Shard

Calling Schnooks, Sharkus or other techies...

So I've noticed on Microsoft have started alerting on some big privacy change to take effect 1st of August. I've also noticed that my Skype Account (rarely used as I am an Apple fanboy) has been populated with far more contacts than I originally put...possibly from MS importing my Hotmail address book? Is that what has happened? Are there more nasty surprises awaiting me on 1st of August??

It does seem that the internet industry is hell bent on connecting every biological organism in order to make it easier for Skynet to terminate us all.

scrubbedexpat091

Other then the operating system, don't think I use much other microsoft issues, although my computer has notified me Windows 10 is coming....

I do find it creepy how google links people to me, not to mention they seem to save every single email address I have ever received or sent an email to/from.

Or how facebook finds people I used to know, don't know now, but figures out I may know them.

There is no privacy on the internet, only way to get it, is to not use the internet.

sharkus

Makes it sound as though I'm Schnooks second in command IT wise

Have a read of the following, but likely that might have been something you have seen already:
https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/201...for-consumers/

Truthful answer is, this is the first I've heard of it, but I'm not on the bleeding edge of IT these days, just a poor ol QA.

Looks like it's just they are now going to use the MS privacy policy as opposed to the Skype one.

The skype contact list thing could be something to do with them merging in contacts from messenger, which I think they have killed off, presumably to use the message function in Skype (I loathe that, as Skype is for video or audio, not chat. Just a bugbear due to some people at work being seriously against switching from using it to something more sensible).

SchnookoLoly

I'm not really up on Microsoft's privacy settings either, I generally avoid using MS products, I am a Google girl myself as I find them a bit easier to manage (but not by much!).

I'd guess the nefarious Skype contacts are, as you say, from your hotmail account, o rotherwise, as Sharkus mentioned, something leftover from Messenger.

Honestly, I'm not 100% sure.

stuabroad

I'm a solution architect for Microsoft's biggest Canadian partner, i spend my life evangelizing and deploying cloud solutions these days. Bottom line is privacy laws are changing, in order to facilitate the move of big data in to the online world. Microsoft's taking over of Skype is an example - it probably imported your contacts from your hotmail.com/outlook.com address book but you should have been prompted. Those two systems are now federated and joined to the onlooker. Depends perhaps if you're now using a Microsoft account to login to Skype or your previous SkypeID.

it's not just Microsoft, every time Apple launches an iOS update, you have to agree to the updated agreement first...which always contains changes to use of data and privacy.

BTW Lync Server is now Skype for Business, it's just a re-branding exercise. Chat is what should be used in place of people sending hundreds of mindless emails every day to people across the office 5 feet away. In the days of expensive SAN storage it's what caused you to have a 300mb cap on our mail profile, causing networks now to be littered with those disgusting little files called PSTs.

Steve_

The official reason is to simplify it (by standardizing it) and to tack on information dealing with Windows 10, which is released on July 29th.

By the way, I got a phone call today from Microsoft asking me if it was okay for them to send me an e-mail, so I would just to like to announce that today, June 24th, 2015 is the day when it officially became socially more acceptable to make an unsolicited telephone call than to send an unsolicited e-mail. (And thinking it about it, where is this e-mail, I still haven't gotten it).

Steve_

How do you say: "Azure"?

vanity

Also, everyone should go in and check their "Apps" on their smart phones/devices.

Many apps are defaulted to have unlimited access to your emails, photos, contacts, even files stored on the server. It's really rather quite disgusting.

Photoplex

I believe a lot of this is to do with workplace adoption. Many enterprises running Lync today have poor user uptake of Lync because users simply don't know what it is.

Skype though - that's a brand they recognize and a core purpose they already understand. "Oh, I use that to call granny... I can call/message someone at my office now too?"

I was really irritated by the re-branding, but it makes sense now.

Gozit

Probably worthy to mention that this is the case for Android phones - this is the "permissions" box google play comes up with every time you download an app. This is not the case on iPhones as all apps are sandboxed meaning they can't talk to each other... although this is being lightened up for iOS 9 and has been lightened a little in iOS 8, but it is not to the extent you describe. Apple is very good about prompting for permissions to access things...

SchnookoLoly

And on that note it's worth pointing out that how Android handles permissions is being changed drastically in Android M, due out later this year; the main change being that it will allow the user to approve or deny specific permissions on an app-by-app basis.

Whether you consider the absolute sandboxing a pro or a con is a whole other debate.

Gozit

That's good to know.

I hate the sandboxing on my iPhone. When i was android one of the best things was being able to have fb conversations accessible with a "bubble" within other apps but since iPhone is sandboxed there is 0 capability to do so.

MarkG

Whereas my next tablet will probably be an iPad, because I'm sick of every crappy app wanting access to all my stuff with no choice other than to allow it or not install the app. Android permissions are a disaster.

I also hate the way Gmail harvests addresses from every email I've ever sent or received, and lists all those addresses when I start typing, instead of just the ones I've specifically flagged as contacts that I might actually want to respond to.

scrubbedexpat091

That annoys me about gmail too, email someone once to say send a resume and they save it for eternity.

Shard

You can delete old email addresses in the Contacts section of Gmail I believe? I think I have done that before, some time ago.

I think there's a setting for not predicting email addresses too. I haven't noticed a problem with it, at least.