Why do people still run Windows?

Microsoft's new Copilot and Recall features in Windows 11 could unleash a new era of spying on users. So why continue to use Windows?

Before I get into this article, I must make a full disclosure: I haven’t run Microsoft Windows in 20 years or so. It might even be longer because I don’t even remember the last version I had on my computer. Maybe Windows 7? I really do not know.

I walked away from Windows long ago, and I’ve never looked back. My two main operating systems have been Linux and macOS. Linux is fantastic for techies, and macOS works great for average users. Both of them have fulfilled all of my needs in terms of desktop computing; I never missed Windows once I stopped using it.

Microsoft’s creepy new Windows features

Recently, I heard about Microsoft’s new Copilot and Recall, and I was completely creeped out when I read about them. If you aren’t familiar with them, here’s some basic information from VentureBeat:

Of many Microsoft announcements, perhaps the biggest was the introduction of new Microsoft Copilot+PCs — laptops and desktop computers outfitted with a new version of Microsoft Windows that contains its AI assistant Copilot baked into the very fabric of the operating system itself.

Copilot, in turn, is powered by a range of underlying AI models including the new GPT-4o introduced last week by Microsoft partner and investment OpenAI.

Yet the one feature in particular, Recall, stood out to some observers — and not in a good way. The Recall feature essentially records a user’s screen activity on their Copilot+PC, including mouse movements and application actions — whether a user is sending messages, checking email, editing a document or image — and allows the user to go back, replay them to find a detail or interaction they want to access again.

Microsoft, of course, is denying that Recall is a threat to privacy. Supposedly, the data will be encrypted, and it will remain only on the user’s computer. No data is going to be sent to the cloud, according to Microsoft. You’ll excuse me if I greet Microsoft’s claim with skepticism. I stopped trusting them back when Bill Gates was still CEO, and I cannot imagine ever giving them the benefit of the doubt. 🙄

Why on earth would I want something like Recall on my computer when it was created by Microsoft? Why would I give that company the benefit of the doubt? I don’t believe Microsoft has earned such trust; they aren’t much better than Google when it comes to user privacy. We all know how bad Google has been with Android, and Microsoft seems to be following in Google’s footsteps.

I’m not the only one skeptical about Microsoft’s privacy claims:

You may look at this and think ‘surely there’s some safety guardrails’, and there are — in the video above you’ll see Satya point out the processing and data storage is done locally on the device. In the FAQ they point out there’s some circumstances where data won’t be recorded, for example when password’s aren’t visible on screen.

That’s great. It’s also not nearly enough.

If you look at what has happened historically with infostealer malware — malicious software snuck onto PCs — it has pivoted to automatically steal browser passwords stored locally. In other words, if a malicious threat actor gains access to a system, they already steal important databases stored locally.

They can just extend this to steal information recorded by Copilot’s Recall feature.

With Recall, as a malicious hacker you will be able to take the handily indexed database and screenshots as soon as you access a system — including 3 months history by default.

To put this into context, this isn’t “the last thing in the clipboard”. It is everything you did in recent memory — and it’s instantly available to malicious software and individuals. If you have malware running on your PC for only minutes, you have a big problem in your life now rather than just changing some passwords.

Microsoft will wordsmith around this and issue lovely comments to press, but this seems like a huge risk which fundamentally undermines the security of the Windows ecosystem. All consumers and businesses should disable and reject Recall on Copilot+ PCs unless it has a substantial rework, as it directly places you and the data you view at risk.

Thanks for the offer, Microsoft. But I’ll pass on Recall. 🙄

Why do people keep using Windows?

All of this makes me wonder why people keep using Windows. I can sort of understand it if they are forced to use it at work. Corporations are still heavily reliant on Microsoft’s software for business needs. Microsoft Office is certainly one of the biggest reasons for that, too. So I don’t knock people who are forced to use Windows at work; they have no control over the operating system chosen by the company that employs them.

What I don’t understand is why people use it at home. Linux is available free of charge, and it is no longer difficult to install. There are various distributions such as Linux Mint that are as easy to use and maintain as any Windows system. And just about all Linux distributions come with a huge amount of software that fulfills virtually any personal needs in terms of software. If the distribution doesn’t have the software preinstalled, you can easily add it from the free software library.

Another point in favor of Linux: It runs great even on very old computers. Look around, and you can find a Linux distribution that uses little in the way of system resources, and thus runs well even on ancient computers. Why get rid of an old computer when you can put Linux on it and use it for years? You can save money by keeping an old computer after adding Linux to it.

macOS is another option if you prefer going the Apple route to using Linux. I understand why some users would prefer a Mac to fiddling with Linux. It’s a perfectly reasonable choice to just go to an Apple Store and buy a Mac. Apple has also done a great job with its M chips. Macs these days are fast and reliable, now that Intel is out of the picture. macOS also has the virtue of being integrated with Apple’s phones, tablets, and watches.

So why are home users still using Windows? What is it about Windows that keeps so many people using it on their home computers? Beats the heck out of me, I don’t see Windows offering anything for home computing that can’t be gotten on Linux or macOS. To me, the downside to relying on Microsoft outweigh any potential gains from running Windows. If I were to buy a new PC or build my own, I’d slap Linux on it and never look back at Windows.

You don’t need Windows for games

But what about games? That’s the question that always comes up whenever I talk with people about leaving Windows. For me, games were never a problem. macOS does run some games, and, of course, if you have an iPhone or iPad, you can run iOS games. However, most of my gaming (except World of Warcraft, which ran fine on macOS) is done on Nintendo’s Switch console, and before that, on the 3DS and other Nintendo consoles.

So the gaming question never mattered to me, as I was content with Nintendo consoles and WOW on the Mac, along with a few other Mac or iOS games. However, I can understand why some people have stuck with Windows for games. It’s still the platform with the most computer games, but that just never mattered to me as a gamer. Nintendo’s first-party games have always been the main attraction to me, not PC games that require Windows.

Let’s not forget about Sony, either. Sony consoles have never been my thing; I’m a Nintendo guy, for the most part. But there is no denying that Sony’s consoles have tons of games, and some of them come from the Windows PC world too. So Sony is also another viable option for gamers instead of using Windows.

I could also suggest an Xbox, but doesn’t that run some form of Windows? I don’t know for sure, but it seems logical that Microsoft would use a version of Windows on their own console. So I would not recommend an Xbox if you want to get away from Windows. You would probably be using some form of Windows if you bought one.

And don’t forget all the work that Valve has done to get games to run on Linux. You can buy a Steam Deck to run PC games, and it has the virtue of being portable too. It’s like a Switch (kind of), but for PC games. You can even run some games on a desktop Linux computer if you don’t want a Steam Deck.

Get off Windows if you can

Given what Microsoft is doing to Windows with Copilot and Recall, I recommend getting off of it if you can. I know that switching to a new operating system environment can be challenging for some users, but now is a good time to make the change if possible. While you might run into some headaches, you will likely enjoy Linux or macOS once you get used to them.

As for Microsoft, I think they are going down a bad road with Windows. They have gone so crazy with the AI crap that they haven’t paused to ask themselves if everything they are doing makes sense for users. Then again, users have never been Microsoft’s primary concern. For them, it has been all about serving the corporate market, with home users being a secondary concern.

As for me, I’ll stick with Linux and macOS. And for gaming, I’ll stick with my current Switch and the upcoming Switch 2 when Nintendo releases it. At least with the Switch 2, I won’t have to worry about Nintendo spying on me while I play Mario Kart. 🧐

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