Microsoft made a change in Windows 8.1 to send themselves EVERYTHING you search for through BING...
 
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/search-apps-files-settings
 
This link says how to turn it off.
 
I was a little PO'd that I can't search my PC for ANYTHING without Microsoft knowing about it.
 
How does it make you feel?

They're just trying to keep up with Google.
 
But enough about Big Brother, do you have the larger picture that your online avatar was created from???  It looks amazing!
 

You don't have to use Bing, but I don't think it really makes any difference which browser you use to be honest. Firefox has lots of "privacy" add-ons, but I don't doubt for a minute that the information they prevent from going to certain people, still just goes somewhere else, just like with "security" software that checks websites you visit "for your peotection". Paranoia is the only healthy state of mind when using the www.

paulo
Paranoia is the only healthy state of mind when using the www.

Or any other subdomain.

So it's not search in the browser I'm complaining about. I'm talking about when I hit Start and type Sonar to open X2 or X3 the info goes to Bing.
 
Craig, I got my photo from LoremPixel... This is a random site used by developers who do code demos including graphics. It's kinda fun. You can put the type of image and size you want in the URL and it will give you back a photo of the size and subject you specify...
 
http://lorempixel.com/400/400/sports/
http://lorempixel.com/400/400/abstract/
http://lorempixel.com/400/400/city/
http://lorempixel.com/400/400/people/
http://lorempixel.com/400/400/transport/
http://lorempixel.com/400/400/animals/
http://lorempixel.com/400/400/food/
http://lorempixel.com/400/400/nature/
http://lorempixel.com/400/400/business/
http://lorempixel.com/400/400/nightlife/
http://lorempixel.com/400/400/cats/
http://lorempixel.com/400/400/fashion/
http://lorempixel.com/400/400/technics/
 
Originally, I thought it would be fun if the image changed every time you refreshed the page, but the forum site requires you to hard link to an image. You can't link to a path.
 

gswitz
So it's not search in the browser I'm complaining about. I'm talking about when I hit Start and type Sonar to open X2 or X3 the info goes to Bing.

Ok, sorry I misunderstood, I also loathe any violation of privacy, but seeing that it is a given that any move made on the www is monitored by someone, I'm not sure what benefit Bing will get from knowing that I looked on my own pc for the 1247th remix of my soon to be worldwide smash hit ? It's a bit like my email - if anyone really wants to take the time to read and analyse the crap that goes through there, then good luck to them - even I can't be bothered to read most of it.

I sent Bing a copy of the FSF.  That should bog down their servers and analysts for awhile.

I like this refreshing image... it gets swapped out at the server so that the link stays the same while the image seems to update: