⚡️💻 ALERT - Proton is now publicly calling Windows spyware over the Global Device ID that Microsoft uses for every Windows installation. They say users never consent to the GDID, can't remove it, and that reinstalling Windows only partially helps since Microsoft keeps the old records.

The company found exactly one mention of the identifier in all of Microsoft's public documentation.

Every Windows installation carries a Global Device ID that Microsoft can hand to law enforcement, and a federal complaint against an alleged Scattered Spider hacker just showed it defeating a VPN.

Per the FBI affidavit, Microsoft records tied one GDID to the creation of an ngrok account used in a May 2025 jewelry retailer breach, then gave investigators the device's full IP history. Cross-referenced against the suspect's Apple, Snapchat, and Facebook logins, the VPN didn't matter.