Blackbird V6 - Windows privacy, security and performance

http://www.getblackbird.net/

Small, portable, restorable and just looking at the changelog gives me impression that this is a really good app. I am on XP so I can't test it. Also these 2 lists are interesting, Hosts blacklist and Updates blacklist.

 

It could be useful, but someone knows something about this company ?

 

Tried this program out today. Interesting tool. But I did not find what it actually modifies. No log file or explanation.

It disables some tasks and it tries to disable Cortina and somewhat disables Telemetry.

 

http://www.getblackbird.net/documentation/readme/

 

I saw mention of a verbose mode, but the output appeared to be a list of summaries rather than a fully detailed list of changes made.

I also saw mention of the ability to undo the changes it makes, but it wasn't clear whether it simply restores Microsoft default values (bad) or saves/restores the values that existed before it was run (good). The latter approach would require persisting previous settings somewhere, somehow. I take it you didn't see evidence of that?

Frankly, I'd like to parties interested in such things combine their forces and back an open-source initiative that involves separating the definitions/descriptors from the engine(s) that apply them. One example being Winapp2.ini (http://www.winapp2.com/, https://github.com/MoscaDotTo/Winapp2) which can be utilized by multiple tools. When I get a chance I'm going to take a closer look at that and determine if its descriptors are sufficient to support my own config+cleaning scripts.

 

For me those automated tools are no use if they don't clearly shows what they did (what registry changed etc.). But if they did, I go manual editting of them after understanding its effect.

 

It's too ugly and makes use of cmd.exe, so I will have to pass.

 

v0.9.98 - Latest

- Added a switch to fix LAN connectivity problems after running Blackbird v0.9.97 or later (blackbird -l)
- Fixed Recovery mode not properly restoring some registry keys
- Fixed startup scanner sometimes not detecting autologgers as disabled
- Fixed most used apps not displaying in start menu after using Blackbird on older Windows 10 versions
- Fixed Blackbird 32bit version inconsistencies (reupload)

http://getblackbird.net/

 

Blackbird V6 (v1.0.11) Released (August 6, 2018)
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Changelog

Spoiler: Changelog

v1.0.11 (Hotfix) - Latest
- Fixed the "Invalid column size" startup error experienced by some users.

v1.0.1 (Hotfix)
- Fixed network/LAN connectivity (incl.NAS/SMB/DLNA) not working after using the /L switch.
- Fixed Blackbird crashing at startup in some cases aka. "The 80 Error".
- Fixed small OS detection bugs when using non-english localization/language in Windows.
- Fixed no warning shown when ran on an unknown/unsupported Windows version.

v1.0
- Complete rewrite
- Improved Scan Mode/startup scanner; Now properly detects all problems instead of checking for hardcoded values.
- Improved scheduled task handling; Now properly reports changes and any errors encountered when ran in Verbose mode.
- Improved service handling; Should be much faster with proper verbose info and the ability to block low-level driver services.
- Improved autologger handling; Now detects all active system autologgers instead of relying on a static list.
- Improved OS version detection
- Improved general file/folder operations in regards to permission/access manipulation.
- Improved host blocker; Now supports multiple network interfaces and can block a broader range of IP's.
- Improved -U switch (Disable/enable automatic Windows Updates) to allow Windows 10 users to disable updates
- Improved -D switch (Disable/enable Defender) to fully support newer Windows 10 versions.
- Added Backup Mode functionality (blackbird -bak switch); Saves current system state to an external file.
- Added App Manager for Windows 10; User-friendly system app blocking.
- Added Enable/Disable Address Space Layout Randomization switch (blackbird -aslr)
- Added prompts at startup so users can access certain features directly from the menu (Backup/Recovery, Scan,..)
- Added support for custom external KB updates list
- Added notice at startup if running on an unsupported Windows version.
- Added support for console window size detection and UI resizing
- Added new hosts to blacklist
- Added new updates to blacklist
- Added -I switch to fix Bluetooth connectivity issues (hopefully)
- Now reports WSUS policy anomalies and unauthorized proxy servers on Windows Vista/7/8.
- Now attempts to hide blacklisted KB updates to prevent automatic re-installation (64bit version only).
- Updated STD definitions
- Disabled more services; Now removes NVTelemetryContainer, HPTouchpointAnalytics, VisualDiscovery/VDWFP.
- Disabled more scheduled tasks
- Disabled the 'Advertsing.Xaml' system app on Windows 10
- Disabled Suggested Apps & Tips advertising
- Disabled Teredo/IPv6-tunneling
- Disabled SMBv1 by default for security reasons
- Disabled GameDVR
- Disabled Remote Assistance
- Disabled additional application access to Account Information, Radios and "Unspecified" on updated Windows 10 versions.
- Fixed custom HOSTS.txt file not being detected when running Blackbird from the command line
- Fixed Remote Desktop not working after using Blackbird (is now available after using the -L 'Fix network/LAN connectivity issues" switch)
- Fixed issue with slow network speeds in some browsers
- Fixed improper extended service name resolving, in some cases causing constant disk usage when applied to certain Windows 10 versions.
- Fixed problems when running under non-administrator user accounts when authentication is used.
- Fixed Blackbird defaulting to a Windows 7/8 policy template when ran on an unknown/updated Windows 10 system.
- Fixed -X switch not restoring all Xbox scheduled tasks and user not receiving session notifications such as game invites.
- Fixed -L switch (Fix network/LAN connectivity issues) not fixing LAN connectivity for some users.
- Fixed small STD detection bugs
- Changes to switch system:
- /S Silent Mode can now be used with other switches without applying Blackbird to allow proper scripting.
- /V Verbose Mode now reports all current states and changes correctly, like it should have in the first place.
- Most switches are now Enable/Disable. For example, if OneDrive is currently enabled it will be disabled when running -O switch and vice-versa. The user is notified of the current state.
- All switches are now executed properly when also applying Blackbird and are not overwritten.
- Only switches and functions supported on the local system are now available to the user (depending on Windows version).

Special thanks goes out to Roman from Ukraine for his dedicated and uncompromising bug hunting.

 

Have fun with the FP's for the 32 bit version; lesser for 64bit (and that is unsigned doesn't help either).

I suppose that this file can be considered a test to see if your Windows Defender is updated...

 

Blackbird V6 (v1.0.15) Released (August 12, 2018)
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I'm a patient soul. Like many, that comes from the Windows series experience over the years.

Looks like another 3 updates and it might be testable on this end, but not quite before then.

 

Blackbird V6 (v1.0.27) Released (September 18, 2018)
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Changelog

Spoiler: Changelog v1.0.27

v1.0.27
- Improved STD mode; Now users have the option to confirm or skip force removal of any found task.
- Added new switch /W - Enable/disable Task View on Windows 10 (virtual desktops).
- Added new hosts to blacklist.
- Disabled 'PushToInstall' login/registration scheduled tasks.
- Fixed 'Network Connectivity Assistant' service not getting disabled properly, causing Event Viewer error entries.
- Fixed a localization issue that caused invalid scheduled task states for some users.
- Fixed unavailable keyboard accessibility features after applying Blackbird (ctfmon.exe not loading).
- Fixed /B switch (Enable/disable Runtime Broker) not doing anything.
- Fixed /O switch not enabling OneDrive.
- Fixed the /L switch not restoring LAN/NAS/DLNA connectivity.

 

A work in progress. Thanks for keeping up with the releases.

It may prove useful now we're over on Windows 10 but then again it's the Telemetry and various other nonsense that's an issue for some of us. The studio version without all the cinema drama of eating up bandwidth and resources sits much better and frankly Windows 10 screams for help from all that additional junk that squeezes the performance and productivity from it. Otherwise one might could get used to it.

 

LOL Always count on you for a sense of humor and or stating the obvious, bluntly...Cool.

 

Blackbird V6 (v1.0.28) Released (September 22, 2018)
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I expect they will keep improving it. As long as it moves forward and picks up more capability and less errors the better.

Thanks

 

Blackbird V6 (v1.0.3) Released (November 10, 2018)
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Changelog

Spoiler: Changelog v1.0.3

- Full Windows 10 v1809 support (October 2018 update)
- Disabled more services; BcastDVRUserService, BluetoothUserService, CaptureService, cbdhsvc, ConsentUxUserSvc, DevicePickerUserSvc, PrintWorkflowUserSvc
- Disabled more scheduled tasks; Schedule Scan Static Task, USO_UxBroker
- Disabled Clipboard history & cross-device logging.
- Disabled Edge silent background startup.
- Disabled SmartScreen startup app control.
- Disabled all "AI Insights/SwiftKey" keylogging-text-prediction bullshit.
- Fixed unresponsive W-key option (enable/disable Task View) when selected in the main menu.
- Fixed /U switch not disabling automatic updates on Windows 10 in some cases.
- Fixed the 'Current User' Ad-ID token not getting removed properly.
- Fixed "Invalid console session size" error appearing for some users even when running with 80+ columns width.
- Fixed KB update hiding script not getting properly generated and executed when it's filepath contains whitespaces, causing syntax errors.
- Fixed temporary files not getting created under some circumstances, causing Blackbird to quit due to a fatal error.
- Fixed the 'loopback' bug that caused Blackbird to re-apply itself when running Verbose Mode (/v) with any other switches.
- Fixed a bug in versions 1.0.27/28 that caused scheduled task states to sometimes not get properly backed up.
- Another attempt to fix the /L switch not restoring LAN connectivity in some cases. Shut up.
- Added system speaker beeps support. Currently only used if fatal errors are encountered.
- Added support for partial Blacbird execution by starting with the following switches;

/updates = Only secure/remove KB updates.
/tasks = Only secure/disable scheduled tasks.
/services = Only secure/disable services.
/registry = Only secure registry.
/hostblock = Only run IP/host blocker.

 

Blackbird V6 (v1.0.4) Released (February 4, 2019)
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Changelog

Spoiler: Changelog v1.0.4

- Improved OS version detection.
(Boring tech details: Now reads the OS version as a numeral 'value' instead of a 'string', which was admittedly dumb in the first place. This should prevent any weird compatibility issues popping up in the future when running Blackbird on newer/updated or unsupported Windows versions.)
- Added new switch /ShowHost - displays all active host blocks set by Blackbird (IPv4/IPv6 addresses).
- Added new hosts to blacklist
- Disabled more services; DiagSvc, LxpSvc, ShpamSvc, SmsRouter, WaasMedic, WerCplSupport, WiSvc, WlidSvc
- Disabled more scheduled tasks; Notifications (Location Activity), NvTmMon/NvTmRep (Nvidia), RefreshCache (OneSettings), Installation/ReconcileLanguageResources (LanguageComponents), PerformRemediation
- Disabled 'Timeline' user activity publishing/tracking/uploading.
- Fixed host blocker not working correctly when using some system languages/localizations. Should be much more robust overall as it no longer checks server replies for hardcoded strings.
- Fixed recovering to defaults getting stuck at restoring services when ran on Windows 10.
- Fixed various compatibility issues with the latest Windows 10 version (v1809); Errors shown during backup, scan, etc.
- Fixed App Manager failing to disable apps when ran from a non-admin user account on Windows 10.
- Fixed Autologgers sometimes not getting disabled due to registry permission conflicts on Windows 10.
- Fixed "reg key not found" errors appearing on some Windows 7/8 versions during the startup scan.
- Fixed UI glitches when running Blackbird in a console with screen size buffer width set to 290 or more.
- Fixed multiple bugs that sometimes caused switches and/or menu-options to not run as expected.
- Code optimizations resulting in small speed increases and reduced executable size.

 

Blackbird V6 (v1.0.5) Released (April 19, 2019)
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Changelog

Spoiler: Changelog v1.0.5

v1.0.5 - Latest

- Added /Color switch - Alternative color scheme for my color-blind folk. Changes green to blue, red to yellow.
- Host blocker now attempts to use ICMP pings to grab IP addresses if DNS resolving fails.
- Date/time stamps are now ISO 8601 compliant.
- Disabled removable drive indexing.
- Disabled UPFC.exe running in the background on Windows 10.
- Fixed a stubborn service dependency bug that caused network connectivity problems to sometimes still be present after using the /L switch.
- Fixed Blackbird pausing if a fatal error is encountered even when using silent/script mode (/S switch).
- Fixed /ShowHost switch displaying and counting the same blocked address if multiple network interfaces are active.
- Fixed /ASLR and /NoUpdate switches not working correctly in some cases.
- Fixed services sometimes reported as 'Not secure' when they shouldn't.
- Fixed crashing when the local username contained various special characters (hopefully).
- Fixed progress bar acting weird when using an external HOSTS.TXT file with 400+ listed addresses.
- Fixed registry key values not getting properly backed up if they contain empty spaces.
- Fixed various errors and alerts when creating/restoring a backup file (something,something,hex-code parsing,nerd-stuff,etc.)
- Small UI tweaks, more code optimizing because maximum effort.

 

Blackbird V6 (v1.0.5.2) Released (April 26, 2019)
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Changelog

 

Blackbird V6 (v1.0.6) Released (June 5, 2019)
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Changelog

Spoiler: Changelog v1.0.6

v1.0.6

- Full Windows 10 v1903 support (April 2019 update) *
- Added new hosts to blacklist
- Added some old KB updates to blacklist; KB2876229, KB3074677, KB3081954
- Disabled scheduled tasks; HypervisorFlightingTask, USO_RebootDisplay, USO_WnfDisplay, USO_UxBroker_WnfDisplay, WiFiTask
- Disabled services; AarSvc, CredentialEnrollmentManagerUserSvc, DeviceAssociationBrokerSvc, DeviceAssociationService, InstallService, PushToInstall, WcncSvc, WinRM, XboxGipSvc
- Disabled additional SubscribedContent, BITS peer/server-caching, and IE-CEIP registry keys.
- App Manager can now block multiple apps by range (entering 1-10 blocks apps from 1 to 10.)
- The /I switch now also enables Device Settings, Focus/Assist and user notifications on Windows 10.
- The /X switch now also enables/disables the Windows Live ID service (wlidsvc).
- Improved STD reliability when disabling or removing tasks.
- An attempt to fix a weird recursion bug that can cause read/write permission conflicts resulting in partitions disappearing for some users.
- Fixed "reg key not found" errors appearing in the main menu under some conditions.

* NOTE:
With Windows 10 v1903 MS has upped their game a bit, as expected. Consequently we had to resort to using more "blackhat-ish" methods to bypass it all. Expect AV software to not like this version.
Will deal with it if it becomes too much of a problem.

 

After applying Blackbird it takes more time to load all systray icons after logging in.

 

Blackbird V6 (v1.0.7) Released (July 1, 2019)
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Changelog

Spoiler: Changelog v1.0.7

v1.0.7

- Added /G switch: Disable/enable Games Explorer (gameux.dll; injects into games at startup and connects to MS servers)
- Added an update to blacklist: KB4493132 (Windows 7 end-of-support nagware)
- Added more hosts to blacklist
- Disabled additional Nvidia telemetry tasks and registry keys.
- Disabled scheduled tasks: Metadata Refresh, Notify1/Notify2 (Win7 end-of-support)
- Fixed username not getting defined in some rare cases, resulting in a fatal error.
- Fixed the weird file-deletion bug for reals this time.* Turns out I was the dumbass all along! Never saw it coming.
Boring Tech Details(tm): In some rare cases an undefined variable caused Blackbird to delete, apparently randomly-selected, contents of the root drive instead of removing temporary Blackbird files.

* NOTE:
Special thanks goes out to LainUnchained for actually finding where the problem is.

 

So essentially, this is a (much) worse version of Tairiku Okami's pastebin