Intrusive gathering of information and hacker sites

[jpmollic6859]

I have a Microsoft Surface and I like it very much. I prefer by far, products offered by Microsoft. I hated Google because it was too intrusive and was reading my email contents. I thought Microsoft was different. However I found recently that Microsoft was as bad as Google.

Yesterday I bought a ticket online to a show. When it came time to pay, Microsoft inserted automatically my credit card number and expiration date. How did they get this information. I had not authorize Microsoft to store my credit card information!

A couple of days ago I used Microsoft Edge to find some information. On the left side of my screen Microsoft displayed news. I clicked on the news that Spielberg believed that extraterrestrials were from this Earth from the future. Immediately I got a red warning message saying that my Surface had been infected and that my PC would be locked if I don't pay a ransom! Is Microsoft not verifying the content of these news broadcasts before posting them on line. I am disgusted. I removed Microsoft Edge and regrettably I am now using the second worst web browser: Google Chrome. 

Given that these large corporations cannot offer safe products to users, governments should make laws that prevent them from giving and selling the personal information they collect. They should also allow people to sue these corporations in case of diffamation or harm caused by the information or applications including hacking their platform carry.

I don't have much hope for the future of our species. Men do not die; they kill themselves! This is exactly what we are doing right now. We live in very a sad era. 

[#2]

Let me start with the payment issue in the Microsoft Edge, you have control over your privacy so if you open Microsoft Edge and navigate to edge://settings/payments, you could remove your credit card details and instruct not collect those data. When this feature is enable it simplify your experience that instead of entering data, it retrieve from browser, but you have control and you may remove or disable this feature.

For the second issue, you may navigate to edge://settings/privacy and look for Microsoft Defender SmartScreen filter and make sure it is on. Microsoft Edge detect and block such contents using different mechanism and algorithm but in case it is missed it, you may always report such contents to Report an unsafe site - Microsoft Security Intelligence.

[#3]

@Reza_Ameri 

Thank you very much for your useful reply. I already had all my Windows 11 security features on, including Defender. That's perhaps why, my PC had not been harmed, even tough my whole screen flashed red with a text in large font stating that it had been infected. 

Do you think we need an antivrus like Norton with Windows 11?

Thank you for your reply.

Jean-Pierre

[#4]

No, Microsoft Defender is sufficient, are you able to use your PC?
From what you explained, I believe it was a website in full screen and not a real infection. The website fool users to download something and if you did, Microsoft Defender most likely would block it and also block the website. However, you may manually report such a website.

[#5]

@Reza_Ameri 

Thank you Reza. I do not remember whether it appeared from a website or on my PC. It requested that I not turn my PC off. However I immediately shut it off. When I restarted it, everything was fine.

Thank you very much Reza for your answers. They are very useful. It is very much appreciated.

Jean-Pierre 

[#6]

Hi, @jpmollic6859 

Thank you for this example you wrote in the post:

"A couple of days ago I used Microsoft Edge to find some information. On the left side of my screen Microsoft displayed news. I clicked on the news that Spielberg believed that extraterrestrials were from this Earth from the future. Immediately I got a red warning message saying that my Surface had been infected and that my PC would be locked if I don't pay a ransom! Is Microsoft not verifying the content "

Why do you think it was Microsoft that released this component that caused nothing but false information!

A real hack really doesn't look like that, of course I understand your concerns, but pop-ups can show anything and only your continued clicking can be dangerous so I still recommend Edge as a safe browser

Filling in payment data as an automatic entry is common and secure - of course this can be disabled.

[#7]

What I am saying is that Microsoft Edge allowed that hacking event to occur. It should be designed not only to block hacking events but also to prevent them from appearing on the PC display. The only viable approach in my opinion to motivate the providers of Internet browsing services and social network services to provide safe products is to allow the public and corporations to sue them for the harm caused by malicious actors that used these services to commit their crimes.

[#8]

@jpmollic6859 

Unfortunately, such logic is impossible to demonstrate -> because the user and Microsoft are aggrieved - I hope you understand that? 

I wonder how long you have been using the Internet?

"What I am saying is that Microsoft Edge allowed that hacking event to occur. "

It wasn't a hacking event - I think, your computer is working fine!

Since you refer to the principles of law - as a user you have a duty to notify the relevant institutions (according to the location of your computer), of course the competent services - > will probably ask you to hand over the device for verification as evidence of a crime, maybe your computer already has infected software installed and this caused your problem?

[#9]

Welcome and glad it was helpful.
Sometimes it is a website and normally website itself couldn't harm you unless if you download or run anything from the website. There is Microsoft SmartScreen filter which detect and remove these websites but sometimes it missed them , however there are ongoing progress and improvements and SmartScreen filter gets smarter and block more untrusted websites.