, switches, servers, computers, ATMs, phones, traffic lights, industrial equipment... All of these and more usually run some form of Linux. This makes it a major target. Those things are more valuable in an attack than personal user data on a laptop.
OSX on the other hand is used in almost nothing except Apple computers and by extension iOS. As of 2014 Mac OSX made up around 8% of users. That is compared to over 88% of people using various flavors of Windows. That makes OSX much less desirable. Yes it is based on NextStep, BSD, Unix and the like. That does make it more secure but it isn't the end all be all. Especially since OSX has drifted from the original Unix and monolithic model and Apple has been lazy about upkeep.
I told you about the privacy concerns and how they are in relation to Windows. I'm sure there are probably more. You can decide for yourself. I was just stating that there are probably more worrisome issues involving security that could affect privacy you should watch out for.
You're sounding quite defensive. Sorry I upset your preconceived notions.
I judge from your reply that OS X has no serious or even moderate privacy violations hard-coded into its systems. Mac is then the machine of choice for professionals, coders or anyone who cares about the integrity of personal computing.
Thank you for all the replies.
Don't worry about it. You didn't expel any propaganda.
I never said it didn't have any privacy violations. I think quite the opposite, if they hide the code behind their product, they must be hiding something they don't want us to know. Its just that some people find my opinions strong and sometimes offensive, and I was apologizing in case you were offended. Here's the facts:
If your concerned about the computer sending your data back to apple taking it offline will do the trick.
Don't bother. 90% sure he is a troll. We explained the facts. Most of these and more can be found with a Google search. He seems to have made up his mind. Let him deal with it.
I mean look
Spotlight does not rise to the level of:
Even when told not to, Windows 10 just can’t stop talking to Microsoft
Linux distros also have their own similar Spotlight Search functionality, I'm looking at you Ubuntu.
Again, the question I asked was very specific and not finding anything remotely similar all the replies are simply regurgitating anti-Apple grudges. Very tedious.
You may call me a troll but I am not the one on a Mac forum willingly admitting spewing Linux propaganda. My question was sincere, ur replies were not.
Let's move on. I am satisfied that OS X is superior to all other major OSes concerning user privacy rights.
Wish you guys would stick to the topic instead of veering off into anti-Apple butthurt rage everytime someone expresses an opinion different than urs.
As an Apple user I am in the right forum, it seems you are not.
When did I willingly admit to spewing Linux propaganda? I wasn't and certainly didn't admit it. The only reason the other guy said it was because you accused him and he felt the need to apologize.
I told you three of the main privacy concerns. That was pretty much what you asked. I guess you wanted someone to confirm that it was in no way like Windows and had no issues at all to somehow confirm your sense of superiority. I told you what I knew both about privacy and security. Nothing more and nothing less. I don't really see that i veered off into anything anti-apple or what would qualify as butthurt rage. It wasn't a difference of opinion. You asked and I told you. I also gave evidence you did not. Facts here not opinions.
Okay then if you are so sure then why even ask or continue to ask for more answers? You know already and nothing will change your mind. My guess is you just want to troll or in someway further confirm your bias.
This will be my last reply.
I am lurker to Tek Syn for sometime and I really enjoy this forum for that is why I registered and not to get sucked into petty anti-Apple battles by a rabid Linux troll on an Mac forum! So yes, please don't reply, you have nothing constructive to say or add to this topic.
That search shouldn't have existed in the first place since it was stupid of canonical to make their own window manager. (and yes I can say something bad about a Linux distro)
I have a MacBook Pro, and the updates to OS X have pretty much crippled it since its old and only has 4 GB of RAM. So, yes, I am a bit unhappy with apple. Also when my mums IPhone's lock button broke, I fix that would have cost under $100 most of it being labor, their fix was "You need to buy a new one". They are a huge company and don't care about you or me. If you want to keep buying their products you can but don't get but hurt when people point out that they are shit.
You don't have the option to tell OS X to not talk to apple, the offense is just as bad.
Your numbers 1 and 2 tho I understand don't pertain to the topic at hand. Ur number 3 I do not see any privacy relations clearly enumerated as they are with win 10.
Having your comp talking to its maker is NOT necessary a bad thing, it is WHAT it talks abt and with OS X I can clearly configure it not to send information I do not want unlike in win 10 as people are finding.
@scanf to me it looks like folks are trying to engage in conversation on the topic that you brought up, however, you are shooting down their arguments and opinions rather than engaging in anything constructive. As @DerKrieger noted it seems as though you had already made up your mind on this topic before you posted the thread.
I think its pretty safe to say that overall this forum is not very supportive of Apple and their products. I'm not saying that this is a blatant anti-Apple forum, but that there is definitely a well-known bend towards the open-source community and a distaste for Apple's business practices. As a "lurker for some time", you should've been prepared for at least some anti-Apple bias to bleed through in the discussions. That said, I haven't really noticed much bias in the posts so far. It appears that you just either don't like the answers or, as I stated above, have simply made up your mind before posting.
I'm done with this tread, if the fact that have been aren't good enough I suggest you try a different forum(maybe MacRumors, I think you'll find them less "Anti-Apple" if that's what your looking for).