[ID: four images of cats with text overlaid in some areas. The text, altogether, says: you keep asking why your work is not enough, and I don’t know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world and Marvel at it. You don’t need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live. That is all most animals do.
The first image is a side view of an orange cat sitting down and facing to the left, outdoors.
The second image Is the same cat on a branch, looking somewhere past the camera.
The third image is up close near the cat’s face near a tree trunk with mushrooms growing out of it. The cat’s eyes are closed and it’s face is turned towards the tree.
The fourth image is a close-up of the face of the cat against a blue sky background, the cat’s eyes are closed and the sun shines on its orange face. End ID.]
Hey. If people aren't aware, Microsoft admitted they know who you and where you are at all times and will give your info to the police.
They have a Global Device Identifier (GDID) Tracker that functions as a fingerprint for your PC that can surpass VPNs, proxy servers and countries. Although it can't survive a clean reinstall of Windows (it can survive updates), because Microsoft forces you to go to the internet and log in into a Microsoft account, they will be able to get to you.
Microsoft kept it secret and it was only found out when the FBI tracked a hacker thanks to the information Microsoft gave them.
You should be paying attention to this, and possibly consider moving away from Windows. If a government, especially the US government, doesn't like you for some reason, this could be seriously concerning.
This article specifically notes:
For journalism, activism, or domestic abuse situations, skip Windows and use Linux routed through Tor instead of a commercial VPN. A GDID doesn’t care which VPN you use, only that it’s still the same Windows installation.
GDID is the persistent Windows ID that helped FBI trace a Scattered Spider hacker despite VPNs. Here's how it works and how to limit it.
Other important quotes:
What has researchers uneasy is everything else the case reveals. Costin Raiu, a well-known malware researcher, asked on the Three Buddy Problem podcast how much of this exists on other platforms, and whether it is linked more permanently to hardware. Matthew Hickey, another security researcher, called Windows “surveillance software”.
Two things back that up:
There’s no consent screen. A GDID gets assigned when you sign into a Microsoft Account. Apple’s advertising identifier needs an App Tracking Transparency prompt and a visible reset; Android’s works the same way. GDID has neither, and a Windows reinstall only gets you a new number Microsoft can still get back to the same account.
Then there’s activation. Massgrave, the group behind Microsoft Activation Scripts, notes that Windows setup sends hardware info to Microsoft and gets identifiers back, the same tokens later used for Store access and licensing: “It’s impossible to prevent Windows from getting a GDID without breaking activation and UWP app[s].” Anyone who lost a license after swapping a motherboard has already met a smaller version of this.
I went away and did some research into GDID and if there is a way to block it.
For starters, GDID exists both in Windows 10 and 11 (I've checked on my W10 computer), but only if you use a Microsoft account. If you use a local account/offline account, GDID is not stored in your PC, nor should your PC generate one.
tldr; if you don't use a Microsoft account to use/login to Windows, you're most likely safe. You can skip this post.
Secondly I might have found a way to, not disable GDID, but safely delete GDID in your computer and prevent Windows from retrieving your GDID from Microsoft servers.
The way GDID works right now is that you can technically delete it but Windows will automatically redownload it from MS servers.
I'll need to do some testing to make sure total deletion and blocking works.
I'll get back in a few days. If I succeed I will make another reblog with detailed instructions on how you can also replicate my steps to protect your privacy from Microslop.
ironically enough, bringing a plushie to a public setting as an adult requires a tremendous level of emotional development, and attempting to shame an adult for having a plushie in public requires a significant amount of immaturity. this applies to a surprising number of things.
A few years ago while trying to find ways to commit suicide as painlessly as possible, I came across a PDF of Dr. Paul Quinnett's The Forever Decision. Thinking it might go into actual methods of suicide (I read an article once that actually did that and was trying to find it again) I started to read it, and I think I only got about two pages in before I was crying too much to actually see the words.
I downloaded the PDF to my hard drive and I open it again whenever I'm feeling too suicidal to do much else, but not enough to start booking a ride to the hospital. And every time without fail I only go up to a few pages before backing off and choosing to live another day just because suicide suddenly seems even more unbearable than whatever the hell upset me in the first place.
All the book really does is [I'm pulling a summary from GoodReads here as, again, I've read no more than 5 pages] "discusses the social aspects of suicide, the right to die, anger, loneliness, depression, stress, hopelessness, drug and alcohol abuse, the consequences of a suicide attempt, and how to get help."
But it also starts with the author kindly asking the reader to complete the book before going through with anything, and for some reason I'm compelled to really just try to read it all before finalizing everything. Despite not yet completing it (hopefully never will) I think I can safely say it's saved my life at least a few times now.
It's intentionally legal to copy and redistribute this book to keep it as accessible as possible, and it's very easy to find, but here's a link for it anyways.
