[SOLVED] Blackbird

[PsychoPsyops]

Hello all,


I was wondering if anyone here had tried out the Blackbird application.
It was made to take Windows privacy and security further than ever before by checking and/or disabling everything that could be enabled and Microsoft is hiding from us.
I haven't used it yet, because it says it supports Win7 to Win10, but does not mention Win11.

Documentation - Get Blackbird

Windows privacy issues and how Blackbird deals with them

www.getblackbird.net

Has anyone had any experience with using this program?

Does it also work for Win11?


Thank you.

 

[Ralston18]

Have not heard of Blackbird before and thus (full disclosure) no experience with it.

= = = =

However, from the link:

"## How Blackbird Works

Without going into too much detail, Blackbird employs some known and less-known techniques to fully disarm Windows while leaving the smallest possible footprint.

For instance, Blackbird does not edit the HOSTS file in any way, nor does it mess with your firewall settings.
It does not run in the background, instead relying on persistent routes and resolving hostnames to IP addresses each time Blackbird is applied by the user.

After usage no new files are left behind on your computer and you can safely delete blackbird.exe. Blackbird has succedded when you forget it was ever there. Everything our software does can be restored using the software itself or manually by hand. (*Dev.notice: Please don't do this manually, it will take forever and is confusing) [My bolding.]

There are other tools that claim to block Windows spying but they are cumbersome to use and not as powerful or are limited in scope. So we took Windows apart, piece by piece, analyzed web traffic, system calls, file changes,etc., compared different configurations, designed and built a stand-alone tool and spent hundreds of hours on beta testing so anyone can use it and it gets the job done right."

= = = =

The description is too vague for my liking and the "hush hush" tone is, again for me, too off-putting. And "fully disarm Windows" - that may not end well.

Plus looking at everything that Blackbird does per their own listing is not anything I would wish for any software product to be able to do or control on my computer. Command Line switches or not....

I would only install the software on one expendable test system. A system that could be easily reinstalled to pre-Blackbird status. Use the test system to determine how well Blackbird works and to what extent. Watch what all is going on via Task Manager, Resource Monitor, and Process Explorer. Keep an eye on Task Scheduler - just to ensure other actions are not being set up to run or stop running even....

Otherwise simply focus on a specific security concern or issue and not a global software solution.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

 

[Blackbird_dev]

Hi, I just wanted to chime in real quick.
The dude above my post has an excellent point and I'd personally follow his advice with any "hush hush" software, as he put it

Your reservations are valid and completely understandable; There's no GitHub of the source, there's no professional company behind it, it does A LOT of messing around places where Windows doesn't want you messing around in, and like a third of all antivirus vendors label it as malware. Even Windows Defender just straight up deletes it most of the time.
It's kinda nuts anyone even uses it at all with that kinda resume.

However, the entire code is actually available I just don't advertise it, mostly because I'm self-critical af.
It's just a fancy-looking script packed inside an executable - It extracts to your user temp folder at runtime and deletes itself when you quit.
The "Please don't do this manually, it will take forever and is confusing" notice makes more sense when viewing the code.

Does it also work for Win11?

Kinda. Win11 is not officially supported at this time. Working on it.
Blackbird will warn you if it doesn't recognize the OS version but it'll still run if you want it to.

I'm not gonna tell you it's the most awesomest (that should be a legit word and I refuse your Squiggly Red Lines of Oppression) or even that it doesn't have its faults.
What I can tell you is that Blackbird stops Windows from doing anything not explicitly requested by the user.
That includes constantly connecting to strange servers, collecting diagnostic/usage data, showing ads, silently installing sponsored software,.. anything that's not in the users best interest, really.
Basically it makes Windows 10 act more like 7, with the added side-effect of better performance due to all the crap removed.

There's a built-in backup system available so you can easily revert back to your previous settings and I also offer free tech-support - A bit because I don't like the thought of causing problems with something I made, but mostly because it helps me build a better tool in the long run.

I find it's best to go with your gut feeling though, just in general. It's almost never wrong.

 

[USAFRet]

Hi, I just wanted to chime in real quick.

In the interest of full disclosure, this is your software, correct?

 

[Blackbird_dev]

In the interest of full disclosure, this is your software, correct?

Correct. My apologies for not making that clear.

 

[Alabalcho]

I am just curious how @Blackbird_dev popped up right after @PsychoPsyops posting...

On the original question: The only way this app achieves what it claims ("without traces") by routing some IP addresses used by Microsoft to somewhere else.

instead relying on persistent routes

I am not going to waste my time exploring what happens, but this is enough warning sign to stay away.

 

[Blackbird_dev]

On the original question: The only way this app achieves what it claims ("without traces") by routing some IP addresses used by Microsoft to somewhere else. I am not going to waste my time exploring what happens, but this is enough warning sign to stay away.

It routes them to localhost. 127.0.0.0 and ::1 for IPv4/6, respectively.
"route print" in cmd shows every persistent route, including the >somewhere else<.
spoiler alert doe

Spoiler

it's gonna be localhost

I am just curious how @Blackbird_dev popped up right after @PsychoPsyops posting...

I don't know how to respond to this. ?

 

[USAFRet]

I don't know how to respond to this. ?

well, it's just curious.

Random question about some software/script that no one here has heard of.
A few short hours later, the creator of this software, who has seemingly never been here before, makes a new account here, and comments on the thread.

just saying...it looks odd.