8.1 users should disable smart search

Hi All,

If you wondered why the Frankenstein 8.1 roll out was
so weird, it was because those ass holes at M$ included
SPYWARE in it. It is called Smart Search. Here is how
to disable it.

Oh ya, and get rid of Bing.

-T

Reference:
http://ifwnewsletters.newsletters.in...681/760222/13/

Smart Search:

Problem: Microsoft would have you believe that its new Smart
Search feature makes searching simpler. I think of Smart
Search as the most intrusive, privacy-busting piece of
Windows ever foisted on an unsuspecting public.

If you leave Smart Search enabled, every time you perform
a search on your desktop -- through files on your hard drive,
or on your network -- Windows runs out to the Web and performs
a Bing search on the same terms. For example, if you search
on your computer's hard drive for "Steve Ballmer," you get
the "hero page" (Microsoft's term) shown here.

Bing gets to keep track of all your local searches, and
save those local search terms with your ID permanently
attached.

Solution: Although you won't be able to benefit from
Smart Search's wonderfully cool offers to sell you
things, turning off Smart Search should be the first
goal of every new Windows 8.1 user. Unfortunately,
there's no switch that says "Turn off Smart Search"
or even a hint about what's happening from the Search
pane itself.

You have to know how to turn it off. To do so, bring
up the Settings charm (Windows Key + C will do it),
choose Change PC Settings. In the upper left, click
or tap the back arrow until you can see Search and
Apps in the list. Click or tap Search and Apps. Then
turn off the switch marked Use Bing to Search Online.

Todd wrote, On 3/26/2014 3:27 PM:
Hi All,

If you wondered why the Frankenstein 8.1 roll out was
so weird, it was because those ass holes at M$ included
SPYWARE in it. It is called Smart Search. Here is how
to disable it.

The tracking, popups, redirects and ads on infoworld site might be worse
than the Smart Search.g


--
...winston
msft mvp consumer apps

On 26/03/2014 19:27, Todd wrote:
[...]
If you leave Smart Search enabled, every time you perform
a search on your desktop -- through files on your hard drive,
or on your network -- Windows runs out to the Web and performs
a Bing search on the same terms. For example, if you search
on your computer's hard drive for "Steve Ballmer," you get
the "hero page" (Microsoft's term) shown here.

Bing gets to keep track of all your local searches, and
save those local search terms with your ID permanently
attached.

Solution: Although you won't be able to benefit from
Smart Search's wonderfully cool offers to sell you
things, turning off Smart Search should be the first
goal of every new Windows 8.1 user. Unfortunately,
there's no switch that says "Turn off Smart Search"
or even a hint about what's happening from the Search
pane itself.

You have to know how to turn it off. To do so, bring
up the Settings charm (Windows Key + C will do it),
choose Change PC Settings. In the upper left, click
or tap the back arrow until you can see Search and
Apps in the list. Click or tap Search and Apps. Then
turn off the switch marked Use Bing to Search Online.

Over on OS X, Spotlight search does it the right way - shows you
matching results from your local system, plus options to do a web search
or look it up on Wikipedia.

Oddly, though, when I launch a web search for 'Steve Ballmer' from
Spotlight, it opens my default browser (Google Chrome, rather than
Safari) but searches using Google rather than my default search engine
DuckDuckGo. Considering the relationship between the two companies over
the last few years, that seems a very strange choice on Apple's part!

Alan

On 27/03/2014 09:03, ...winston wrote:
Todd wrote, On 3/26/2014 3:27 PM:
Hi All,

If you wondered why the Frankenstein 8.1 roll out was
so weird, it was because those ass holes at M$ included
SPYWARE in it. It is called Smart Search. Here is how
to disable it.

The tracking, popups, redirects and ads on infoworld site might be worse
than the Smart Search.g

This is why I use Disconnect ( https://disconnect.me ) to block the
majority of trackers and ads.

An even worse sin, in my book, is the use of slideshows to prolong the
browsing experience for the sole purpose of showing more ads.

Alan

Alan Ralph wrote, On 3/27/2014 6:50 AM:

Oddly, though, when I launch a web search for 'Steve Ballmer' from
Spotlight, it opens my default browser (Google Chrome, rather than
Safari) but searches using Google rather than my default search engine
DuckDuckGo. Considering the relationship between the two companies over
the last few years, that seems a very strange choice on Apple's part!

Alan


Not sure the relationship between Apple and MSFT comes into play when
one is using Google Chrome as the default browser and the Spotlight
search defaults to the default browser.

--
...winston
msft mvp consumer apps

On 27/03/2014 17:05, Todd wrote:
On 03/27/2014 04:00 AM, Alan Ralph wrote:
On 27/03/2014 09:03, ...winston wrote:
Todd wrote, On 3/26/2014 3:27 PM:
Hi All,

If you wondered why the Frankenstein 8.1 roll out was
so weird, it was because those ass holes at M$ included
SPYWARE in it. It is called Smart Search. Here is how
to disable it.

The tracking, popups, redirects and ads on infoworld site might be worse
than the Smart Search.g

This is why I use Disconnect ( https://disconnect.me ) to block the
majority of trackers and ads.

Have you compared Ghostery? I am wondering which would
work better.

Not recently, last version of Ghostery I tried was a couple of years
ago. Was a bit too enthusiastic in its blocking, as I recall.

Disconnect hits the sweet spot for me - works right from the get-go,
doesn't need much tweaking, doesn't impose too much.

Alan.

On 27/03/2014 18:52, ...winston wrote:
Alan Ralph wrote, On 3/27/2014 6:50 AM:

Oddly, though, when I launch a web search for 'Steve Ballmer' from
Spotlight, it opens my default browser (Google Chrome, rather than
Safari) but searches using Google rather than my default search engine
DuckDuckGo. Considering the relationship between the two companies over
the last few years, that seems a very strange choice on Apple's part!

Alan


Not sure the relationship between Apple and MSFT comes into play when
one is using Google Chrome as the default browser and the Spotlight
search defaults to the default browser.

I guess the Google search bit is hard-coded into Spotlight. *shrug*

Alan