The companies definitely know. Knowledge levels, insights, and interdiction capabilities vary by company, but every media company knows about boxes like this, and the dude at the gas station who will sell you a thumb drive with movies on it, and the secondary markets for stolen passwords, usenet, kodi, and the hundreds of other ways.

Source: I worked in such a company for a kotra years.

I guess this sorta thing still needs to be repeated, but it’s literally every retail product or service you buy that connects to the internet. The article covers some, but not all.

Linux works broadly across a wide range of hardware, but it’s not 100%. You can ``very easily test hardware compatibility with a Live USB install of most Linux distros. Windows is a way bigger driver pain in the ass if you ask me.