Bitcoin Forum

I am looking to upgrade to a new computer with Windows 10 but i have head that Windows 10 has some privacy issues which can be security risks to bitcoin wallets on Windows 10 devices. What exactly are those issues and what risks do they pose to bitcoiners using Windows 10?

See for background:

http://bravenewcoin.com/news/using-bitcoin-on-windows-10/
http://www.secureworks.com/cyber-threat-intelligence/threats/cryptocurrency-stealing-malware-landscape/

Windows 10 is a privacy nightmare for users but the new operating system is no more inherently insecure for bitcoin that 7 or 8. You need to be aware that malware stealing bitcoin has become common. Using a passphrase is often no protection as the malware logs your keystrokes or monitors the clipboard. If you use a hardware wallet like Trezor to keep your private keys offline you can avoid the risks.

remain with windows 7 for bitcoin, maybe run it on a virtual machine or separated machine

you can also leave a small amount on your machine as a trap to now if it is secure, best method ever for me

Quoted from the privacy policy...


I fail to see how they will protect their users by invading their privacy. That is unless they mean to 'backup' the data for the user but if that is the case they should make use of encryption so that nobody at MS will be able to access such information. This statement from them comes across as very arrogant. Sounds just like the NSA and all the other 3 letter agencies... 'We do this for your protection...'

If you are using your pc for bitcoin I would suggest against windows 10

There are so many things that microsoft is storing on windows 10 at the moment, it's not worth the risk

Read my topic here :  https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1152619.0 (there is a part about Windows 10 users) and you should be fine.

Your private keys should never touch a networked computer. If you take that precaution you can use any OS you like.

Although they can access personal data and other content on your pc I highly doubt they would steal your bitcoin wallet, Im pretty sure they would only access the data if something happened and you were involved or had something to do with it.
I think OP had more concerns about the security breaches that windows 10 could have.

buy a Win7 PC ... simple.

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-Professional-Generation-Processor/dp/B015D956UQ/
http://www.amazon.com/Inspiron-Professional-i5-5200U-Processor-Bluetooth/dp/B0157VW72K/

http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Satellite-Professional-Processor-Multi-DVD/dp/B00YUZBAX2/
http://www.amazon.com/ThinkPad-E450-i5-5200U-Business-Computer/dp/B00V57VRX6/

http://www.amazon.com/15-6-inch-Business-Professional-i5-5200U-Bluetooth/dp/B016J3TW5K/
http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-NX-MG7AA-005-E1-771-6496-17-3-Inch/dp/B00I9HJU2A/
http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Notebook-NX-MHFAA-004-E1-572-6660-15-6-Inch/dp/B00KE7YZNW/

other complicate solution : install Ubuntu 64 bits UEFI compliant ... to erase Win10.

I prefer Win7 solution ... http://imagizer.imageshack.us/a/img905/2184/HfwQk4.gif

If you trust Microsoft and the US Government with your private keys then by all means use Windows 10. I use GNU/Linux and I must say that I trust the US Government way more than many on this forum.

As for staying with Windows 7, why keep fighting change? The direction that Microsoft is heading in has been very clear for a very long time. I moved to GNU/Linux back in 2006 since at the time I did not like the "vista" on the horizon.

I switched to GNU/linux back in 2009. The only problem for me arose when I bought an HP laptop. It has been a pain in the ass only to install Ubuntu due to UEFI restrictions. After I installed everything, wifi and video card would not work properly and I had to go back to win 8.1
I also tried manjaro linux (based on Arch) and opensuse but nothing changed.
Do you know any good laptop which are fully compatible with linux nowadays?

I consider windows as just a massive malware app. IMO, it's not safe to use for any online computing. But certainly not something to trust your money with.
Linux for the win!11!!  ;)

Yes, driver support is difficult for linux sometimes. Older Lenovos work very well in my experience. You can often get them cheap after a leasing contract. You might want to add a (new) SSD, some RAM and a new battery though.

Well by itself, without taking anything about bitcoins in consideration I have to say that windows 10 dissapointed me, it's not good, it has some bugs and problems that the other windows didnt have and it basically has nothing new.. also fuck cortana.

The first thing to understand about buying a laptop from a vendor such as HP is that there are basically two kinds of laptops. Those sold to consumers and students which are basically junk that is engineered to fail in about 6 months, and those sold to businesses that are quality products designed to last for a long time. It is important to realize that the same manufacturers are selling both the junk and the quality products. The simple way to tell them apart is that the consumer versions come with a glossy high glare screen and the "standard" "home" or "personal" versions of Windows while the business versions come with a matt anti glare screen and the "pro" or "business versions of Windows. So "HP Laptop" is meaningless depending on whether it is consumer or business it is either a piece of junk or a quality product.

The option for a GNU/Linux laptop are several depending on budget.

1) Purchase a Laptop that is designed from the ground up to run GNU/Linux

Here are some examples:

https://puri.sm/ (https://puri.sm/) This in an over subscribed crowd funding campaign for a Laptop designed for 100% Libre GNU/linux distributions. This by the way ensures it will work with virtually any modern GNU/linux distribution.

https://system76.com/ (https://system76.com/)

zareason.com/ (http://zareason.com/)

etc.

2) Purchase an older (Windows 7 era) business laptop, and upgrade the hard drive to large SSD and possibly also the RAM. Before buying check online if that particular model has any driver issues with GNU/Linux. One thing to keep in mind is that if it is two or there years old and there little or no hits on the fora then it is likely to have few if any problems. Also when it comes to drivers GNU/Linux is very good at supporting hardware typically after about 2 years so something that failed say in 2013 could very easily work fine today. I recently bought two HP 2760p EliteBooks from a government auction for well under 200 CAD each. After adding a 1 TB SSD each and upgrading the RAM on one to 16 GB and the other to 8 GB I have two quality laptops that will last me a long time.  One of them replaced an HP Evo 1000c with a Windows 2000 logo and 3.5in floppy drive that provided me with close to a decade of service. When I replaced it this summer it was running a full Bitcoin node using Trisquel GNU/linux. By the way UEFI should not be a problem if it is unlocked (Windows 8.x and earlier). Just go into the bios and unlock it. If it is a Windows 10 machine it may be locked. I suspect that most of the locked Windows 10 laptops will be sold to consumers as part of Microsoft and its partners ongoing junk for consumers program.

3) Buy a Chromebook and upgrade the hard drive. Chromebooks are good GNU/Linux computers except that they have ridiculously small hard drives. They have to be sold unlocked because Chrome OS contains GPLv3 code.

in before Microsoft steals millions of wallets worth half a billion dollars. Would not be that bad of a business plan. Big corporations do anything for money nowadays. Just look at VW corp, a bit of a childish move by them don't you think? however Microsoft days would be numbered if that surfaces. For now I would stick with windows 7. Just in case, always have your tinfoil hat ready.

One option for those who are running Windows 7 is to upgrade to GNU/Linux and then run windows 7 in a virtual machine using VirtualBox, using the existing Windows 7 license. https://www.virtualbox.org/ (https://www.virtualbox.org/). One can move the bulk of one's computing to GNU/Linux while keeping the virtualized Windows 7 for those situations where organizations require that people pay a license fee to Microsoft in order to across a product or service.

Dell inspiron is the best laptop compatible with Linux. HP is really bad as I have owned that laptop and it was the worst experience. It started giving me issues in just 3 months. Dell works the best.

Dell Inspiron is for Home and Home Office. I would not touch it with a 10 ft pole. With Dell I would look at a Latitude, Vostro etc. Stick to the Business products.

Edit 1: Which specific model of HP Laptop did you own?

Edit 2: I have had no problems at all with HP but I only buy their business products. I do agree some of their consumer stuff is complete junk.

it's not microsoft per se the problem, is the fact that one of their stupid and greedy employees, especially those that have problem in their RL(these people can do anything to save their ass) can in some way be aware about your private key if they are the one recording all that shit of cortina

once i read about the story of a guy, that noticed that in his credit card some funds were vanished, and he didn't know why, because he was using it only on legit site(only online) like amazon and company, then he begin to think about this possibility of bad employees...

Here is another horror story from a "Trusted" Microsoft partner directed at consumers. https://boingboing.net/2015/09/22/yet-another-pre-installed-spyw.html (https://boingboing.net/2015/09/22/yet-another-pre-installed-spyw.html) As if Superfish was not bad enough. We must keep in mind that Microsoft allows the use of its trademarked logo on these spyware riddled computers, as it the spyware and keyloggers in Windows 10 were not bad enough. So Microsoft is the the problem here.

Edit: The Superfish computers came with the Windows logo. http://arstechnica.com/security/2015/03/two-weeks-on-superfish-debacle-still-causing-pain-for-some-lenovo-customers/ (http://arstechnica.com/security/2015/03/two-weeks-on-superfish-debacle-still-causing-pain-for-some-lenovo-customers/)

If you have to use Windows the best is to stick with Windows 7. After XP, this is the only operating system that they have done right.

I have also heard all of the worst against the Windows 10 so I would stay away from it!

Hi guys, thanks for all of the help.

The problem I have is that I am looking for a new high end laptop for college and all of the ones I have been looking at come with Windows 10. Given that it looks like Windows 10 has all of those potential security risks due to their tracking, I think I will hold off on moving my wallet to it.

I don't want to install Windows 7 or Linux on the laptop since it can be a pain in the ass and I'm not sure how well linux would work in a school environment. Also, linux can't play some games that I want ;D

OmegaStarScream, I will check out that guide. Do you know if it actually prevents everything with privacy tracking in Windows 10 that could affect a Bitcoin wallet?

If you are a student you will probably be able to get free copies of Windows vista/7/8/10 through Microsoft Dreamspark. Ask your college if it's included in the Dreamspark program and if it will give you a Dreamspark account. If it's included you get most versions of Window for free, but if it's not included you might be able to sign up for a lower level of account directly through dreamspark which gives you most software apart from Windows.

https://www.dreamspark.com/

The only useful thing not provided by Dreamspark is a free copy of Microsoft Office. If offers most Microsoft software for free to students. Check out the link to find out what you can get.

I havent heard of any security vulnerabilities to windows 10, but of course there are. Are there actually any big ones that can affect Bitcoin? Would linux be safer? I switch between Bitcoin-qt and coinbase, so which one would be safer for me currently?

That's interesting. I don't really need to get free copies of windows though, I have a windows 7 install disk, I just don't want to install windows 7 on a new computer if I don't need to.

It isn't security vulnerabilities but rather all of the tracking that microsoft does which can potentially reveal sensitive information.

You should keep those two to seperate machines. No matter what you study, you will not need a high end machine. Buying a laptop for gaming is a waste of money. Mobile GPUs are very expensive and you have constant heat problems. Get a decent laptop for study/work and keep it clean of distractions. Get a desktop for gaming, its cheaper for the same amount of power.

Trust nothing and noone when dealing with your bitcoins.
Even tho you should be fine even with win10, because they're not interested in anyone's coins, being a part
of such a privacy violation is not recommended. imho, bitcoin and linux were always a far better option than trusting that massive privacy abusers from MS.

Of course they are not going to steal bitcoins all of the sudden, although the cia or something similar might want to access if your pc or you are related to shady business or activities on the internet.

I would get a GNU/Linux laptop and run Windows 10 in a Virtualbox VM. It is actually way easier to manage Windows in a VM than on the hardware itself. This puts Windows 10 in a sandbox where it belongs. If a professor insists on you accepting Microsoft's EULA as a condition of a higher education you then have the option of caving in.

Microsoft software is provided at very cheap prices or free to post secondary students in order to get them addicted at young age. When I went to university in the late 1970's the tobacco companies were promoting student events in order to get the students addicted. Some things actually do not change with time.

Agreed with second post. Stick with Windows 7 since it is reliable and working already.
Why switch to windows 10? It is the same thing just upgraded visual and means more problems technically in the long run.
It is just Windows 8 but without the widgets turned on by default  :D

I normally just use an online wallet so it doesn't really matter for me. I still have a software wallet and I am using windows 7. I like it as it is and I am not looking to changing seeing as the reviews of it are pretty bad. On windows 7 my Bitcoin wallet is very safe and I recommend you don't change.

I think that CIA was the one who forced their agenda onto Microsoft. I've even heard that facebook is on board. Most people who have used internet are just a button away for them. think about all the sensitive data you have.

I heard that win 10 sends all of your keypresses and clipboard info to their central servers along with other sensitive data just to "improve" their service. I don't know exactly how much data is being sent but it's kind of frightening to think how much power these big corporations have over us.

My friend who also uses bitcoins just recently upgraded to windows 10 and he hasn't got a problem with storing bitcoins in his Bitcoin wallet.

If you're concerned about this you can always store your coins in an exchange or an online wallet.

it isn't a problem per say yet. But windows logs your data, which may or may not contain bitcoin addresses. And never store your coins on an exchange, that's a bad tip. MtGox never forget. Online wallets are so so. They are mostly a central institutions who can just pack up their stuff and walk away with your coins. Few of them are legit but you should still be wary and do your research before you use any of them.

Exchanges or most online wallets are the least preferred ways to store your bitcoin. Coinbase does have a multisig vault that is OK. Hardware wallets like Ledger can now be had for less than $50, letting you access your bitcoin using an online wallet but keeping private keys securely offline.

what version of that windows 10?is enterprise or professional?

Every windows 10 smells in a bad way.

It is not so simple anymore. Microsoft added telemetry to older system as well. With windows update we now have in windows Vista, 7 and 8 the same spying tools windows 10 has.
So reverting to older system - unless it is windows XP with its discontinued support and old architecture is not so good idea. The only way is to delete these updates and block telemetry.

The day that happens - would probably signal the beginning of the end for MS. There is pretty much no chance that would ever happen - it would be committing commercial suicide. There is a difference from being insecure and just so happening to leave holes for the NSA to snoop into and actively making backdoors to steal money from people. While we already know about the former, little is being done - whereas in the latter case you can be sure there would be associated lawsuits and a far larger media presence which would actively hurt MS.

Well I would probably be studying some kind of engineering, and many of the tools used for that like AutoCAD require some serious CPU and GPU to run smoothly.

And if you suggest that I use the school's computers for that, I prefer to be able to do my work on my own computers too in case I don't have access to other machines that can do the work.

Oh. That's a good idea! If I get a laptop that can do hardware virtualization that might work really well!

Really !?!? That is a problem. I am currently using Windows 7. Guess I need to check the windows updates now and remove the ones that spy  :-[

Windows 10 has the same privacy issues than all windows versions, most people use it so the hackers will closely look at their security vulnerabilities and Microsoft can install and see everything you do and have if they want to.

Plus Windows 10 is a new OS, so there are plenty of vulnerabilities still to be discovered and people say it is crappy even for Microsoft standards(I never tested myself, though)

It doesn't really add any particular new features aswell. in my honest opinion, the receive by the public has been as bad as vistas launch was. They even said that windows 10 will be the final product in this line and they wont be making any more windows products. They'll just keep upgrading windows 10 into oblivion. Tbh they haven't really added any noticeable features that are game changing since xp. Mostly UI changes into a more modern style. That's just my two bits.

I think it is pretty safe and secure operating system.
It is enough not to behave stupid to avoid that kind of monitoring malwares.

Yes exactly, they could have, instead, upgraded windows 7 to something better because windows 10 not only comes with bugs and other problems but also has a pretty shit interface, in my opinion. It happens with a lot of things these days, like iphones, iphone 5 and 6 have almost nothing new. They just do it for the money.

I also have read about Windows 10 that there are some boxes you need to tick in the settings in order to not let some of your precious data leak into Microsoft's hands, but regarding Bitcoin, the risks aren't really related to only Windows 10. Every OS is being attacked with loads of virusses targeting your Bitcoins.

So that's why this "Get Windows 10" pop up always showing up, luckily I've changed to Windows 7.
Thx OP, this discussion just saved my Bitcoins. ;D

You could always disable it with some registry adjustments. But honestly, I found it a little annoying that they'd have the gall to put ads for themselves into their own products. I personally went back to Win 7 after I found Win 8 fustrating - and the upgrade to Win 10 was atrocious (don't like the UI at all). As to the privacy issue - they can be turned off with a bit of hassle - but once again it's rather frustrating to see them slip something in like that by default.

I will keep using Windows 7 for as long as Microsoft will support it with updates. They are trying to force people to install their software while we have not asked for a shitty pop up telling is to get a free copy of Windows 10.

Very good information, especially the last one about Chromebook. I supposed it was locked by default.
Thanks! So it begins my quest to go back to GNU/linux

All new windows from Windows 8 8.1 10 all of them have keyloggers, they can even see you from your webcam, get your voice etc, everything is going to be based on cloud, and also the last version (Windows 10) is impossible to disable updates in the regular way.

What do you mean? Keyloggers from microsoft? It's not impossible to disable updates by the way. Do you actually have any evidence of what you are saying here? As previously said they will be able to access your personal data if needed but I doubt they are spying your webcam right now.

Im staying well clear on windows 10 based on the tips from people on this forum. I'd honestly like to get back to windows 7 it went downhill from there.

I think the security concerns about Windows involve not only bitcoin but go far more beyond.

For me Linux is the only reasonable way to go in 99.99% of the cases.

And Tux is cute yes? : )

Use an offline live CD when accessing your Bitcoin wallet. There are both Windows and Linux live CDs that can access a wallet on a thumb drive. Sign a transaction in live CD mode and store it on a thumb drive. Afterwards use a regular operating system online to broadcast the transaction. Your Bitcoin wallet never needs to be used on an online system, and you don't have to keep a separate offline computer dedicated solely to Bitcoin wallet security.

There's a list of Windows based live CDs here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_live_CDs#Microsoft_Windows-based

And there's a list of Linux based live CDs here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_live_CDs#Linux_kernel-based

linux is the way to go. everyone should install linux on their system and get rid of windows.


i read that ms automatically downloads windows 10 setup files and forces to install.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2015/07/28/windows-10-automatic-download/

Windows 10 is a terribly bad idea to use if you are running Bitcoin, specially a Bitcoin node where you have people connect to you so they can benefit from your node. I think Linux is the best way to go for nodes and in general.

Virtualization is supported in processors at the hardware level if the processor supports the Intel (VT-x) or AMD (AMD-V) instruction set. Most processors released since 2006 do; however in many cases this has to be enabled in the bios. On older pre-2006 processors one can still do virtualization however it is slower. One modern processors using Intel (VT-x) or AMD (AMD-V) I find that both Windows XP and earlier, Windows 7 and Windows 10 work very well as guests on a GNU/Linux host. As for Windows 8.x this is one situation where I would upgrade to Windows 10 or downgrade to Windows 7. Also for Windows Vista I would also downgrade to Windows XP or upgrade to Windows 7 or 10. The key to make virtualization work is to have more than enough RAM memory for both the host and the guest (both regular RAM and emulated video RAM).

It's hard to trust anything that Microsoft puts out.  They've never hidden the fact that they mine for our information.  So, the question shouldn't be "are they collecting our information?" but more exhaustively,  "what are they doing with the information they've been collecting?"

Bwahahhahaa!!!

If you haven't figured it out by now:  don't use proprietary software ever again!!!!  Thank me later.  

Yes that means any of these handcuff systems like windows or mac that are designed to make computers unusable.  

Seriously, grace period is over.  Use a real general purpose computer -- today.  

I am using Windows 8.1 pro version Its very much safe in that, for this security reasons what we have to further dude. Is it any option to make security in windows 10 because I am thinking to update my PC. If you have idea means please share to me

Well there is PRISM https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_%28surveillance_program%29 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_%28surveillance_program%29) http://www.idownloadblog.com/2013/06/06/new-leaked-presentation-nsa/ (http://www.idownloadblog.com/2013/06/06/new-leaked-presentation-nsa/), but the real motivation is to sell this information to marketers so that they can target ads. An "advertising ID" was started with Windows 8.x. One must also keep in mind that one's "buying habits" can be used to identify a person's ethnic origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, sexual identity etc. The lessons of history tell us that the latter information have on more than one occasion placed people at risk of becoming the victims of genocide or ethnic cleansing.

Edit: One of Bitcoin's advantages is that when used properly it provides way less info about a person for data mining than credit card or debit card payments.

What can they steal, if you manage the risk properly? Keep the majority of your coins offline and only keep a small amount in a Trezor where they will not be able to get at it.

The other alternative, would be to buy a second computer with GNU/Linux and to use that for Bitcoin related stuff.

I have a old computer for just that purpose around, and it works like a charm. When I transfer coins to cold storage, I use that computer. I bought a dual drive docking station,

with offline cloning and I cloned the OS drive. When I feel like it, I just do a full clone and I start with a fresh install from a cloned image. Not 100% secure, but close to it.

I know the agencies hide some stuff in the firmware, so it's not the ideal solution... but it works for me, for now.  ::)

it's better to load up a virtual machine than spending money on a second computer, there is no way to have the access to the VM, unless they have admin control or something in windows 10

so run the client inside this vm and you're done , or simply remain with windows 7, there is no need to switch even to windows 8 let alone 10...the problem might arise if they cut the support of win 7...

So basically write a new machine code based operating system from scratch.  Thanks, real helpful.

OP just buy a Trezor and your problem is solved. Then you don't need to care is it Windows 10, 7 or even 95! :) Your coins will be safe!

i read that ms automatically downloads windows 10 setup files and forces to install.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2015/07/28/windows-10-automatic-download/
[/quote]
No, that is not the case anymore. In older systems like win 7 and 8 you will now have just an icon of the windows update which if clicked will upgrade your OS to win 10.
Windows doesn't download any installation files on its own anymore AFIK. And you can get rid of that pesky WIN10 updater if you remove certain Update from your Windows Update Center.

If you are not in full-on panic mode you haven't been fully informed.

Running these prop OS after you signed the eula gives the franchise the right to your hard drive.
You may own the hardware, but the data is theirs. All of it. Including your bitcoin if your wallet is there.

Live with that.

Update on win 8.1
every month with new updates, windows restores win 10 update without asking me (of course). I hide the update all the but it keeps coming.

They look really desperate to me. Win 10 you'll never have me  ;)

The option of storing your bitcoins in offline wallets it's obviously very safe but not so good for people that want to trade or use bitcoins for other investments, unless you are planning a super long term investment there is no way anyone would store bitcoins in offline wallets because it's a pain in the ass to use them afterwards.

Can i run windows 10 on my apple macbook somehow?

Why you will need this dvd size virus on your hardware?

Ah ah ah ... mac computer is crap (hardware part).
And have proprietary bios (UEFI re-flashed to recognize only mac folder boot uefi files on disk).

The worse thing about Win 10 is that no more new operating suites will follow it, its just updates and upgrades.
I am using Win7 and each time I need security fixes, they still want me to have the win 10 compatibility update for upgrading.

I refuse of course.

And this one (info) Remove Lenovo USB Blocker version 1.0.0.37 to avoid a system crash.

After you install this security update on certain Lenovo-based computers, you receive the following error message on a blue screen.

Why is even offered? Lenovo based computer I do not have.

I think it's pretty clear where things are going. Microsoft knows Bitcoin will be huge and worldwide in the future, so how can they keep controlling Bitcoin? By selling Windows 10 services to the NSA and legally allowing them to spy everyone. Let's just hope people stop using it eventually.

For the love of God, please, switch to Linux!

Linux Mint is a good distribution for ex-windows users.

Build a Linux computer for cheap, save hundreds of dollars, that would otherwise go to these corrupt corporations.

example: build a pc here...
http://www.linuxmint.com/store_computers.php

Running GNU/Linux in a VM as the guest with Windows as the host will not help. A keylogger in the host will easily capture what is being typed into the guest. Furthermore Microsoft retains a higher level of administrative control than they grant the "administrator" accounts. This is required for the DRM in Windows to work since the end user is not trusted, and has been the case especially since Windows Vista.

Edit: A good rule is that if the OS supports DRM at the OS level then there is no privacy at all for the end user. A computer cannot have two masters.

Your friend is google, and that is right windows 10 has keylogger which monitors what do you do, what do you write and all other things that i mentioned in the above post.

Linux is better. My bitcoin server collapse totally, when i went to home at work: booting all over again.
Windows 10... I have plan for gameserver to my apartment, when i get payed job  :)

As for windows, I think best policy is to never update to a new version until you lose funcionality with the one you have.

I would advice to remain in windows 7, just as many other fellow posters. ::)

You can use windows 10 and put your wallet on there if you want

Just don't connect it to the internet is the safest way

I would recommend with sticking to Windows 8 before upgrading to Windows 10.

If you are worrying about security risks, and know that there is security risks - then don't make the jump. Don't put yourself in a situation where something may happen. Stick with Windows 8.

It is always wise to wait a bit with any update. I always do specially with something as influential as operating system. Leave it half year, so they get enough feedback and make it as it should be done.

and then how you are supposed to spend your bitcoin? using a whole computer as a back up or cold storage it's a waste of money, there are usb for that...

I will continue using my windows 7 as long as possible.I no need to switch over to w10.
Until lately I was running another netbook with windows xp.But now without any new drivers and lack of security I switched here to win7 as well.

Yeah but the problem is if you work in the audiovisual industry.

All windows programs are simply superior... there isn't really any Sony Vegas substitute for linux unfortunately, same goes for Pro-Tools, so in that case you are stuck with Windows, no other way out.

Why don't you google yourself, is google available in your browser? "does windows 10 has keylogger" http://www.zdnet.com/article/does-windows-10-really-include-a-keylogger-spoiler-no/ etc etc

I heard somewhere that Microsoft uses data from windows 10 and sells it onto other people. There was also a large bug found on the insider program regarding upgrades, three days before the official release of Windows 10. Windows 7 still seems to remain the best Windows operating system according to polls that have been carried out.

What is called when someone collects your data, keyboard, camera and microphone? Is it called keylogger right?

Isn't that the most basic type of virus that someone an create, most people probably think of this when they think about computer viruses. This means that Microsoft have basically encorperated a virus into their system, No wonder it is free for a year, gets everyone to hurry to upgrade and allows microsoft to et more information!

You should understand and research yourself and wonder why is it free? This is what i read for many months now and this fact is unfortunately true :(

use zemana for this, it hides your keystroke, it will be harder for the keylogger if it is not a super keylogger or whatever, to identify your typing

Not a bad software, i heard about it and what i read are all good opinions, but the problem here is that people should not need to use it....

Security risks with using Windows 10, all of them IMHO, after i read all i had read about his last windows i'm really considering to going 100% linux when they stop releasing updates for my current window version.

well i was talking about the free version of zemana, it's already powerful enough for what you need, so why not use it? i think it has saved my ass a few times

What is the website for that service? I don't want to click on the wrong link on a google search an end up with a keylogger! Also, I have NIS installed (norton internet security) will that stop zemana from running and quarenteen it until I remember that it needs to be brought back!

it's 100% legit, i'm running it since years and my coins are safe

https://www.zemana.com/

I am glad to see so many of you suggest transition to Linux.

For those of you whom still consider it - just jump into the void and enjoy your trip.
All of a sudden you will become the one in charge - the master of your system.

I personally did this 10 years ago never regret it since and feel happy every time I think about it.

http://linuxundich.de/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/tux_bitcoin.png

I vouch for Zemana as well. I have been using it for years and even their free version of the keylogger is working very well and offers great protection!

Very nice! I'm definitely gonna check zemana out.

Does it prevent windows 10 from logging your activities? Seems kind of impossible.

Bwahahahahaa!!!!!  

lmao, you guys are killing me, stop stop !

throw some more pwnage on top of your stack of actively used exploits on a box that was never yours, you'll be fine really!  
don't worry, my closed source blob for you to execute will keep your bitcoins safe, look here's a picture of a woman!  

Look, I don't care anyways. I just tell you what I use. And I think it can add another layer of protection to the average users out there. My coins are all in the cold storage anyways, paper wallets and Trezor. And Trezor, I have tested it several times on computers loaded with malware. Never had a single problem.

That being said, you don't need to care for any of our coins!

@OP,
If you ain't so sure about what you are going to use and what will be the issues you might face regarding the security of your PC, I would say that just stick with what you already have... Windows 7 & 8 are the best till date for Bitcoins I guess...

Also, I don't think that there's any Anti-Virus All-Rounder Protector which could protect the OS of your PC to just steal your info and sell it anyway to other companies...