I don’t know if this is the right sub or even forum in general but as soon as my laptop came (ordered online, not as anonymous as I could have been) I installed qubes—didn’t sign into anything on windows, not even agreeing to send diagnostics, and received an email asking for my feedback on “[insert laptop model here] with Linux”
Checked my order and the OS was windows, no option for Linux. I don’t need to hide anything but I like just the idea of privacy but this really bugged me. How does a company like lenovo track an OS post-installation? I also never even connected to the internet till after qubes was installed. Overall just curious and kind of weirded out. Anyone have any info on this?
About Lenovo, i’m don’t have any info on this but because you completed the installation of windows, microsoft might know you was install windows after you connect to internet
since you said that, there might some hardware id on that laptop
Complete guess, but if windows was never started, and you installed qubes immediately, then maybe they got no tracking information back from you and assumed that if they get no tracking information then you must be running linux?
The plausibility of that would depend on how long from when you received the laptop till you got the email.
I can see this making sense, I do think it’s just odd that they are pushing so hard for feedback and specifically mentioned Linux.
Who knows, maybe since they’re assuming (or know) I’m using Linux they might value my feedback over the ‘regular’ consumers that just keep the windows cause it might give some more insight on a smaller pool(?)
Even so, I don’t know how plausible this assumption is because I could have theoretically just never signed into any of my accounts on windows (this is what I did prior to installing qubes) and just made offline accounts (turned off all diagnostic settings and stuff) and continued to use windows but would they just have assumed I installed Linux?
Regardless, very odd. Would it be bad to just contact them and see what they have to say? Is there also a way to check for things like HWID or any type of trackers?
You should have pulled that hard drive, wiped it and then do the install of your qubes. Or just pull the hard drive and install a fresh new one hard drive and used that factory hard drive for a external storage usb. I have heard that newer laptops have so kind if embedding software in chipsets but i can’t confrim that.
@ppc If i remember correctly, when i had my lenovo laptop i could not just buy a aftet market hard drive as they have some kind of key ring that only allows you to use there hard drivers. So you would have to purchase there equipment ( kind of like Dell with their power supplies and memory). Which or what chipset is responsible for this i don’t know. It also had something to do with the software installed on this hard drive. But there was a way around this (i can’t remember) as it was awhile ago.
As for the embedded software in chipsets it is more of a manufacture thing not just intel/AMD. I know that Windows does embed there OS in chipsets with newer Dells. So thats why you really don’t see OS DVD’s issued with some systems anymore as it’s all save/embedded and the image is pulled from there as well as the license key for that OS and you get that manufacture DVD’s with the tools to actually pull that image for things like (repair, factory reset…etc). Again there are ways around such things just tajes time,research but it can be done to “Root,remove”. Just like newer Andriod devices. I think goolge start it on v8.0 oreo and there sneaky little asses try this technique callef (FARP…which means “Factory Account Reset Protection”). But it was overcome.
Again it all depends on manufactures what they will let endusers upgrade freely.
This is where a lot of people get lost. Android is open source BUT Google has it’s own version of it. Which they pay for the advancement of there version of Android. And it is very hard to try to change Android versions on google devices thst use there version next to open source. Believe me i know from “rooting” Actually killed a few tablets trying it.
Well to answer everything.
Nothing new there with big tech. Look at Mac which took i believe unix and change it for there own version of it.
As for “rooting”. Well those of use who can do it already know what we “gain” or “lose” and in almost all cases, once rooted, we just wipe clean and build our own “custom”. So it really doesn’t matter to us.
In the quest for knowledge and full control of our equipment we bought. We understand and are well prepaired for the losts we have.
But then again “nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
The Windows note came from BIOS. The original OS was always Windows. Lenovo did not think any other way. Mostly it is a note of some kind. I have a Notebook which has a Windows Boot something in BIOS/EFI, which I change EFI/BIOS setting to start Linux.
Realize also that Lenovo has stored the Windows Activation Code in the BIOS/EFI. Not sure if EFI refers to say, my Lenovo X230.
I don’t think Lenovo was checking up on what you are doing. Just their world is based on M$ Windows.
but only windows or linux