It’s a very divisive topic when it’s worth allowing data collection and when it should be deleted by all means. Why are you willing to pay with your data?
Information is money and power: by now (hopefully) the vast majority of users have learned that. Because nothing on the internet is free, although you can read the news, watch videos, and listen to music – even then, you’re paying with your data so you don’t have to use traditional payment methods. The companies use and sell the information collected about you, which in turn gives them tangible financial benefits. It is not enough.
In recent years, data collection has taken on frighteningly large proportions. Today, not only Facebook, your mobile operating system, Windows or even Google collect data about you and your actions, but almost everything: games, user programs, almost every website, your smart devices at home and if you have a more modern car, of course it is. .
They are anonymity
During most data collection – and let us strictly adhere to ethical, monitored and secure services – information is obtained about you that is not clearly personally identifiable. For example, most programs (mobile applications or computer programs) are interested in your device type, system version, display resolution, orientation, the country you are currently in, links you have clicked in their programs or on their website, possibly some device settings, a list of peripherals, and sometimes with the names of other installed programs. This information is also very useful from an advertising point of view, for example, and you think it can not be determined individually with this.
Yes, but suppose someone buys this data and then finds a company that collects other types of data about users: data that also cannot identify the exact user, but is linked to this other database, they already know exactly who or when you go where you go, what Do, how often do you take your mobile phone out of your pocket and what exactly do you do with it.
This is really scary, no wonder so many people start browsing each website clicking (or clicking) more, but they disable all cookies, disable data collection in the operating system, and block whatever would do that on the given device. However, according to a popular camp, this is not the right behavior.
When is it best for you to help with your data
In connection with the recently released driver for Intel graphics controllers, a fierce debate arose among users. It so happened that the installer for the new Intel Graphics Driver #4577 defaults to installing the Computing optimization program lonliness, that is, CIP. This sounds very suspicious, but in reality it is nothing more than a data collector running in the background on Windows. Thanks to this, Intel has almost all hardware information about your computer, computer usage habits, average battery charge, how much RAM and storage space you use, and even a list of your other smart devices on the local network (eg. Smart TV, broadcast device), it also detects what type of websites you visit (ie not the actual address, but just the topic rating of the page).
The argument of the proponents is as follows: by helping Intel (and other hardware and software manufacturers) with this data, you can also get a better user experience, since finding the source of the error and preparing a fix can be more efficient with the information, i.e. in the end result More stable, better, faster, etc. You will have a product.
The Intel CIP initiative is not even new. AMD, Nvidia, and even Google, Microsoft, and Apple also work with these data collection modules, and here, too, a variety of data is transmitted to the manufacturer from users. However, with Intel and some other companies, there is a particular problem that this module is activated by default, and additional steps are required to excuse yourself from this. A counterexample is the AMD installer, a separate step warns that if you don’t accept the share, your user experience will remain the same as that of those accessing the data service.
Which camp do you belong to?
So it is not easy to answer the question: Are you willing to share your data if it does not cause you harm, and there is a chance that if many of you think alike, the particular product or service will be more stable, faster, safer in short better?
In my opinion, you shouldn’t get upset with Intel CIP, as far as the stated goal is concerned. On the other hand, it is difficult to install this module by default on all computers with an Intel GPU (the graphics chip integrated into the CPU is also powered). I only got angry when I read what exactly Intel collects: and here I found several things that I think are excessive (network device list, visited site category list). Result: You’ve clicked more and completely disabled CIP.
Do you allow companies to collect this type of data, or are you doing everything you can to prevent and eliminate it?