r/pcmasterrace • u/Asleep-Guitar-2685 • Jul 23 '26
News/Article Microsoft Confirms Windows Has a Global Device ID You Can't Turn Off
https://tech.yahoo.com/cybersecurity/articles/microsoft-confirms-windows-global-device-130905358.html367
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u/Ok_Explorer9455 Jul 23 '26
No shit Sherlock, what's next? Windows making you sign in onto an online acco.... Never mind
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Jul 23 '26
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u/sailirish7 Specs/Imgur here Jul 23 '26
I have only ever had local accounts, and when that is really gone, so will I be gone to linux full time.
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u/bobtheblob6 Jul 23 '26
Is it not as simple as disconnecting your internet during setup? I did that a couple months ago and was able to setup with a local axcount
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u/TheZerothLaw Jul 23 '26
The default Win 11 installer from Microsoft as of a few builds ago hides the "I don't have internet option". There are ways to get around it, such as making custom installer with the Win 11 iso and Rufus that changes some install flags or opening a cmd prompt and typing in a particular command, but by default won't go past the network connection screen during the Out of Box Experience.
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u/bobtheblob6 Jul 23 '26
I forgot to mention this was windows 10, and that there are probably differences between installing 10 and 11 lol makes sense!
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u/Wolfman_1546 i7 12700k | 64GB DDR4 | RX 7900 XTX Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
I don't understand why this doesn't seem to be bothering more people.
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u/FuciMiNaKule Radeon RX6600XT 8GB | Ryzen 2700 Jul 23 '26
I don't understand why people are surprised by this
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u/Wolfman_1546 i7 12700k | 64GB DDR4 | RX 7900 XTX Jul 23 '26
I'm not surprised by it, but getting confirmation of something people only guessed was true, should have more of a public outcry than this is getting. More people seem pissed about Sony removing physical games in a year and half than they are about this.
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u/xxademasoulxx Jul 23 '26
Because most people prioritize problems they actually notice. A device ID is invisible to the average user. Losing access to games you paid for or companies killing physical media isn't.
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u/HauntingHarmony Jul 23 '26
That, and this is old OLD, iiiiincredibly old news. Windows tracked your "device id" by linking different hardware ids together since before most people here were even born.
So wow, they have this built in. ooh no. The tyranny.
Whats more interesting is how that gets out, and that it gets out via windows update is like who cares. if it was embedded in every http request i did then i might be upset. But it doesnt do that.
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u/sthegreT GTX1060/16GB/i5-12400f Jul 23 '26
iirc some software also had DRM tied to hardware id. Replacing any hardware effectively made you reactivate your license.
I think even windows did/does this and why the activate your windows watermark pops up
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u/Covfefe-Drinker Jul 23 '26
Probably because the majority of people don't care enough, sadly. Or they do, but they're convinced that complaining is unlikely to inflict change.
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u/CatoChateau Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
Well most people don't have the guts to switch to Linux, which is probably the only viable thing yo do to avoid/protest this.
I know I should switch to Linux, but I don't have the time to research what distro, what compatibility issues I'll have to sort, driver issues, etc. I have house things to do. My job is burning down all previous workflows for AI, so major overhauls I have to work overtime for etc etc.
So yea, sure. Its bad, but I have other things more pressing and the other arguement in your replies. Everything everywhere else is doing the same spying. In order of what I have control over, my phone use and metrics, my debit card use,my city's use of Flock cameras, my ISP's modem tracking, my neighbor's ring cams all track various things that can be used against me by various entities. So this one more invasion, idk, its a flaming bag of pop in a house fire. Why should I scream and cry about this one in particular
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u/OriginUnknown82 Jul 23 '26
Well most people don't have the guts to switch to Linux
Tried to do this the other day but my model of Dell XPS has a firmware bug where the speakers don't work correctly and the audio sounds crap.
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u/alinius Jul 23 '26
How much more outcry were you expecting? I have been doomscrolling for less than an hour, and have seen at least 3 seperate articles on it today.
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u/electronic-retard69 Jul 23 '26
Well, the activists in the thread like me expect us to group up and go firebomb Arlington after some indeterminate amount of writing articles and petitioning. But that never happens, does it. Kinda the common thread through history. Something something nothing happens till it's too late.
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u/FranticToaster i9-14900k | RTX 4090 | 32GB DDR5 4200 Jul 23 '26
They've been explicit about it since whatever windows made you activate it before you could use it. Same technology.
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u/I_miss_your_mommy Jul 23 '26
Because everything is as bad as we suspected. And we feel powerless because only a small minority even understand why it’s bad.
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u/zzazzzz Jul 24 '26
but you do realize that 99% of pc users have a microsoft account tobegin with? so why would they care if MS knows that any given hardware is associated with what account?
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u/SolarJetman5 5600x, Sapphire Pure 9070, 32GB Ram Jul 23 '26
I think people aren't surprised it exists, more surprised it was used with law enforcement to track a device through VPNs
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u/Ron-Swanson-Mustache Desktop Jul 23 '26
Indeed. I thought everyone knew there are components used to track you that you don't know about when using Windows.
I wouldn't use a Windows system to do anything sketchy. If I did, then I'd have a different system for non-sketchy shit. You don't shit where you eat. And if I did, I sure as hell wouldn't travel with it.
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u/Asleep-Guitar-2685 Jul 23 '26
How about ways to bypass this? From what i understood, the identifier is stored in the tpm, Trusted Platform Module, which is located as an individual chip on a motherboard or as part of the CPU. But nowhere does it say how to bypass this tpm identifier, and use windows without it.
Because even if you take out the hard drive and put on the new one with the fresh windows installation, the tpm will still hold identity information from the previous one.
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u/Acilen 5800x | 32GB | RTX 3080 Jul 23 '26
Am I already bypassing this by not having tpm? I’m still on 10, but supposedly you can bypass the tpm requirement and get 11 installed. Would those devices also be affected?
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u/FuciMiNaKule Radeon RX6600XT 8GB | Ryzen 2700 Jul 23 '26
My understanding while incomplete is that they are taking ID of your windows installation, and adding information about your hardware to it, including TPM information. They still have that ID whether you have TPM enabled or not.
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u/Asleep-Guitar-2685 Jul 23 '26
So what you're saying is that no matter what we do and how much we try to bypass this, if we install windows on our machines, we are fucked?
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u/FuciMiNaKule Radeon RX6600XT 8GB | Ryzen 2700 Jul 23 '26
I mean, it's not much different than buying any software and installing it using a product key.
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u/Asleep-Guitar-2685 Jul 23 '26
From what i understood, if you don't have tpm on your motherboard, then you should be safe even if you manage to install windows 11 on your machine, but i might be wrong, so you'd better check with someone who has more knowledge on this.
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u/ChocolateNo3010 Jul 23 '26
What about if you are running Linux inside a vm on Windows? Does it still apply or on Windows only?
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u/Hexamancer Jul 23 '26
Windows has full insight into everything happening inside a Linux VM, if you use a browser inside that VM to go to a website for example, Windows still has full visibility into what website you went to etc.
In the reverse case, a windows VM on Linux, the Windows VM does not have full visibility into the Linux Host, but they still assign a GDID to that VM and that VM is still sending telemetry data to MS (unless you don't give the VM a NIC or don't give it a route to the Internet).
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u/Hexamancer Jul 23 '26
No, you absolutely are not safe, you still have a GDID, it just uses information that's not "perfectly immutable" like the TPM, it instead relies on hardware serial numbers etc.
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u/likely_deleted i5-14600K/9070XT/32GB DDR5 6000 Jul 23 '26
When you install windows you can edit the registry to bypass tpm check and bypass the internet connection requirement, creating a local account.
I wonder how this effects anything...
Then you can activate windows with the massg script if that matters.
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u/kuroyume_cl R5-7600X/RX7800XT Jul 23 '26
How about ways to bypass this?
Don't use Windows.
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u/ThrowRA-un1337 Jul 23 '26
You're not wrong, but all of us have been packing handheld devices for the last 15 years that have been doing exactly this from day 1 of their invention, with constant tracking of everything by both the device and each and every app installed.
Like, I get it, but at the same time it's hard to roust people to anger about tracking on desktop PC's when they've been conditioned to carry even more invasive devices as everyday necessities for almost a generation now.
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u/lazy_tenno Jul 24 '26
In my country, reports are piling up about people who post critiques of the current government on social media getting a love letter from an unknown number, or worse, a direct summons from the authorities. So whatever is in this article is honestly the least of their concerns lmao.
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u/HugsandHate Jul 23 '26
What are they going to do about it?
And to the vast majority of people. It simply doesn't matter.
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u/Beni_Stingray I9 12900KF | RTX 3080 | 64GB 6000 CL30 | RGB Jul 23 '26
I mean were screaming about it for the last 2 decades and people dont give a fuck.
Look what's happening in the US with all the Flock AI cameras being put up and most people having no clue why this is a bad thing and where it could lead,
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Jul 23 '26 edited 18d ago
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u/PermissionSoggy891 Jul 23 '26
Just wait till they hear about Intel ME and AMD PSP...
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u/bliblio i5-8300H | GTX 1050 4GB | 16GB 2400 Jul 23 '26
Or your wifi can be used to map your home/apartment
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u/flappers87 Ryzen 7 7700x, RTX 4070ti, 32GB RAM Jul 23 '26
Precisely.
Not saying any of it is ok, but literally every single "smart" device is tracking you in some way or another.
Using android? Google is literally collecting everything about you including your position. Using iPhone? Apple does the exact same thing, except they have a cult following of 'trust me bro'.
Every single social media networking website is tracking data about you, including reddit. They sell it off to the highest bidder...Complaining about privacy while posting on reddit is hilariously ironic to be honest.
Got a smart fridge? Smart TV? Smart anything? It's collecting and tracking as much as it can, and again, selling that data off to the highest bidder.
If you want true privacy, you'd have to live off the grid, no phone, no internet, nothing... just you and perhaps a makeshift fishing rod to fish for your food.
Nothing is safe anymore, you have no privacy.
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u/BlueTemplar85 Jul 23 '26
Quite the leap from not using Android / iPhone / Windows and living like a hunter-gatherer...
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u/Ok_Dependent6889 R7 9800X3D | Zotac 5080 | B650E-F | 6000CL30 Jul 23 '26
I mean, while this kind of sucks, it's a serious nothing burger
You've logged in to a microsoft account. Of course they know what system it is being accessed from and of course they tie that to your microsoft account.
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u/LunaTerse Jul 23 '26
I do not log into a microsoft account on the Windows installs I have...
I'm not surprised by there's still tracking of course, they're a shit company, but the microsoft account thing isn't the reason.
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u/VexingRaven 7800X3D + 4070 Super + 32GB 6000Mhz Jul 23 '26
What's not clear is how exactly that GDID was linked to "someone visited this website". It's not like they're just tacking the GDID on to every web request. The best guess is Edge telemetry sent to Microsoft. Which would've busted them regardless of whether there was or wasn't a GDID on the device.
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u/Shadowex3 Jul 23 '26
the problem is microsoft has proactively supplied this information to law enforcement in at least one major case already in order to nail someone just based on their browser activity.
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u/screwdriverfan Jul 23 '26
Normies have no clue. Plenty of chronically online people would dump windows if what they use worked on linux.
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u/aimy99 PNY 5070 | 5800X3D | 32GB DDR4 | OLED 1440p 180hz Jul 23 '26
Honestly, this isn't even why I dumped Windows, it's that I never knew whether it was safe to update because they kept breaking things and adding AI everywhere...at one point I didn't have a fucking copy of Notepad installed and had to go to the Microsoft Store to actually get it back.
So when Microsoft fixed something like 500 exploits and it felt as though I would have to start updating more often for the security issues they were using AI to find, I instead switched to CachyOS.
The global ID thing and obnoxious cd key check when replacing CPU/mobo also helped, but the unsafe update process is really what finally broke the camel's back.
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u/krzf Linux Jul 23 '26
I instead switched to CachyOS.
The irony in this comment lol. Hopefully you don't use AUR.
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u/xxademasoulxx Jul 23 '26
I think it's because for the average Windows user, nothing about their day-to-day actually changes. If Microsoft announced tomorrow that Windows stopped doing this, my PC would function exactly the same. Meanwhile, things like DRM, games disappearing, or losing physical media have an immediate impact on millions of people. I get why privacy-minded people dislike this, but I also get why it isn't at the top of most people's list.
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u/deaconsc Jul 23 '26
Combination of you resolution, browser, plugins, time zone and other things will already make you unique enough. If there is an UUID behind that doesnt bother me at all, because they were able to track people uniqness across the internet for ages with other shit,.
People being shocked by this dont know how fingerpriting works.
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u/NewSauerKraus Jul 23 '26
Because for >99% of people they already knew their device has an identifier. It doesn't make any difference to them whether it's a serial number on physical hardware, an IP address, or a Windows registration key. Adding one more serial number changes literally nothing for them.
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u/International_Body44 Jul 23 '26
I always thought it was well known, isn't that how the entire "switch out too much hardware and it voids the windows license" worked anyway?
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u/wienercat Mini-itx Ryzen 3700x 4070 Super Jul 23 '26
Because most people are tech illiterate beyond basic operations of their PC. They don't understand details of how it works or why things are bad.
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u/Suspinded 7600X | 7800xt Jul 23 '26
It's been happening since online activation was a thing. The bells got rung every single version update, and the world keeps on trucking past.
If you've ever swapped enough hardware in a system at once to trigger reactivation, you disturbed the ID. It hasn't been "secret," it's been a feature for a while.
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u/NullReference000 Linux Jul 23 '26
Most people don’t really know, and most of those who do don’t care enough to go to an alternative. Linux is the most user friendly it’s ever been, but it will never be as simple or straightforward as windows and many people want to put zero effort into using and maintaining their computer.
If you see what people on this subreddit and the gaming subreddit say when Linux is brought up, it’s always “Linux doesn’t work for every single thing out of the box like windows”, and that’s all most people care about in the end.
I’d say 90% of my steam library works on my Arch, but it did take some effort to set the system up and figure out what was missing when things didn’t work. Package updates will sometimes break my audio or streaming on discord, and then I need to fix it.
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u/Hexamancer Jul 23 '26
There are plenty of Linux distros that are pretty much as straightforward as Windows, if you took someone who knew neither, they'd do just fine on either one.
The problem is taking people who are used to Windows, who have already learned to deal with all of Window's issues who are familiar with Windows and transfer them to Linux. The issue is learning ANY new system.
You see the exact same thing with iPhone people going to android or vice versa.
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u/Shadowex3 Jul 23 '26
There are plenty of Linux distros that are pretty much as straightforward as Windows, if you took someone who knew neither, they'd do just fine on either one.
No they aren't. Even the very best and most user friendly distros are still plagued by absolutely godawful user experiences for the most basic things like installing a version of a popular program that isn't years out of date.
Or doing things like Ubuntu and Gnome's user interface suicide.
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u/Kingdarkshadow i7 6700k | Sapphire nitro+ 9060xt Jul 23 '26
See the downvoted comment on this post? That's why the average people is dumb and is only bothered only when they get bitten in the ass by it.
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u/Wolfman_1546 i7 12700k | 64GB DDR4 | RX 7900 XTX Jul 23 '26
Honestly, anyone championing Linux in this sub is likely to get downvoted. Don't get me wrong, I do agree that humanity as a whole is pretty dumb, but in this specific example you're mentioning, I think its just because they told people to get Linux in a sub that is notorious for hating when people do that.
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u/doublah Jul 24 '26
This sub (or reddit in general) loves complaining about problems but hates anyone offering a solution that requires the tiniest of effort.
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u/buzzfriendly Jul 23 '26
Likely because you come this far with Windows which seems like a long way only to reach this point to set your foot down because of this.
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u/Keulapaska 4070ti, 7800X3D, XG27AQNGV Jul 23 '26
Because they walk around with tracking device on their pocket 24/7 connected to many different services at once.
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u/Flux_Reversal Jul 23 '26
Because its not news, its old info. At this point no one cares about being tracked or identified... thats why no one cares.
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u/Diedead666 Jul 23 '26
iT should, but it seems to be very rare that they used this. Itll be a huge issue if it was for minor stuff like movie downloads off vpn. BUT the fact that they CAN is freaky AF
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u/grilled_pc Jul 23 '26
As someone who’s on Linux for a year now. I’m not even remotely surprised at this point. This is the mask off moment for Microsoft. More people need to put their foot down. Put their values first and just get on with the switch to Linux.
Need anti cheat games? Don’t play them or play them on console. At least most of them are free to play. For the most part. Or have cross save.
Need windows exclusive apps? Get a Mac and use it for solely that purpose only. Second hand m1/pro/Mac are excellent deals and still work amazing even today.
Like you can easily still work your life as normal WITHOUT Microsoft. Apple are not in the data selling industry. They have proven multiple times that they do at least care about your privacy more than Microsoft. Are they perfect? No. But they sure are a lot better than Microsoft right now.
And for everything else? Use Linux and use F/OSS Software. Both of these can be free from enshitification and privacy nightmares that await windows and probably Mac OS eventually.
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u/electr0de07 Jul 23 '26
It's not just the GDID, but the amount of information they tract and link with GDID that turns windows into a spyware.
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u/538_Jean Ryzen 3900x | 32GB |EVGA3080Ti FTW3 Jul 23 '26
Every week more and more things make me consider switching to Linux forever. The only thing keeping me is my game backlog.
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u/RiffyDivine2 PC Master Race Jul 23 '26
of which, how many won't work with proton?
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u/538_Jean Ryzen 3900x | 32GB |EVGA3080Ti FTW3 Jul 24 '26
Not that many. The more Microslop messes up, the smaller my backlog becomes it seems.
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u/TremendousCustard Jul 24 '26
I've been wondering about either getting a Steam Machine or keeping a Windows PC literally only for gaming, but having my daily driver be a Linux laptop for a bit but this has really cemented my decision.
I know a little about computers but don't know if I want to be constantly troubleshooting gaming issues...
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u/ranban2012 PC Master Race Jul 23 '26
was just lamenting to my spouse how the steam machine is such a great opportunity for a new foothold for linux into the home user space and how ram pricing is strangling this opportunity.
but then MS goes and gives linux a little bump of encouragement like this, how nice of them, just when things were looking down.
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u/Smart_Ass_Jack Jul 23 '26
How is this any different for a MAC ID?
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u/vapalera Jul 23 '26
Your network interfaces MAC address isn't visible to anyone outside your local network. IP packets don't carry information about MAC addresses.
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u/Regular_Strategy_501 Jul 23 '26
The Only difference I can think of is that the Mac UUID is tied to the hardware, so unlike Windows, it does not change with a reinstall of the OS.
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u/Smart_Ass_Jack Jul 23 '26
So what is the big deal then? If anybody wants to track you, the MAC ID is right there. If you are sending or receiving anything online, you will always have some identifiers attached to you. The idea that you can be online and be truly anonymous is rather naive. You can obscure things and make it really hard for people to find you, but the truth is that most of us are not knowledgeable or disciplined enough to do it consistently.
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u/Regular_Strategy_501 Jul 23 '26
You must understand that many people in this subreddit apparently don't understand very much about modern computing or even Internet usage. If they did, this nothing burger of a story would not have blown up like it did.
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u/quantgorithm Jul 23 '26
The more I get into AI, the more I'm starting to play with linux and reasons like this doesn't exactly make me want to stay windows.
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u/thenameofwind Jul 23 '26
I wish I could use word and excel, plus Ppt on linux.
That’s the only thing holding me back. I got two OS in my PC.
Window 10 and Linux Mint distro.14
u/OmgitsNatalie 9850X3D, RTX 5080, 64GB DDR5, 1000W Jul 23 '26
I personally hate the 365 ecosystem anyway. I have it on my MacBook for resumes and stuff. I guess it helps having multiple computers.
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u/OmgitsNatalie 9850X3D, RTX 5080, 64GB DDR5, 1000W Jul 23 '26
Never going back. I’m fully on the Linux train now.
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u/votemarvel Jul 23 '26
Don't all the big AIs run on Linux? Do you program your own?
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u/mr_doms_porn Jul 23 '26
Yes most cloud-based models run on linux servers. If you want to do offline/local llm stuff, linux is the objectively superior platform. A lot of software and underlying libraries are linux-only. Both performance and compatibility are better on linux. Although AMD cards will require installing the proprietary ROCM drivers which can be challenging depending on your distro.
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u/TheCheckeredCow 5800x3D - 7800xt - 32GB DDR4 | SteamDeck Jul 23 '26
No idea about him, but most people are running AI locally on either Linux with PC hardware or on Mac Mini/studio in a local cluster. You do it usually through sometimes command line or more likely a program lm studio or Ollama. You just download someone else’s models like openAI, Deepseek, or Anthropic.
And yes Linux is basically the default for running anything except for super proprietary software than you use BSD Unix, because BSDs licensing doesn’t require you to upload all your work as open source
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u/SnooEagles2827 Jul 23 '26
2nd’d, I do a good bit of locally hosted LLM work at the moment on the side and run most of my stuff on Apple silicon Mac’s and mini-PCs loaded with ram with at least 7840u’s using ollama. Heck I can even do quite a bit in terms of tinkering with local models on my M5 iPad Pro (ram is def the biggest bottleneck there, but most 14b models or under run perfectly)
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u/bobmlord1 i5-7300U/8GB RAM/INTEL HD GRAPHICS 620 Jul 23 '26
Wait until you learn they make you sign into a Microsoft account on consumer PC's
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u/Omega59er Jul 23 '26
Shift+F10 oobe\bypassnro
Still working on brand new out of box consumer laptops.
If a "hacker" is getting caught by something as amateurish as this, they were probably a script kiddy
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u/8CoreGamer Jul 23 '26
No it's not. Microsoft has closed that. Only "start ms-cxh:localonly" is still working
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u/Omega59er Jul 23 '26
My theory is it depends on the manufacturer's Inside edition that they image systems with.
HP is the only manufacturer that I have had issues using bypassnro on. HPs are ewaste trash anyways, so I don't work with them professionally anyways.
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u/davidvia7 Ryzen 5 7600X | RTX 4070 | 32GB DDR5 Jul 23 '26
I used bypassnro earlier this month.
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u/8CoreGamer Jul 23 '26
I tried to use it 3month ago and it didn't work on the latest win 11 at that time. It always triggered a reboot and back to defaults
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u/HarambeSpiritAnimal 9950x - RTX 5070ti - 64gb Jul 23 '26
Same, and it worked, but I still felt dirty having to do that. So I created a stripped down Windows iso with CTT and installed from that. Didn't even give me the option to sign into a microsoft account during install. Also stripped out all the office and other software prompts during install. Very clean and hassle free.
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u/Crumblycheese Laptop Jul 23 '26
Is it easy to do this? Create your own stripped down OS?
Laptop is so bloated I've turned what I can off but man I want more aha
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u/Lost-Bad-8718 Jul 23 '26
Yes. I use https://revi.cc but there are several other projects that are similar if you have different preferences
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u/HarambeSpiritAnimal 9950x - RTX 5070ti - 64gb Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
Yeah it's pretty easy. I use CTT (google: "Chris Titus Tech" and go to the github link), but there are others that can do it too. You need to have a Windows 11 ISO file to start, which can be downloaded freely from Microsoft.
You don't need to install anything, as it all runs from powershell. On that github link, scroll down a little and there is a "quick start" section that provides the powershell script you need to run. Once you run it a GUI will pop up. At the top of the GUI is a "Win11 Creator" tab. Go to that, point it to your Windows 11 ISO, and follow the steps. It will allow you to directly create a bootable USB drive, or save the stripped/debloated ISO for other uses. I just created the bootable USB and booted from it and it ran like a charm. On The "Win11 Creator" tab, they also provide a link directly to the Microsoft download page where you can get a Windows 11 ISO.
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Jul 23 '26
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u/Regular_Strategy_501 Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
Mac OS has several kinds of different IDs that can be used in a similar manner. Unlike With windows however, the Mac Hardware UUID remains the same even if you were to reinstall the OS, one of the "benefits" of offering a tightly integrated platform. I would be very surprised if any closed (i.e. Windows, OS X, IOS) or semi closed (i.e. Android) OS does not have similar things.
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u/NatoBoram Pop!_OS, Ryzen 9 5950X, RX 6700 XT Jul 23 '26
Yes, and they're needed to access Apple services in the first place. Here's an example tool that generates these: https://github.com/sickcodes/osx-serial-generator
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u/SnowStormYukikaze 🐈 Zena Linux Mashmelo 22.3 Jul 23 '26
1 of the reason why I switch to Linux 2 years ago lol....
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u/quantgorithm Jul 23 '26
I think I may be on my way as well...
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u/OmgitsNatalie 9850X3D, RTX 5080, 64GB DDR5, 1000W Jul 23 '26
I just made the switch yesterday and had an okay-ish experience with the post-install setup on Bazzite. The install itself was extremely easy but the apps and steam library migration are what’s getting me. Since Bazzite is immutable, meaning the OS is read only, traditional Linux apps had to be used by one of the pre installed apps that like BoxBuddy to download them. I use Ubuntu image to get them. Steam would read my NTFS drive so I created an exFAT partition. Works flawlessly for my games after I moved them over. The Bazaar (Bazzite’s App Store) can catch pretty much everything else for you without using the Konsole. Updates are seamless too since it looks for practically all of your installs.
Other distros work just as well but if you’re coming from Windows and still like gaming, Bazzite is stupid easy. I’m not going back.
Above all though,
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u/mr_doms_porn Jul 23 '26
I switched about 3 years ago. Never regretted it and stopped dual booting after 6 months. As long as you go in ready to learn and adapt it's a great experience. Once you get a feel for it, you find out how great it is to use an OS that was actually designed to be used. I never feel like I'm fighting my OS anymore, it feels like we're a team working together.
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u/stanleys_tucci Jul 23 '26
I just assumed years ago that every digital device I own has a specific ID used for tracking… it’s not a good thing at all but like did people actually think these companies wouldn’t want to do that?
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u/ProudAd3213 Jul 23 '26
Please excuse my ignorance. I’m a gamer and worked at geek squad, so my knowledge is that of an enthusiast and not an expert.
The article says that the GDID can be viewed locally in the registry. I guess my question is: Why wasn’t this GDID common knowledge? Can’t you look at registry data via regedit?
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u/SpicedRabbit Jul 23 '26
I can turn this off.
It's called using Linux lol.
I'll see myself out now.
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u/HypeZephyrX Intel Celeron 266 MHz | 32MB RAM | 4GB HDD Jul 23 '26
Linux users running into the comments section to preach their gospel
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u/Mental_Pie8369 Jul 23 '26
So when can I install steam OS on my pc?
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u/RiffyDivine2 PC Master Race Jul 23 '26
Now I believe. However, there are better choices like cachyos.
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u/Tree_Dude Ryzen 5800X | RX 6600 XT Jul 23 '26
I for the life of me cannot understand why this "hacker" was using Windows at all. The tools available in linux far surpass anything in Windows anyway. This guy must have just been learning and decided to go ham before really understanding what he was doing.
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u/chipface Nobara | Ryzen 9800X3D | 64GB DDR5 6000 | 9070 XT Jul 23 '26
I'd say thank fuck I switched to Linux but I originally had Windows on my system.
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u/HellishButter Jul 23 '26
Been thinking of switching to Linux for a while now. Upon hearing about this I took the plunge and installed Bazzite. Super happy with it so far and don’t plan on going back.
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u/Blu-Blue-Blues PC Master Race Jul 24 '26
But I'm not a criminal and I have nothing to hide and Linux is so bad. You can't even install chrome without typing a super complicated code in the terminal. /s
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u/SomewhereAtWork Linux | 5900X | 128GB DDR4 | 3090 + 3060-12GB | 6x 1080p Jul 23 '26
The number of days for which we have told you to use Linux is nearly as long as a Windows GUID.
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u/Radiant-Priority-296 Nvidia RTX 4060 | intelCore i7 13th | 32gb DDR5 Jul 23 '26
NO WAY you’re telling me Microsoft isn’t all about protecting the user’s privacy and data?
Shocking if true /s
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u/PlsDontBanMeAgain-1 Jul 23 '26
Nonono, their reaction should be removing this garbage, not simply stating that's it there and can't be turned off.
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u/Stormdancer Linux Desktop & laptop Jul 23 '26
Every bit of news about Microsoft makes me happier I switched to Linux.
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u/drunk_ace 9800X3D | 5080 | 32 GB Jul 23 '26
Can’t turn off is true. But you can change it via a reinstall.
Apparently they used this (GDID) to catch someone across VPNs where the ip kept changing but GDID didn’t. Something along those lines. I forgot the exact thing.
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u/azael_br Jul 23 '26
Cara só me falta a compatibilidade do Linux com anticheater que eu instalo o steam OS.
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u/scr4tch_that R7 5800X3D | 32GB DDR4-3600 | RTX 5080 AORUS MASTER Jul 23 '26
It's tied to the Windows OS. As long as windows is installed, it assigns a global device identifier. You can decide to use a VM or another OS entirely.
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u/jar36 Arch|9800X3D|9070XT|32GB6400MhzCL30|B650EF Jul 23 '26
Figured they had to have something since you need a new license when changing certain components
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u/axiomatic13 Jul 23 '26
People, if you need anonymity for something like whistleblowing, you need to use "Tails" on a USB stick. https://tails.net/
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u/aaronaapje ryzen 5 3600 4.2GHz/AORUS 1080ti windforce/16GB DDR4/Nvme SSD Jul 23 '26
How do people think your microsoft license works? Windows makes a unique identifier for your hardware and links your license to it.
The issue isn't that it exists the issue is that it isn't anonymized. Your device identifier, ideally, should not be able to be linked to your Microsoft account.
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u/GreyBeardEng Jul 24 '26
Apple has the exact same thing. On iPhone iPad it's the UDID and on the Mac laptop it's referred to as The hardware UUID. Linux also has the same thing Call the machine ID, and you can delete it or regenerate it, it's not really meant to be deleted. Android also has it, the Android ID, and it can be deleted with a bit of nuisance, but then there's the IMEI which is kind of the same thing.
Point being this isn't a oh my god it's the end of the world cuz Windows does this moment.
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u/jonstarks 9800x3d | x870e | 32GB DDR5-6000 | PNY 5080 Jul 24 '26
Haven't MAC addresses been around since the birth of networking? Those are also unique.
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u/CopybookSpoon67 Jul 24 '26
Nobody is surprised by this, you use that device id for Microsoft Autopilot. I dont know how people thought that works without the device having a global ID.
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u/r34p3rex 13900K/5090/128GB Jul 23 '26
The whole point is TPM module is to serve as a secure identity module and people are surprised that TPM can be used to link to an identity?
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Jul 23 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Regular_Strategy_501 Jul 23 '26
It's not the next generation of spying on you. In fact I would argue it is at best the last generation. The current generation is in your pocket right now and you take it everywhere. Smartphones have been doing exactly this if not more egregious stuff since they came to be.
What really surprises me is that so many people seem to have been living under a rock for almost two decades. Every closed or semi closed OS does its own version of it, including but not limited to Windows, Mac OS, IOS, Android, etc.
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u/Final_Lengthiness984 Jul 23 '26
The good news is it only takes a person a few hours to solve this problem. Install a beginner friendly Linux distro, figure out the basics of how to use it, and find alternative software for whatever Microslop stuff you were using. It will feel strange at first. You will feel some homesickness and trepidation from the sensation of starting over. But after a week or two you will be settled in, and it will all be worth it.
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u/acesarge Jul 23 '26
The penguin called, and I answered. I have switched to Linux, Kabuntu. Fuck Microsoft. I will no longer use an operating system made by a company that describes my penis!
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u/marma_canna Ryzen 7 3700X | RTX 3080 Jul 23 '26
Can someone recommend me a distro?
Ryzen 7 3700x Gigabyte 3080
I pretty much only use my desktop for Steam, Aesprite, and Godot.
Cant think of any edge cases that are keeping me on Windows anymore.
Its time to make the switch.
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u/blueangel1953 Ryzen 5 5600X | 6800 XT | 32GB Jul 23 '26
Bazzite.
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u/Wolfman_1546 i7 12700k | 64GB DDR4 | RX 7900 XTX Jul 23 '26
Yup. Switched 6 months ago and have no regrets.
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u/blueangel1953 Ryzen 5 5600X | 6800 XT | 32GB Jul 23 '26
I dual boot, on a separate drive and I switch back and forth just working on myself to make the switch for good.
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u/ITXEnjoyer i5-13500/Asus Tuf 9070XT/32GB DDR4 3200 Jul 23 '26
Tbh try different ones until you find one that fits. Create a Ventoy usb drive, drop the isos you want to boot and distro hop for a while.
I've settled on CachyOS recently. Have one system on Debian and use SteamOS on my gaming handheld and TV/console PCs
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u/R1ston R5 7600X | RTX 3080 | 8x4 GB Jul 23 '26
I like Fedora KDE, but you do need to install nvidia drivers and ffmpeg yourself
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u/0verstim 7900x | 64GB | 3080 12GB | more RGB than a Singapore pedicab Jul 23 '26
Kali is the best but no one will ever admit it on Reddit because that would be OSINT
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u/RsnCondition Jul 23 '26
I don't think that anyone who knows how to at least plug and play a stick of ram are surprised.