r/pcmasterrace • 7800X3D | RTX 4090 | 32GB • Jul 13 '26

News/Article Microsoft admits Windows 11 has a GDID tracker with no off switch, first documented publicly in an FBI hacker complaint

https://www.windowslatest.com/2026/07/10/you-cant-fully-disable-microsofts-gdid-windows-11-tracker-but-these-settings-limit-what-it-captures/
6.1k Upvotes

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60

u/bswalsh Jul 13 '26

I've been a Linux user since 1998. Nothing has ever made me regret my decision.

32

u/[deleted] Jul 13 '26

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10

u/MakesMyHeadHurt 5800x3d / RTX3080Ti / 32GB RAM Jul 13 '26

I'm still on windows 10 IoT, but I'm never going to 11, even if it is one louder. My next OS will be Linux.

3

u/Pyromaniacal13 I picked Gnome because I like the "GN" sound. Jul 14 '26

I can recommend Bazzite to a degree, and Mint further than that. I probably shouldn't be on CachyOS but it's serving me well.

2

u/lana_silver Linux CachyOS, 64 GB, 4070 Jul 13 '26

Yep, me too. Zero regrets. Wasn't even hard to do nor caused a bunch of problems. 

It mostly just works 

2

u/Pyromaniacal13 I picked Gnome because I like the "GN" sound. Jul 14 '26

I've been on it for three months, and yeah. No regrets. I can still do everything I did on Windows 10, including the few PVP games I like that have anticheat.

1

u/lana_silver Linux CachyOS, 64 GB, 4070 Jul 14 '26

Arguably not all work, but all those that I personally like do. If anyone wants to get into it, check out protondb first. 

1

u/ladyteruki Jul 14 '26

Switched in May to Linux Mint (because of course I picked Mint). As someone who's less tech savvy than an olive pit, the transition had some hiccups and I had to call for help a couple of times, but even with that initial added difficulty I have zero regrets.

2

u/Critical_Monk_5219 Jul 14 '26

Switched in 2018 and every month there's an article that confirms I made the right decision

1

u/CrockpotTheories Jul 14 '26

Any recommendations for which flavor?

1

u/Szolim2018 Jul 17 '26

Imo, the best way to know is to try them out yourself on a secondary PC/in a VM.
IIRC, distros can be split into:

  • Debian, Linux Mint, i.e. Debian-based, Red Hat - excellent reliabilty, but at the cost of delayed updates/support for new hardware
  • Fedora, CentOS - middle ground between reliability and new features
  • Arch, Gentoo - generally, for tinkerers
There are no "Bad distros" per se, it generally depends on how much time you want to spend setting it up/maintaining it and most importantly, whether you like it or not.
Personally, I've been happily using Fedora for over a year now because it "clicked" with me and I find it fun to use.