"The mutation path", "the fully lab-validated line. Other accepted builds warn.", "Status can still inspect", "command, verdict, exit code", "device-identity rehydrate sources", "the network gate", "real-shaped PUID"?
WTF.
That was extremely difficult to read. I'm assuming it's LLMese (I've had less trouble with reading the writing of ESL'ers), but one of the strangest dialects of it I've ever seen. It has the flavour of article-spun SEO spam and those shady fake research papers with "tortured phrases". What causes this obfuscated writing style?
Yup. It's the most frustrating thing in the world, because in my experience it works (claude's claudglish-infused code that is, I can't vouch for TFA). So I brave through it to achieve whatever it is I'm working on.
What's the intersection between the GDID schizos and those who believe Microsoft should be forced to collect your child's birth date and provide it to any app or site that asks for it?
Windows has a hardcoded list of Microsoft domain names that entirely bypass the hosts file. I see nothing about this, so I would assume there is no countermeasure here. Curiously, this approach appears to have been tested as working anyway.
Is there anyone maintaining a canonical list of such domains and hosts? This would be useful to add as firewall rules on a router upstream of any windows hosts, or to a pihole.
Run say a linux firewall vm with PCI nic passthrough and give the host windows machine a virtio-pci/TAP interface as its network access is one countermeasure off the top of my head I can think of.
Fun story, when my ex and I split a few years ago, I wiped all connections of my Microsoft account to the machine I built him.
Last week, when I logged into my Microsoft account, I had an extra machine with a funny name. Checking some logs, sure enough that was the hostname he gave that machine. Realized what had happened, refreshed the page, and it was gone.
The URL parameter for these devices in the Microsoft Account page is the GDID. So the Microsoft Account page showed me a GDID of a device I unlinked ~4 years ago. (And I'm slightly obsessive, I check on my Google/Microsoft account every other month.) Gooood job Microsoft.
while it'd be nice for your paranoia to believe this id key is used for surveillance, it's more likely they just use the same type of finger printing that browsers use.
There's zero way to onion.route your internet connection information, unless you plan to go nowhere and do nothing.
Sure, it's worth to highlight privacy-potential-invasions, but the idea that you'll some how escape notice by changing the gdid is short sighted navel gazing.
You might've missed this recent story where the FBI was able to identify an alleged teenage member of the Scattered Spider hacking group using the Microsoft GDID, and made an arrest:
Sharing in the hope it helps even one person on the fence to convert.
C. 2012 I swore never to use Windows again, and I've managed it! It is possible - macOS is really good (you'll have to unlearn your muscle memory of the Ctrl key) and Linux gaming has come a long way.
If using Windows professionally, consider installing it in a VM on your mac or linux box, then asking your agent to set up scripts that remote to to it (eg. via ssh) and do the required tasks (builds, headless test-runs etc) - remotely.
Offtopic for the GDID thing; but couldn't be more on topic if you think the market shouldn't tolerate GDIDs and such things.
> you'll have to unlearn your muscle memory of the Ctrl key
There is another option, which is to use Karabiner to revert to PC-like shortcuts. Learning the mac way is probably better if you plan to use mac exclusively, but I was triple-wielding macos+windows+linux for a period and I wanted my muscle memory to work across all of them.
"The mutation path", "the fully lab-validated line. Other accepted builds warn.", "Status can still inspect", "command, verdict, exit code", "device-identity rehydrate sources", "the network gate", "real-shaped PUID"?
WTF.
That was extremely difficult to read. I'm assuming it's LLMese (I've had less trouble with reading the writing of ESL'ers), but one of the strangest dialects of it I've ever seen. It has the flavour of article-spun SEO spam and those shady fake research papers with "tortured phrases". What causes this obfuscated writing style?
I like to call this style of writing "advanced technical claudish"
> What causes this obfuscated writing style?
Claude without an editor having worked too long on its own project.
Yup. It's the most frustrating thing in the world, because in my experience it works (claude's claudglish-infused code that is, I can't vouch for TFA). So I brave through it to achieve whatever it is I'm working on.
"real-shaped PUID" seems like usage of "real-shaped" outside of normal disciplines, but probably accurate enough
Wouldn't it make more sense to instead use the same GDID on thousands of hosts?
Or a random GDID on each read?
No GDID sounds like it sticks out a lot more.
Trying to make windows work differently than what Microsoft wants is a losing proposition.
It would make more sense just not use windows to begin with.
Or recreate it on very boot :)
For example, it you are paranoid about Linux's /var/lib/dbus/machine-id file you can easily use dbus-uuidgen(1) to re-create it on shutdown.
What's the intersection between the GDID schizos and those who believe Microsoft should be forced to collect your child's birth date and provide it to any app or site that asks for it?
<Gov AI> this user keeps hitting our instances with no GDID, better look into it.
Windows has a hardcoded list of Microsoft domain names that entirely bypass the hosts file. I see nothing about this, so I would assume there is no countermeasure here. Curiously, this approach appears to have been tested as working anyway.
Adguard Home running on a Raspberry Pi. Point your router at it for DNS, works like a charm.
Two years now, and it consistently blocks 48% to 54% of all the trash, including _all_ Microsoft domains.
Is there anyone maintaining a canonical list of such domains and hosts? This would be useful to add as firewall rules on a router upstream of any windows hosts, or to a pihole.
Run say a linux firewall vm with PCI nic passthrough and give the host windows machine a virtio-pci/TAP interface as its network access is one countermeasure off the top of my head I can think of.
Agreed, running it inside a vm is how you would treat any other malware. Why pci passtrough instead of a regular virtio network driver though?
This is slop (derogatory)
It's missing quite a few things. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for claude
Fun story, when my ex and I split a few years ago, I wiped all connections of my Microsoft account to the machine I built him.
Last week, when I logged into my Microsoft account, I had an extra machine with a funny name. Checking some logs, sure enough that was the hostname he gave that machine. Realized what had happened, refreshed the page, and it was gone.
The URL parameter for these devices in the Microsoft Account page is the GDID. So the Microsoft Account page showed me a GDID of a device I unlinked ~4 years ago. (And I'm slightly obsessive, I check on my Google/Microsoft account every other month.) Gooood job Microsoft.
while it'd be nice for your paranoia to believe this id key is used for surveillance, it's more likely they just use the same type of finger printing that browsers use.
There's zero way to onion.route your internet connection information, unless you plan to go nowhere and do nothing.
Sure, it's worth to highlight privacy-potential-invasions, but the idea that you'll some how escape notice by changing the gdid is short sighted navel gazing.
There is literally court documents showing this was used by surveilling in at least one case. How that is paranoia
Could you share more context and details?
You might've missed this recent story where the FBI was able to identify an alleged teenage member of the Scattered Spider hacking group using the Microsoft GDID, and made an arrest:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48815196
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48920338
https://www.ghacks.net/2026/07/12/microsoft-confirms-windows...
https://www.windowslatest.com/2026/07/10/you-cant-fully-disa...
Sharing in the hope it helps even one person on the fence to convert.
C. 2012 I swore never to use Windows again, and I've managed it! It is possible - macOS is really good (you'll have to unlearn your muscle memory of the Ctrl key) and Linux gaming has come a long way.
If using Windows professionally, consider installing it in a VM on your mac or linux box, then asking your agent to set up scripts that remote to to it (eg. via ssh) and do the required tasks (builds, headless test-runs etc) - remotely.
Offtopic for the GDID thing; but couldn't be more on topic if you think the market shouldn't tolerate GDIDs and such things.
> you'll have to unlearn your muscle memory of the Ctrl key
There is another option, which is to use Karabiner to revert to PC-like shortcuts. Learning the mac way is probably better if you plan to use mac exclusively, but I was triple-wielding macos+windows+linux for a period and I wanted my muscle memory to work across all of them.