Invasion of privacy by Microsoft

[dR-Green]

I just received an e-mail from Microsoft telling me that my browser is outdated and urging me to download IE8. Now how would they have that information and then send me an e-mail about it

Sorry, that's not energy related at all, but the cheek of it I'm deliberately using IE6 so I don't need 2gb of ram and dual core just to browse the internet. In fact, my main browser is Firefox and I don't even check my hotmail with IE! So where did Microsoft get this information from

[Slider2732]

There are a number of widgets out there, that you may see on webpages. They show you where you are from, your IP address, operating system, many things and also which browser you are using. I won't post a link to one, for obvious reasons, but suffice to say most people just smile and say to themselves something like 'wow thats cool', never thinking any more about it. Such data mining is also within website statistics pages when you own a domain.
Microsoft could, without legal issue, trawl around IP addresses and any that come up with anything below IE8 could generate a sort of public service helpful message, about upgrading. At least, that's the way they probably see it.

I use Lubuntu Linux and Google Chrome. My case is due to a low end P4 processor and 8Gb hard drive (a self built junker box really). Thankfully, that means Microsoft are just nowhere to be seen.

Relating to public service though and something that may well be beneficial to your worries, is something overheard on Coast to Coast AM the other night. A woman was receiving help with medical treatment for her cancer condition through a company with similar privacy concerns. Instead of spamming with adverts and pop-ups, the apparent method has been to know her reach to big audiences would give them publicity - something of a great idea in my opinion and I have no problem forwarding their aims, at least for your consideration.
It's a search page just as easy and simple to use as Google, but without the data mining that Google are allegedly doing. The search site uses their own name to submit your search request to Google and so your surfing is safe, because Google doesn't know it came from you.
I guess the bugging thought is that if you are searching for info on something that later proves to not be what you were looking for, Homeland Security will decide the search related to something nefarious ! Well, whatever, we shouldn't be tagged, pigeon holed and presumed about.
Startpage Search Engine

Hope that is of use

[dR-Green]

Thanks for the link, that will come in handy

But the thing is about what you say is that I'm using firefox, so it's not an old one that I'm using for normal activity. I don't have flash installed for FF to avoid the adverts, I was using IE Tab addon until they updated it and it went unstable, so now I just use IE6 whenever I want to use youtube or watch flash content. I'm also using NoScript to block all scripts on web sites so the "your IP address is" thing doesn't work for me unless I allow that domain to run scripts. Basically all the "clever" unnecessary crap of the entire internet that grinds my pc to a halt doesn't do anything unless I manually allow it. In that respect it would theoretically be excellent for blocking facebook crap except that whole thing is one big script so you can't use it at all

I found out some more information about it anyway by looking up the From address

Scam or no scam?

[StweenyA]

You mentioned they said you must upgrade, did they post a link? If so, it could be sent from a fake email address.

I receive lots of fake emails telling me to click the link, or else, but all of them lead me to sites that try and steal info.

[Slider2732]

Good point about the fakery - didn't Microsoft base Windows on a Xerox Palo Alto research machine anyway and fake up the presentation to the Comdex show before actually writing it ?

Best irony of all time, may be a fake account link that actually derives from a genuine Microsoft email - of a completely free download of plans for a Free Energy machine they create. Pigs might fly sooner than that.

However, I do think Mr. Gates and co had some of the steelest nether regions ever, for the stuff they did and how it turned out for them.

[dR-Green]

Unless they've used some ghost mailer or something like that to fake the address then it appears to be real. Like in the link I posted the IP leads back to MS. So it's either one of those possibilities.

In fact I just clicked a few things out of curiosity. These are some of the pages it leads to

Invisible images:

Download Internet explorer 8, ie8, Fast, trusted and clean | MSN UK

Opt out link: Asks me to retype my password even though I just clicked the link from within my hotmail account

https://login.live.com/login.srf?wa=...8936&mkt=en-gb

[StweenyA]

Not sure how much you all know, but if you have your own server, or hack into one to "borrow" it, then you can send an email from any address.
The email's I often get seem to be from the local banks. But as they have all told us before, they would never tell us to click a link and login, or download and install software etc.

eg if it's from, bill.gates@microsoft.com, it doesn't mean it's from microsoft, or from bill gates!