Category Archives: secrecy

Privacy, secrecy, Security, sysadmin, Win10, Windows

Disabling Windows Services When Access is Denied

First of all, to disable all the other Xbox services: right-click Start, click Run, enter ‘services.msc’—backup the list before making changes by right-clicking at the top left ‘Services (Local)’ -> ‘Export List’.

Now find all the services involving Xbox, right-click each one and do the following:

  • General tab: change Startup type to ‘Disabled’

  • Recovery tab: change all three conditions to ‘Take no action’

Feel free, with caution, to do this for any other unwanted app eg., wallet, maps, fax/printer, cloud and/or updating services for Razer/Adobe/Skype

Now to get around Denied Access to Xbox Game Monitoring. Do the following. Right-click Start, click Run, type ‘regedit’. Always backup registry before making changes.

  • Locate: Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\xbgm

  • Change Start REG_DWORD—-> (by right-clicking Start ‘change binary’) then change the first 03 to 04 —-> the value will update from 0x00000003 (3) to 0x00000004 (4)

The service is now disabled. You can Restart your computer. Also if you want, you can now delete/rename the dll file located at C:\Windows\System32\xbgmsvc.dll

If you get an error that you need permission from the owner to make changes, then google how to transfer ownership of the System32 folder. I’d highly suggest backing up the System32 folder before altering any of the files.

After every Windows update check and re-disable the above along with the other Windows Gaming settings. Updates are highly likely to undo these changes.

 

Originally from the reddit article in:

How do I disable "Xbox Game Monitor" Service?
byu/ReadFoo inWindows10

Android, fraud, iOS, malware, mobile phone service, Privacy, secrecy, Security, Software, surveillance

Some apps were listening to you through the smartphone’s mic to track your TV viewing, says report

There may be a reason why that ol’ “Facebook is listening to you talk” conspiracy theory refuses to die – and not just because Facebook’s ad technology has..

Source: Some apps were listening to you through the smartphone’s mic to track your TV viewing, says report

europe, Law & Disorder, leaks, secrecy, ttip, USA

Politicians can only view secret trade pact in special viewing room

The fact that most people have still never heard of the world’s biggest trade deal—the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the US and Europe—even after two years of negotiations, might suggest that whatever its problems, maintaining secrecy is not one of them. But the European Commission begs to differ: since the end of July, instead of sending up-to-the-minute summaries of its talks with the US to EU politicians, the Commission now requires that national politicians travel all the way to Brussels to a special reading room where the texts can be viewed under tight security. MEPs must also use this same system.

The EC made this rather drastic move in response to confidential TTIP documents appearing on the non-profit investigative news site Correct!v. News of this secret reading room was revealed in a confidential report of an EU meeting that took place on 24 July… which rather embarrassingly was then also leaked to the same site.

The new system is pretty insulting for top politicians, who are not used to being treated likely naughty schoolchildren that require constant adult supervision. Furthermore, considering the wide-ranging implications of TTIP, you’d think that the EC would want to make it easier for European politicians to read the latest documents, so that they know what is being negotiated in their name.

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