Bonum Certa Men Certa

Windows (All Versions) Allows Remote Spying on the Mouse, Down to 20% Market Share

1984 and room scene



Summary: The spyware which is Windows is going away as Android (Linux) grows, according to Goldman Sachs

Microsoft Windows has a spying back door called Internet Explorer (IE) already built in, based on reports like this (reports do call out IE, but not Windows, even though they're almost synonymous as one cannot get IE without Windows or Windows without IE):



A new Internet Explorer vulnerability has been discovered that allows an attacker to track your mouse cursor anywhere on the screen, even if the browser isn’t being actively used. All supported versions of Microsoft’s browser are reportedly affected: IE6, IE7, IE8, IE9, and IE10.



Here are some remarks regarding the original post/disclosure and some criticism:

Microsoft products causes billions in loses every year due to security holes in its products. They have embarrassed the world most powerful nation, they assisted in spying on the prime minister of one of the worlds leading forces, they helped alleged hackers from China to gain access to Gmail accounts of human rights activists, and the list goes on and on.

I find it funny when Microsoft points fingers at competitors for so-called security holes, which compared to the giant black-hole in Microsoft products are like tip of a needle.

According to reports a major security hole was found in the Internet Explorer which tracks the mouse movements anywhere on the screen, even when windows are minimized. From what we know, the hole is being exploited by two advertising agencies but given the 'potential' this hole has, there is no doubt may others might be exploiting it too.


It's a massive hole and it affects all versions of Windows. Fortunately, Windows is going extinct as the desktop declines:

Goldman Sachs: Windows' true market share is just 20%



Windows might still be the dominant desktop computing OS by a large margin, but Microsoft is in danger of becoming a small player in today's global computing market, according to a new report from financial bigwigs Goldman Sachs.


"Windows has fallen behind Apple iOS and Google Android," says the headline from Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols. He writes:

According to a Goldman Sachs' private report , Microsoft's share of the computing device operating system market has declined to a mere 29%. Above it? Apple's iOS and Google's Android. Windows could make a comeback but faces "an uphill battle."


Goldman Sachs is not reliable, but at least it recognises that not only desktops matter anymore. Android is growing at the fastest rate, instigating Microsoft FUD and extortion tactics.

Vista 8 will deal the Windows franchise a final blow and IEEE Spectrum shows why:

Recently, software guru Jakob Nielsen gave Windows 8 a thorough vetting, with usability testing on both desktops and tablets. His verdict? Journalist Preston Gralla of Computerworld summed it up this way: “Windows 8 is bad on tablets and even worse on PCs. [Nielsen] blames dueling interfaces, reduced ‘discoverability,’ ‘low information density,’ and more.”

That sounds terrible. And if true, it will be terrible for the millions of people using millions of computers and mobile devices, 82 percent of which still run one version or another of the Windows operating system. It will also be terrible for Microsoft, if its bet-the-farm wager on Windows comes a cropper.

So I invited Jakob Nielsen to describe Windows 8, since most of us haven’t even spent any time with it yet, and to tell us just what’s wrong with it. He’s the cofounder, with another legendary software and interface expert, Don Norman, of the Nielsen Norman Group, in Fremont, Calif.; he’s the author of Useit.com, the website on which he published his Windows 8 usability report; and he’s my guest today by phone.


Microsoft is clearly losing the "war", but a pro-war Microsoft veteran* uses a Microsoft booster (Bishop) to help promote revisionism called "Software Wars". be careful not to promote his Microsoft whitewash. ____ * He keeps heckling my anti-war tweets. He seems to be a staunch Republican on the far right, where to the right of him there's only abyss.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Evri (HermesUK) is Now Run by Bots and Hallucinating Scammers
Years ago they virtually removed support and tried chatbots instead
Clown Storage Without Backups
Setting up several reliable copies of the data, plus several off-site backups (this data is nowhere as sensitive as medical data), should only cost a few grand
FreeCAD is Becoming Slop-ware, Use LibreCAD Instead
It has regular releases and "Qt5 is mandatory" now [...] they at least audit what they add
GAFAM Loyalty Has Come to an End, Morale Low, People Whose Future is Uncertain Choose to Become "Lifers"
morale is low and there's no loyalty anymore
SLAPP Censorship - Part 152 Out of 200: Injunctions Do Not Cover Criticism, They Have Scope
self-incriminating communications
 
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, August 17, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, August 17, 2026
Gemini Links 18/08/2026: Solar Power, Kipple and Impermanence, Catastrophe Ethics
Links for the day
Less Technology, More Life
Technology is being associated (sometimes rightly) with physical and mental problems
Google Search Has Gotten Worse (a Lot Worse)
getting worse
Birthday in 80 Days
we'll start decorating and party online with our community
Loans and Massive Debt at Microsoft, This Won't End Well.
Microsoft running out of money to pay salaries (to the point of paying people for 'voluntary' layoffs) is a positive sign?
Gemini Links 17/08/2026: Life in Plain Text, Mimicking KARL, Release of Jugulans, Avoiding Slop
Links for the day
Cuba and Venezuela High in Adoption of GNU/Linux
some of the "communist" nations
Links 17/08/2026: Myanmar’s Cholera Outbreak, China Sends Commercial Vessels Through Arctic
Links for the day
Clownflare Sees About Quarter of Web Requests in Ireland Coming From GNU/Linux
Well, in Ireland it seems like many people adopted GNU/Linux
Clownflare: In Australia and New Zealand GNU/Linux Peaks at Over 10% During Working Hours
That right there is interesting in its own right
Slowing Down by Intention
At the moment we have 6 or 7 ongoing series
Gemini Links 17/08/2026: Chamboree, Partial Solar Eclipse, Lady Macbeth
Links for the day
Links 17/08/2026: "Bluesky Is Down Again!" and "Anti-Social Media"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, August 16, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, August 16, 2026
A Vortex of Beacons (or "Bluetooth Everywhere" Vision)
If someone (or someones) calls you paranoid for taking about "beacon"-like functionality, there will be no lack of authoritative citations (e.g. Web links) they can be provided to prove them wrong
Falkland Islands: GNU/Linux Elevated to 6%
GNU/Linux usage seems to have increased a lot there
Links 16/08/2026: Reading Outside, Going Offline More, and Art of Computer Programming
Links for the day
The Question of Patience
Is there a lesson here somewhere?
IBM May be Sued for Mass Layoffs Via PIPs
Some whole threads (with all the long comments in them) recently got nuked by thelayoff.com
Links 16/08/2026: Ceuta Reports Social Control Media Used as a Weapon
Links for the day
Links 16/08/2026: Europe in Crisis of Droughts While Energy- and Water-Consuming, Pollution-Emitting Chatbots Are Spread by GAFAM (US) to Keep a Ponzi Scheme Going
Links for the day
GNU/Linux is a Platform for Work (Usage Surges in Daytime)
GNU/Linux 15% in daytime
We Need Rain, Not Chatbots
There's no "anti-AI" (it's not even AI), there's opposition to fraud, to plagiarism, and to companies that profit more when there's global warning (caused in part by their business activities)
SLAPP Censorship - Part 151 Out of 200: Dealing With Sleazy People and Companies That Steal (While Employing These Sleazy People)
we offer a quick summary and we're reflecting
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, August 15, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, August 15, 2026
Gemini Links 16/08/2026: Sterrenkijker Releases, Solar Gemini Server
Links for the day