Windows 10 might have ditched the traditional manual, and that hefty on-screen version of the EULA to wade through.
But the dreaded text, that most users choose to roundly ignore, is still there. Search for “About your PC” to find the EULA and other documents.
If you bother to read all the way through you may notice one or two disturbing changes over previous EULA versions. Notably in “Updates to the Services or Software, and Changes to These Terms.”
While its only right that Microsoft tries to crackdown on pirate software and hacked games, a scourge of the industry, what do you think “unauthorized hardware” is?
More to the point, giving Microsoft the right to snoop on everything on your system has running it goes against all the tech companies’ anti-snooping rhetoric they’ve been firing at the government recently. The EULA text reads:
“Sometimes you’ll need software updates to keep using the Services. We may automatically check your version of the software and download software updates or configuration changes, including those that prevent you from accessing the Services, playing counterfeit games, or using unauthorized hardware peripheral devices. You may also be required to update the software to continue using the Services.”
That unauthorized hardware could mean all sorts of things, given the increasing amount of fake hardware coming out of China – did you read about the entire fake iPhone factory?
But how about enthusiast or home-built hardware if you’re one of the life’s tinkerers? Or old non-supported tech that you still use?
