GDID is the persistent Windows ID that helped FBI trace a Scattered Spider hacker despite VPNs. Here’s how it works and how to limit it.
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Microsoft’s records showed that at that exact same minute, a Windows device carrying GDID g:6755467234350028 had visited the ngrok signup page. Three hours later, the same GDID
To me the problem is not some uuid in some file/registry entry. The issue is, that somehow MS knows what webpages you visit??? why is this transferred? full log of what you do? edge? firefox? system service reporting outgoing IP connections? WTF.
I was asking the same question, quoting that exact excerpt in a different thread… and getting pretty hairbrained responses.
After a little bit of digging, I can see ngrok has a sign in option where you can sign in with a GITHUB account.
I suspect that’s how Microsoft has a record of someone interacting with that specific website.
Still am unclear how the browser has access to this id, which sounds like it’s a registry setting. If browsers are able and willing to just fork over arbitrary registry values when asked, that’s a major issue.
And if it’s not arbitrary… just THAT value, it seems to suggest complicity on the browsers themselves.
Can I see this id egressing my system if I’m snooping with wireshark? I really really want to understand how and when this value is going over the wire.
if the hacker signed in with his github… I would assume it’s something hidden behind “telemetry” or such - but either way it’s horrible. And the article is bad for just mentioning this without going into detail.
Precisely.
Many Linux distributions generate a machine-id that’s stored on disk, which local programs can read. But it’s generated locally, and it’s not transmitted to websites. https://www.man7.org/linux/man-pages/man5/machine-id.5.html
What’s astonishing is a hacker using Windows 11
Probably just a script-kiddie.
Well fuck that
I’m happy that SteamOS covers my gaming wants and MacOS covers my professional needs. Every time I had to interact with Windows in the last 5 years I am dumbfounded at the amount of bad UI/UX decisions and bloat.
You should not count on MacOS being any better than Windows in privacy sense.
While I agree that MacOS and Apple have their own share of issues, and while MacOS is far from perfect, I do believe that it is better in privacy matters.
The only good thing I can say for apple is that for now they don’t seem as eager to share what they collect.
