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By now, you've probably noticed that Microsoft would love nothing more than for us Windows users to link our Windows PCs to Microsoft online accounts. Our only way out: offline accounts. And while Microsoft never tire of reminding us of the many benefits of a Microsoft account, like better access to Office 365, Xbox Live and the Microsoft Store (for us and a wealth of personal data for them), they've grudgingly tolerated local accounts for years. This practice may soon come to and end though!
Starting with Windows 10, Microsoft left no stone unturned to entice users to join the always-online bandwagon, extolling the virtues of goodies like full OneDrive access, Cortana and remote locking and wiping of Windows 10 devices. Online accounts were supposed to make everything better. If they could, Microsoft would have ripped out any and all offline functionality, including local accounts, a long time ago because, in their view, online is the new offline. Alas, due to economic constraints, and because Microsoft encountered a few hiccups while trying to convert Windows 7 users, offline account functionality stayed—even though local account creation was relegated to a tiny clickable link during installation. I'm surprised they didn't include a photo of Bill Gates giving us a punitive glance.
Here's the new situation: Windows scans for active WLAN or LAN-based internet connections and, if found, completely disables the offline option, no tiny marginalized link, nothing. If you want an offline account, you now have to unplug your network cable or disable WLAN until the setup procedure is complete. Naturally, as soon as you re-enable internet connectivity, Windows will display a popup reminding you to "complete" the installation by linking your copy of Windows to a Microsoft account. Talk about persistence! If you work as an admin and have to administrate a large number of PCs with offline accounts, this is sheer bullying. It's no surprise that this practice, which has so far been considered a minor field test and is now being rolled out to to more and more countries, hasn't met with much love from Windows users.
Forcing users to unplug their network cables is utterly ridiculous and may foreshadow the end of offline accounts altogether. But why not give it to us straight? If Microsoft want to take this step, they should just say so. Then, users can then decide whether they want to stick with Windows or look for alternatives. This is not sacrilegious! Many software developers have already switched to subscription and/or cloud-based business models with limited offline functionality. Online activation is also extensively used in many applications these days to combat software piracy, including our programs. You can either accept it or not use the software. Granted, operating systems are a special piece of software that requires a lot of trust from its users and that trust shouldn't be trifled with.
Will you allow Microsoft to gain a foothold on your cellphone?
It was Windows Home Update 1019 that did away with offline accounts. Users in the US were hit first, with European Windows user having been affected ever since last week. Why Windows Home? Because it's barely used commercially. We'll see whether Microsoft have the guts to bless other Windows editions in the same fashion. I wouldn't put it past them. With syncing of browsing histories, messages and calls already in place, Microsoft promise we'll soon be able to play games and backup data across device boundaries (PC, smartphone etc.). I'm sure we'll get further details as the year progresses. It all comes down to this: Are you willing to extend the private sphere of your cellphone to your Windows PC and vice versa? This feature will likely be toggleable but I think it'll be met with limited enthusiasm.
Time will tell whether pro, and possibly enterprise users, will be up in arms about the coming changes. Microsoft very likely won't let up in their quest to convert everyone of us into online users. But it would be great if they could improve upon their communication strategy for a change. Windows 10 is already firmly tied to the internet, thanks to its update mechanism and various applications, so an additional Microsoft account would only be a minor hurdle it seems. Provided the account offers real benefits, I suspect many users will eventually come around. No one likes to be blindsided though.
What I would like to know: Will you give in to Microsoft's coercion or do you perhaps already have a Microsoft account?
What are the options.???
I have 3 devices and use Windows 10 or Android. Windows and Google are always trying to get me to sync everything but I do not as all three are used for different purposes. I do not need email on but one not all. Also only one is used for a phone and what the H the others do not need my phone calls. Even the two Windows devices are used for different things no need for using both for everything. This nag-nag complex of the software producers is getting excessive. I refuse to use anything that is cloud based. I use a satellite service and if the satellite is down the cloud is useless. With 4 TB local storage I can keep on going. The satellite is actually down less often than the local cable which had been down 17 days when I called Hughes Net.
I have one laptop running W10 (it came with it, unfortunately. All my other machines run W7, Linux, or both, and I will hold on to W7 for as long as I can with non-MS protection. In fact the only reason I have s that some software I use for my hobby is only available in Windows. As soon as a reliable Linux version becomes available, ANY Windows machines I have will probably have the Windows side deprecated and become primarily Linux-based.
I resent ANY large corporation - be it Microsoft, Google, Apple or anyone else, demanding that I hand over all my personal information, my passwords and account details, to their 'safe' storage. So many times we've received reports of large corporations being hacked, of ransomware demands, and more. What annoys me me most about Microsoft, Google and others, is their incessant demand that I must 'improve my experience' by setting up an account with them, storing all my data, documents, and even game scores with them.
All this seemed to surface just at the time that storage prices - HDD, SSD and memory - were falling to the point where running your own backup storage was financially viable. I'll set up my own Linux-based server and backup system before I hand it all to ANY large corporation.
Incidentally,I don't play online games, or own any kind of gaming system, so why do Microsoft insist that I have a XBox account and share all my game scores? Are they REALLY that interested in how much time I spend playing Solitaire? Or is there some surreptitious piece of spyware in there that, unknown to me, gives them access to everything I do?
One more reason I'm glad I never upgraded from Windows 7. I'm keeping that until the computer dies.
I wondered what happened to my computer(s) after the last update. I had to brake out the Win install USB to get it going again. One more reason for me to completely switch to Linux. I have been playing around with various versions anyway. I hope Ashampoo will start writing programs (I know "Apps") for Linux OS's.
Thanks
I'm an IT guy and Microsoft is really starting to p*ss me off!. I don't WANT my computers connected to The Microsoft Empire. Windows 10's latest version doesn't allow any opt-out for a local account - if you're connected to the internet. You're forced to create a Microsoft Account and after the complete setup you can then sign-out and switch to a local account. And, you're right - I fear the day is coming when that won't be allowed anymore.
I thought it was only me that was unhappy with the forced
onedrive storage. James
In my previous comment, I was referring to Ubuntu's connection to Amazon. After I posted, I reread it, and it read like Manjaro was connected to Amazon. It's not.
@Gerhard Basson
An Ubuntu One account? What's that? I use Manjaro and have never needed an account. I guess it a Canonical thing. Mind you, it did get some negative attention with its app store connecting to Amazon I think it was. Don't assume all Linuxes are the same.
I wonder where all of the electricity will come from for all of these cloud offerings. I think that 100% cloud is unsustainable as governments fight to reduce carbon emissions. Eventually data centres, such as those run by Amazon may end up with rather large 'green' taxe, or be restricted in growth. Even a data centre can consume as much power as an entire city, or multiple cities! Also, if everything becomes cloud-based, that means more subscriptions to the point that using a computer will become unaffordable. I mean, subs often cost around 4.99-9.99 for ONE service! So I see your future prediction as more a case of jump ship than buckle up.
Yes, I have a MS account - and it makes things very easy when you work on 3 different computers, besides the 2 computers and 4 family accounts I maintain at home.
Don't think other operating systems are much different You basically can't do anything on a Mac / OSx if not connected to the internet.
The distribution of Linux I installed last weekend is much the same - Ubuntu is continually looking for connection to verify that you are online and connected to you Ubuntu One account.
Very soon we will not even bother with local installations of software. We will have a basic processing device (such as a Raspberry Pi), connected to the internet and a big TV. From there on, all data manipulation will happen in the cloud.
Just as I am typing into this blog - I will not even need "Word", I will type stuff and it will be formatted by the online app - in the cloud. Same for spreadsheets, presentations, etc. And in the future - even gaming.
So buckle up: all data is going for a ride - to the cloud.
I've never used the online sign in (intentionally for win10) and don't intend to. it's just MS way to track it's users and from past experiences of big names, your data is never 100% safe and why why why do they insist you need to use it? I have an MS account but it's very rarely used for any of my daily activities, i think i got it when i had a windows os phone, which died 2 centuries ago
I can only think it's because Google chrome/ Android use the login for devices, but that is useful for backing up settings and recording/ tracking devices
ill stick to windows 7 better than 8 or 10
Microsoft are really beginning to irritate me. I want to be as private as possible, I have no wish to have a Micosoft Account let alone be forced to use it instead of my local account. Will they never learn that there are alternatives to using their flawed software and suffer their nosey behaviour in trying to find out all about us and forcing us to view the advertising they think we should see.
I have NO intention of buying any of the rubbish programs (apps) on the Microsoft Store.
Anymore of this and I will be jumping ship to Linux.
Don't care about Windows but I will miss the software which is only available on Windows platform.
I have an account and I am frequently requested to sign in but I ignore this. I don't use one drive intentionally but it seems to slip in now and again to my annoyance. I like to control when and where I save my work and not have Microsoft do it for me.
I believe I do have a Microsoft account. Frankly I don't see how large corporations can be stopped in their efforts to try and control as many people as possible let us not forget the US government continues to capture people's text, audio (phone conversations), anything and everything people submit online and else where. We have people today that will eagerly give up their privacy for the lastest new thing. The powerful have changed some of the laws in the US so they can't be held responsible for actions they do. It would be interesting to see if so many wrongs can be over came by whom?
Windows 10 update of February 12th completely prevented me to log to my Microsoft account -which I didn't know I had. And as I had not made a recovery image of my system, I could only boot my computer with a local account. I did enrage me so much that I erased completely my Windows 10 OS, formatted my C: disk and installed back my 8,1 Windows, a system that I also hate. I still remember the great XP Pro OS and have my old computer running with it. I wish the Coronavirus would wipe out Microsoft, Bill Gates and the entire technicians that hate users so much that that sent that terrible update.
So what happens if one is not accessing the internet?
Is it pre-internet windows?
Would that make it impossible to log in to my own computer unless I had an internet connection? That would be completely unacceptable.
I have no idea to what you are referring? Offline accounts? Online accounts? Please name some, Give examples?
I'm already fed up with Win 10, which I was recently forced to adopt after living happily with Win 7 and many applications that worked with it.
Win 10 has been a royal pain in the ass, starting when I opted to install Google Chrome because I had been using it for years and had a LOT of important emails stored with in.
Now, under Win 10, I'm constantly getting "error: network change detected" nags, among other minor irritations.
Am I going to have to give up Dropbox or certain favorite websites or what?
The article is about how Microsoft are gradually pushing their users to store their Windows user accounts online on Microsoft’s servers instead of keeping them on their local machines. Dropbox or other online services are unaffected by this development.
Syncing devices isn't fool proof. Very often in syncing listings, address, names and numbers are lost or deleted altogether. I try to discourage it no matter who's software wants to be helpful. If I decide to do it it will be for reasons and at a time that works for me.
I try to avoid it on the many computers because it confuses things and then everyone has to have a Microsoft account and remember what it is and what is the password, just another layer of complexity that isn't needed in the enviroment we are in. A dislike it very much.
I have a Microsoft account. I just set up another one via the Outlook site to see what info it needs. Well, it can all be fake, so I don't see a problem with that. Fake name; fake location (country); fake date of birth. That's it, no need for post codes, phone numbers or other personal data.
Of course, when using the websites for accounts, there are cookies and local storage placed in the browser, but that can be cleared up with a couple of trusted extensions and good use of incognito/private browsing.
I suppose that if users avoid using Microsoft's own apps, the account may not be able to collect additional data beyond logging what the software is.
There is a panel for viewing a range of collected data from apps, but I'm unsure if that includes everything that MS can view. I doubt that it does considering what all that telemetary is, and may present a false sense of privacy.
As you mentioned, there are accounts for almost everything else people use, which has caused people a lot of grief from hackers and data breaches when using the same credentials across multiple accounts. Forced MS accounts raises a similar issue.
I think that if software 'calls home' to check validity that is okay, as long as it doesn't push promos and ads by default. I hate that!
The way I see it is that people trust every other private company, without reading EULAs, T&Cs and privacy policies, so what's one more going do to make things worse?
With all of the climate people kicking off, a move FORCING users onto more servers and data centres goes very much against any desire to cut Carbon emissions, unless they all run on renewables. The internet is carbon filthy, so that lovely, fluffy 'cloud' is perhaps just a huge bag of soot.
Me - I use Linux as much as possible. This push for more 'online only' could create more migration to it. Perhaps Ashampoo should seriously consider porting some software to Linux. There are already competitor office suites in the repositories.
If offline accounts are removed by Microsoft that will be the last straw for me and I will go 100% Linux even if my one and only game hasn't been ported!
No. If Microsoft carry out the threats that you envisage I will switch to some other system. For years I have not let MS auto-update my system anyhow, as so many of their so-called "improvements" immediately wreck some aspect of my non-MS programs, desktop layout, bookmarks, legacy programs or whatever.
installed win 10 on my wifes desk top on the week end and noticed you have to enter your pass word for your microsoft account but had no idea why. Feel violated now but im pretty sure we turned off any privacy invasion settings. :)