Compliance Management, Privacy, Security Strategy, Plan, Budget

67% of Windows users in the UK lean toward a swap to Mac

Some 67 percent of the UK public who use the Windows operating system on a regular basis would at least consider switching from Windows to Mac due to privacy concerns.


New research from Comparitech.com, which questioned 500 people in the UK, comes in light of allegations from the French National Data Protection Commission that Windows 10 collects user information on an excessive scale and ordered Microsoft to fix three privacy failings in its newest operating system.

 

The three specific privacy failings include:

  • The Windows Store collects data on the app users download and time spent on each without permission
  • Windows 10 installs an advertising identifier by default, allowing Microsoft to monitor browsing and target users with ads
  • The Windows Store authentication doesn't restrict the user's number of attempts to enter their correct 4-digit PIN

A third said they won't consider switching operating systems despite privacy concerns. Fifteen percent said they would definitely consider swapping to Mac if privacy concerns about Windows 10 data collection were raised.

 

“These issues are things that have set off alarm bells within the security community on release of Windows 10 a year ago. Now, with France taking the next step in ordering Microsoft to fix them, it's a small win for privacy and the wider public who have expressed concerns. Companies tend to take these issues seriously when people start voting with their wallets, so hopefully the results from this survey should serve as a wake-up call that consumers are becoming more privacy conscious,” said Paul Bischoff, privacy advocate for Comparitech.com.

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