Get Windows 10 has the characteristics of malware
Computer users who run an older version of Windows -- one that is still supported by Microsoft -- are spending time and effort these days fighting off the Get Windows 10 program that Microsoft pushes on these systems regularly using system updates.
Most computer users who liked the idea of getting a free copy of Windows 10 have upgraded their systems already, and the remaining users who wanted to wait first to see how it evolves will likely do so before the July 29, 2016 deadline to take advantage of the free upgrade offer.
Everyone else however has been fighting hard to prevent the upgrade from happening.
A sane person would probably assume that declining the upgrade once would be enough to keep it off the PC, but that is not the case in regards to Get Windows 10.
Microsoft implemented several tactics since the release of Windows 10 to push the new operating system on systems running Windows 7 or Windows 8, regardless of whether the upgrade was declined once or even multiple times on those systems.
Apart from pushing the upgrade to systems multiple times by changing it so that it reappears even on systems where it has been hidden, Microsoft has tweaked the Get Windows 10 interface itself multiple times since its first release.
While there is nothing wrong with changing a program interface, one would not necessarily expect Microsoft to implement adware or even malware tactics to get users to upgrade to Windows 10.
Get Windows 10
It may sound harsh, but Get Windows 10 has several malware characteristics.
Malware, according to Wikipedia, is "any software used to disrupt computer operations, gather sensitive information, gain access to private computer systems, or display unwanted advertising".
How would you call a program that is pushed on your system, that you cannot get rid of completely, that does not display a clear "no I don't want to upgrade" option, and changes how users can opt-out of the upgrade?
We have already seen Get Windows 10 prompts without no thanks option in the past. At that time, many thought that things could not get worse than that, but if you look at the most Great! your Windows 10 upgrade is scheduled for prompts, you will quickly realize that things have gotten even worse.
Take a look at the following screenshot and tell me how you would cancel the upgrade process.
The main change over previous iterations of the Get Windows 10 upgrade prompt is that the close button does not prevent the upgrade anymore. In fact, it simply closes the prompt but the upgrade is still on schedule and will be delivered to the PC unless software like Never 10 or GWX Control Panel are installed, or manual countermeasures prevent the upgrade from happening.
Some said that this is exactly how it should work. Since the upgrade is scheduled, closing the window does not change that fact.
The problem with this explanation is that Microsoft deliberately modified the process to get users to upgrade, even if they don't want Windows 10.
Since using the x-icon to close the prompt worked in previous iterations of the Get Windows 10 upgrade prompt, it is very likely that users are caught off guard by the change.
In several previous iterations of the Get Windows 10 upgrade prompt, closing the window using the x-icon was the only option to prevent the upgrade from being installed on the device.
Even worse now, since the upgrade to Windows 10 has been designed by Microsoft to be opt-out instead of opt-in, you could end up with Windows 10 on the PC without ever seeing that prompt and without any chance to block the upgrade from happening.
In case you have not found the "no" option on the screenshot above, it is the "here" link underneath the date and time of the scheduled update.
Their next idea will be to break windows 7/8 with a few dodgy updates so people feel they should update because 7 and 8 are no longer any good.When i think about it i really don’t know why i still use windows.When you are paranoid of your operating system its time to leave it well alone. So i suppose this is my breakup note to microsoft.When we started out it was new and fun i thought you would be the “one” i used but like with most things in life we have grown apart and i am seeing a new,younger better looking OS called linux.Yeah she’s a bit hiccuppy at times but she doesn’t force me to do things that i don’t want to do.Goodbye Micro$oft and thanks for all the malware x_x Ps. I slept with an Apple Mac.
lol. awesome.
You seem to share with Milan088 the ability to express with few words and a laugh the infinity of your thoughts.
Develop, don’t be shy, no one will bite you.
They already did that, by refusing to officially support Win 7 USB 3.0 drivers for Z170 motherboards. PITA to install Win 7 on USB 3.0-only motherboards unless you create a custom ISO or have a motherboard that supports USB 2.0 emulation. The ridiculous thing about this is that the hardware works fine and is recognized by the motherboard, it’s just a missing driver that the Windows installer won’t even give you an option to install unless you modify the installer config file. The tech-savvy people will know how to create one, but the average consumer thinks “Oh, Windows 7 doesn’t support Skylake, I need to use Windows 10 for Skylake.” I think there aren’t mass complaints about MS’s malicious tactics yet because most people don’t understand the technical issues.
And on a related note… people might want to consider how a handful of US tech companies own most of the wealth of the entire tech industry, and how much control they have over everything from security to information to the media. They are starting to get a little too powerful for anyone’s good. These are companies with revenue greater than the GDP of many countries. They shouldn’t be treated like “individuals”, they should be treated like rogue states and held accountable if they have that much of an impact on global economics and security. That’s not even mentioning the spying (which amounts to industrial espionage) they’re doing.
that’s not correct. win7 (installer disc) does not have native usb3 support in the 1st place. and intel removed native support for usb2.
now, you could argue whether intel and ms worked together on that. or whether ms should make win7 isos with native usb3 support (yeah, right.)
Or if your USB 3 controller is based on an Intel chipset you could just use the Intel Windows 7 USB 3.0 Creator Utility.
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25476/Windows-7-USB-3-0-Creator-Utility
Martin Brinkmann,
I would be more than happy to answer this question for you…
“Take a look at the following screenshot and tell me how you would cancel the upgrade process.” You see I know how to read whats right in front of my face…
That would be Click here to cancel the upgrade. It is usually the people who have limited experience or no computer knowledge that Microsoft is banking on.(I have never seen that screen on my computer)
Microsoft’s tactics do not surprise me at all…but guess what folks I have the best
anti malware protection on the planet & its completely free Windows 7 Backup & Restore….I have an Image of my Hard Drive. I also do not have Auto Updates turned on. I was with the Windows 10 Insider Program & Yes I am using a Windows 10 Pro Retail copy on a second hard drive. Even on Win 10 they Call it Win 7 Backup & Restore… so the Win 7 version was so good they could not improve upon it…Like maybe letting you name your backups…Lazy sloppy programming.
I agree. Images are wonderful for that warm cozy feeling of assurance. I use Macrium Reflect, but when my PC boots up in the morning, the first thing it does is run a script that does a MozBackup browser backup, and then a Macrium image of the C: drive. (Both replacing the previous occurrence).
It takes just 6 minutes to create my C: image, and about 10 minutes to restore it, if needed.
Of course it is. Microsoft know that after Windows 7, they have failed to produce a version with enough improvements to warrant an upgrade and they know that people want to stay with Windows 7 because they have not just added but also removed a ton of stuff in Windows 10 which 7 had. So the only way now is to force and deceive the gullible people hoping that they will move to Windows 10 and find nothing wrong with it.
What “ton of stuff” did they remove exactly?
@Frank, Windows Media Center, OneDrive placeholders, synchronize Start menu layouts across all devices, Parental controls no longer support third-party browsers, Desktop Gadgets, Virtual PC with Windows XP Mode, Some built-in Games, Floppy Drive Support, and finally anything Microsoft wants to in the future as with enforced updates Microsoft can and probably will remove any features they want.
still one more month left! hang in there folks!
I would not be surprised if Microsoft would keep the app but modify it to offer discounts to users if they upgrade.
They could pay me to install their W10 that I’d still avoid it as pest.
Ewww! Delete that FAST before ms’ employees haven’t seen it! Save us!
The one thing I hope is that Microsoft will not extend the 1-year so-called free upgrade to Windows 10, because if it does (and maybe even if it doesn’t) we can expect more Windows 10 force-feed. Whatever the post-2016-07-29 deadline era I’m afraid I will not recover confidence in the company. It has been in the category of suspicion ever since its decision to impose Windows 10 and will remain there as far as I’m concerned, together with Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Apple and a few others which happen IMO to be far more dangerous than sites/organizations known for their deliberate status of malware because they play the virtue attitude to infiltrate vicious schemes, trackers, aims : “protect me from my friends, I’ll handle my enemies” as it has already been stated here on Ghacks forums.
Before ANDREW writes any long winded posts promoting / defending the wonderful benefits of Win 10 (and arguing with Corky), I have a request. PLEASE DON’T.
I am fed up with him writing the equivalent of “War and Peace” every time criticism of Win 10 is made on these forums.
GWX.exe is MALWARE !!!
If the Win 10 forced install breaks any major companies networks/systems, no amount of quoting EULA paragraphs by weaselly lawyers will protect MS and Nadella from very large compensation claims.
I will reiterate what I said in response to a previous Win 10 article by Martin.
I LIKE freedom of choice and I CHOOSE to stay with Win 7.
I do NOT want Win 10 !
I do NOT want MS attempting to force it on to my Laptop !
Tolstoï vs Staline when whatever the debate we have the chance to express our thoughts freely, here (I mean here in Freeland) and it’s a good thing you invite the defenders/promoters of Windows 10 to silence and not require that silence to be mandatory! It’s the eternal debate on whether or not to forbid those who forbid, “Forbidden to forbid” and answering “No!” is the price of liberty!
This said, we are many as you, Gary D, and as me to be revolted by Microsoft’s practice in what appears as a continued war when our opponent, Microsoft, seems not at all inclined to a peace settlement. So war it will remain even if the casualties have nothing to do with blood but at the most with tears. I will not surrender, that’s for sure.
@ Tom Hawack
The way you write, are you a re-incarnation of Shakespeare ? :-)
Seriously, I agree with all the posts so far about Msoft’s devious, underhand attempts to reach the “magic”
1 billion installs
In fairness to Andrew i welcome his posts, although they can be a bit long winded. :)
It’s only through having open and frank debates that things change, that their made aware of issues they may not have considered before, it’s only through talking to others who may not share our opinion that we get to challenge those opinions and see if there valid or not.
@Gary D:
“If the Win 10 forced install breaks any major companies networks/systems, no amount of quoting EULA paragraphs by weaselly lawyers will protect MS and Nadella from very large compensation claims.”
Any company with enough financial and political clout to be able to even contemplate viably taking on Microsoft in a legal action will almost certainly have negotiated a Windows Enterprise license. To my knowledge, Microsoft has not been using GWX or similar programs to push or force Windows 10 on Enterprise users — just on us non-Enterprise users who don’t have full-time legal departments, teams of litigators on speed dial, and hundreds of thousands of dollars (I’m lowballing it here) in a reserve legal-contingency fund. Smart move on Microsoft’s part, like a common street mugger’s steering clear of victims with armed bodyguards.
As for me, I want an operating system that I don’t have to watch like a hawk and fight against to keep it from uploading my private data, changing my custom settings, uninstalling my apps, installing unwanted or buggy patches, etc. When Windows 7 reaches end-of-life — or Microsoft succeeds in making it unbearable to maintain or in breaking it outright for non-Enterprise licensees — I’m switching to Linux, and it will be with a sense of great relief.
makes me feel like the windows “nein” version name was actually the most appropriate after all ;)
http://i.imgur.com/Qy1txGr.jpg
@ inab
Like it !!! :-)
Are we the prisoners when Nein and Nine revert two letters in the same way 9 is symmetrical to 6?
That must be the true story of Windows 10, driven by a famous TV series, no doubt!
Hahahah :) Saved to my win10 reaction images folder :)
imgur com/PufMZyB
Before anyone says Martin is wrong for saying Get Windows 10 has the characteristics of malware I’d like to point out that according to Microsoft themselves it does…
How to prevent and remove viruses and other malware. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/129972
“”Never click “Agree” or “OK” to close a window that you suspect might be spyware. Instead, click the red “x” in the corner of the window or press Alt + F4 on your keyboard to close a window.”
That is what I call evidence of contradiction. Evil : get out of Microsoft’s body! Poor them, exorcism required.
I’ve never fully trusted MS, but the idea that they dislike their prior “big bucks release (Win7)” so much that they’ll force a release they can barely “give away (Win10)” onto every computer they possibly can makes me far more leery of them. From my own perspective, their reputation has taken a huge hit.
Being a long-time Linux user, I always use that when feasible to do so, but I did buy a few extra copies of Win7 the other day for use in the future should they become needed. If and when I install them, they’ll be completely installed and configured to stop any Win10 forced upgrade crap before they are ever connected to the internet.
I just hope that, in their desperation, MS hasn’t manipulated the disks in such a way that Win10 starts instead of Win7 after the installation has completed! ;)
It seems Microsoft have done a U-turn of sorts, instead of just starting the upgrade after the end-user dismisses the GWX popup their going to present the same popup a second time before starting the upgrade.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36376962
Not sure how anyone is seeing that as a U-turn as nothings changed other than displaying the same popup twice.
It’s disgusting. This is their improvement? it’s like being slapped in the face, and when the person complains, you say ok, sorry, next time I’ll give you a verbal warning before I slap you in the face again.
“Over 300 million people have already upgraded”
A lie. 300M is what they claimed was the count of the *total number of devices* with Win 10 on it. That means phones, Surface tablets, and millions of PC’s which had Win 10 on them from the factory, not upgraded. In fact, that number almost certainly includes millions of as yet unsold PC’s that are in warehouses and stockrooms.
An upgrade would be when the customer chose to move a current device from a previous OS to 10.
The “300M have upgraded” claim is called ‘argumentum ad populem’ – in other words, other people are doing it, you should too. It’s a terrible argument, made worse by the fact that MS is shamefully not disclosing that many of those 300M are unsold devices, devices with 10 pre-installed, and many more are people who were duped into “upgrading”.
Not wanting to argue or anything it’s just i feel it necessary to point out that Microsoft counts the install base for Windows 10 as any device that’s been used at least once in the last 28 days, so a PC in a warehouse or stockroom wouldn’t count in their numbers if it hadn’t been turned on in the last 28 days.
Well they certainly wouldn’t lie ;-)
Still, they are counting devices that were shipped with Win 10. I just hate the ‘appeal to the masses’ type marketing BS. “If you don’t “upgrade” you’re not one of the cool kids.”
I am using Windows 8.1 with Classic Shell and couldn’t be more pleased with it despite so many others who are not happy. I am not a power user, I don’t write five novels a day nor do I maintain a blog or my own website. Plus I do not produce movies, don’t upload my silly junk to Youtube or post my ability to open and close my eyes manually on every available social network.
But if I wanted to do all of this I could. Until today I am sure to not use more than 5% of the programs potential. Probably less. The program is stable and with Classic Shell easy to use plus I have control over my privacy settings (up to a point). It fits all my needs.
So why should I update to Win10 ? Because of a new color scheme, new buttons or the blessing of forced updates ? Maybe I would be rhapsodical about the possibility to share the entire contents of my devices with Microsoft ? Or am I so open-minded to support the believe my privacy doesn’t matter if a company can make good money with it ? Would I honestly enjoy to lose the last bit of control over my PC and become a Microsoftian10 mutant ?
All the above is extremely tempting. Would not have to use my head anymore, MS would tell me what to do, what to think and what to buy. In the end MS may determine the eye color of my future child, the size of my underwear and recommend a better deodorant for my hamster.
Thank you people of Microsoft. But for some reason I cannot help getting the impression that you are very strange characters, perfidious and have no respect at all for anything or anybody.
Yes, Microsoft. You are a company. But this is only a legal term. In the end you are people. People I rather prefer not to deal with in the future. You had a good thing running, but like many other companies, one could get the idea the people behind them had or are having a devastating fire in their heads. Maybe you should talk to Cortana and have it call for help.
But maybe I got the wrong impression and you are honest and serious business people with excellent products. If that’s the case I am outermost sorry for my ignorance not to understand the momentousness and wisdom of your actions. Still I won’t get your Win10. Put it somewhere where it hurts so you may wake up and finally start listening to the “trash” you have been ignoring for so long and that made you what you are. Your customers.
Amen to that. And funny, too.
Nice resume, a bit short perhaps. Do carry on so that I bet to understand where the fun is.
Bravo. We are many I believe to agree with your comment, many to expect from an OS quality and not gadgets aiming maybe the techies, the geeks when a wide majority of users have a life outside of the computing arena and are not naturally inclined to the thrills of trackers disguised in so-called innovations, AI, enhancements of our “experience” with a beloved entity when all we wish is a reliable tool, discreet and functional. Most of us do not and will never call upon more than a fraction of what Windows proposes, even Windows 7, not to mention that most of the utilities included in MS’ OSs are craps compared to what is available on the market. As for me, I avoid Internet Explorer, I use another file explorer than the built-in Explorer (craps as well), burn my discs with good freeware… and many more. I get to wonder why I am still relying on Microsoft, perhaps because I started with Windows 3.1 and continued with the company ever since. But 2016 and Windows 10 is no longer the era of the Microsoft we’ve known, it’s still the same name but the policy, the “enterprise culture” (translated from French) is that of another area. I won’t upgrade to Windows 10 and I give myself until the end of the Windows 7 lifetime, 2020, to definitely move on to freedom, that of Linux. I’m over with Microsoft, and I’m not the only one.
I hear you Tom. Unfortunately I’m bound to MS for three main reasons – a) gaming, b) my work requires it, and c) photoshop.
Macs are too expensive, but I’d switch to Linux today if I could.
@ DoNotShaveTheQueen
This forum is becoming a hang out for the Literati / Glitterati. First Tom Hawack now you.
Keep posting because it is great to read a sarcastically funny post which includes Orwellian overtones.
Great !! :-)
N.B. Why can’t I shave the Queen ? It isn’t treasonous is it ? :-)
You can save Her from being shaved :)
You’re flattering me, DoNotShaveTheQueen is gelati when I’m only plain ice-cream!
Why is this yet again hyped? Who cares? It only affects people which for whatever reasons not want to update. And I think little tools like Never10 helps, there is nothing much to say about this anymore. In 2016 you have to update if you not want or not but it’s security wise no wonder why malware still exist, I bet on some banking services win2k still runs, just because the laziness to not update. The time you waste to find tools and workarounds is so useless, in 2 years on the next upgrade you may need another tool and other workarounds because xyz is yet again not supported anymore.
I not understand what is so damn wrong about Win 10. I never had any fucking problem, it works like a dream, if you have the fear that there is something just block it and good is, jesus, I bet you can’t watch youtube because all the bandwidth for the spying … calm the hell down.
Even if, when the product is good people, many anyway, just don’t like to be pushed. I’m not fond of ads but when they find a nice slogan I make an exception : I recall a few years ago a French ad which added to the ad (Engine Engine Number Nine!) this nifty little slogan, “Paradise, but only if its my decision”. So for one that is already a good reason. Some others argument that “who cares being pushed in if the flat is a palace” …
Is Windows 10 a palace? If it is it’s still under construction, holes here and there, not finished, not to mention more trackers in the walls than in the new US Moscow Embassy in its time. But if you like it, great. From the outside we can’t say we dislike it since we haven’t entered the castle but do agree that very little has been done to make the project appealing, too many have reported problems and we still linger to know what is truly an improvement.
Saying “Nothing’s wrong with Windows 10, I like it” is not really an incentive to share the announced nirvana.
Saying it’s beta is also wrong, we talking about an OS which constantly getting new features, it’s never finished. It’s an evolving process, if someone want ‘stable’ I highly recommend (like I did) to install LTSB N version. No doubt Windows 10 is so far the best OS ever, you not need to worry about anything, Windows update works a lot of better than in Win XP times which needed 3 Service Pack to get finally xyz drivers. The OS is smooth on newer hardware and even on older, the boot process is faster and if you’re developer it was never easier to build apps for Windows because you get several tools even for free + it’s also easier because the Store. Of course some may not like xyz but that#s what i’m talking for years, we need a modular OS, only ONE Iso for everyone with opt-in features only and then it would be perfect.
No OS is bug free and it’s always more hyped in Windows because more users, Linux Kernels get a lot of more updates and no one cares about this, in fact they fix minimum the same maybe even more but they simply call it ‘kernel update’ instead of single KB’s but the result is the same.
We should stop this and talk in a serious way because the entire spying hype and the hype about preview builds are so horrible wrong. I do agree that there is room for improvements but it’s complaining on a higher niveau, especially experts know which .iso to use so why complaining? I think we should somehow give constructive feedback instead of whining since 3 years about the start menu….
CHEF-KOCH, you do realize that your comment will be appreciated by connoisseurs when the wide majority of users want an OS which runs out of the box with no fuss. Of course a good tweaker can bring any pumpkin into a Cinderella but one has to be able to start an OS with no knowledge of the internal switches and other under-the-cover settings.
Windows 7 was bug free after install. Never had a problem here. I modified a few things for my convenience but never had to digg into the beast to find its vulnerabilities, it was and remains as transparent as it can be. Of course it has its little secrets but those don’t interfere on the OS’ ability to run smooth right from the start. Of course those concerned by privacy still have a few settings to adjust, even with Windows 7, but I mean : it runs, doesn’t have to reboot with everlasting updates, updates moreover mandatory which got more than one user upset when he had tweaked this or that and had to start all over again after one of Windows 10 famous reboots (I call it the reboot OS).
But if skilled users as you get along with this craps, great, really happy for you. But don’t forget the others, the “technically illiterates” whom in life may very well be far more advised than us all here together. An OS is not meant to require a pilot’s license and a passenger doesn’t fly in the cockpit. We fly First Class or Economy but we wish to keep this “passenger-attitude” alive.
“I not understand what is so damn wrong about Win 7. I never had any fucking problem, it works like a dream”
I answered you by quoting you and changing 10 to 7.
Windows 10 adds nothing of any real value to 7 and 8.1. It only adds value for MS. We paid for our Win 7 and 8 licenses and we should have the right to use them if we wish, and have the right not to be nagged to death to upgrade.
Personally I don’t care how great Win 10 is for you, but congrats. There are more people involved here than just you and your experience.
Well hip hip hooray for you!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH THE CRIERS …………WHINNNNERS .. OMG FKKKKKKKKK
HAVEN’T SEEM A REACTION LIKE THIS SINCE PROHIBITION
FKKK PEOPLE INSTALL 10
WORKS GREAT I HAVE NO PROBLEMS WHATS SO EVER ,would never go back to 7 ,,8,,
FOR FK SAKES DO US ALL A FAVOUR ,,OR JUST JUMP OFF THE BUILDING
JUST DO IT
FKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
I love your placid way of crying out loud. But doesn’t make me change my mind. Maybe a few good arguments could help. It’s funny but all those I read that enjoy Windows 10 never say why. A variant of the Stockholm syndrome, maybe? No idea, but if I ever had to consider paradise as a yelling area I’d reconsider a hell’s cozy and warm environment, I can tell ya!
@ PAT
1.
IF YOU CAN ONLY WRITE IN CAPITALS, IT IS CLEAR THAT YOU DO NOT KNOW THAT YOUR SHIFT LOCK IS ENABLED OR DO NOT KNOW HOW TO DISABLE IT !!
2.
USING A LOT OF SWEAR WORDS, AND LONG STRINGS OF THE SAME LETTER FOR EMPHASIS, SHOWS A COMPLETE LACK OF EDUCATION / CHILDISHNESS / ADDICTION TO FACEBOOK AND TWITTER. THAT MAKES YOU AND WIN 10 A PERFECT FIT. TALKING TO THE SCREEN MUST SUIT YOU DOWN TO THE GROUND.
3.
Reverting to normal typing with just a little emphatic input :
FUCK OFF AND PLAY IN ANOTHER FORUM, MORON
P.S. learn how to use punctuation :-)
Thank you.
Look at your reaction as well as Chef-Koch’s… you guys seem much more outraged and out of your minds than those of us you’re ranting about.
It amuses me how much it bothers certain pro-Win-10 people (shills?) that some people don’t want it. Hehe. Thanks for the entertainment.
Pat,you sound a hottie, i love SCREAMER’S….but, you love windoze10…so.that’s a no from me….FFS
My partner’s laptop has just been hijacked and is installing Windows 10 without any previous notice.
Like love the first time for a girl it may hurt but after it’s joy. Maybe not always. Good luck to your partner!
Her Lenovo laptop is NOT Windows 10 compatible and lacks proper Windows 10 drivers like, Bluetooth, Dolby… yet Microsoft forced Windows 10 while removing some applications including Kaspersky anti-virus as not compatible. The update took ~6 hours at which time she was unable to use it for her work.
I hope restoring to Windows 7 won’t leave some Windows 10 files/apps behind.
I will block Windows updates after the restore until end of free Windows 10 in July.
Get Windows 10 has the characteristics of malware?
That’s been obvious for months.
Windows 7 was never bug free after installation, it’s matter of understanding what you call ‘bug-free’. If you never work with it you of course will never find something. Security wise it was the same as Vista just with the ‘known bugs’ fixed (which one I not even had any troubles with vista?) – so you see it’s not only the OS itself. Of course there still exist some security holes which never will be closed in Windows 7 like Kerberos. This is by design, it needs to be re-written from scratch, not only bugfixed. This was because backward compatibility.
Windows itself is easy, the telemetry or what people often call exist since 7 and maybe even earlier, Win 7 not got any option for this (only via gpedit) Windows 10 already simplified this but people still whining because they are too stupid to read something and click on everything ‘ok’/’yes’ but you really want to complain about this? Really? How else someone want to get legit feedback? It’s impossible because no one like to fill in something manually. So one one hand people want ‘stable’ stuff and on the other hand they wrongly call it spying, remember they never collected sensitive information. Only 3 octets from your IP – wo cares? You realize that activating Windows itself collects your real MAC? So no one care about this but whining about that cortana which is designed to collect stuff want your words? How this compromise you? Even if you would input somehow your passwords it’s useless because no one behind would use this — oh I forgot they working with NSA together. Of course, and because of this all my passwords are now insecure, funny isn’t it, because no one ever hacked my passwords? So there are myths, wrong experts which telling feedback == telemetry and a lot of people which re-spell the same without every used Burp/Wireshark.
No one can’t seriously say Win 10 is a bad OS, I said there exist to many useless versions but that’s all I can complain about. Maybe the next big thing is that we really get an modular OS which would be a big step forward, besides this I not really found much.
Expert user or not, the option to customize a lot of stuff exists if someone is not interested in this, then it’s not the OS fault.
Why someone not update is still beyond me, why not install Windows 3.11 I bet you get less ransomware because it would never work?! … Come on guys … Time to upgrade….
Hi CHEF-KOCH
Are you aware that Win 10 STILL has remnants of DOS built into the code?
Are you aware that if MS tries to remove it, Win 10 will NOT run. This is because MS management was too greedy / lazy to authorize a re-write and convert the OS into a modular program. They just piled new code on top of old code and turned the OS into a bloated behemoth with lots of holes in it.
Despite this, because MS still had good programmers, all previous releases of Windows OS, up to and including Win 7, did work straight out of the box with KBs fixing security problems as they were found. Then Nadella fired a couple of thousand highly experienced programmers and QA managers. Win 8 was the result, hence the scramble to release Win 10 prematurely.
When it was released, Win 10 was the Alpha version and did NOT work straight of the box. It caused and is still causing, innumerable problems for updaters even those who do a clean install.
It deletes original hardware drivers and replaced them with MS generic drivers which do NOT work.
It deletes user programs because “they are not compatible”, causing loss of critical data and costing businesses money / hours / loss of profit to rebuild systems.
Why do you think there is very little uptake by Enterprise / Corporate users. Because their IT experts do not want to crash production lines, shipping programs, invoicing programs, etc. if the IT guys do update and it fails, they will be fired.
Why has MS released all these Win 10 “upgrades” ? Because Win 10 IS a Beta OS and MS are scrabbling around trying to fix a poorly written, badly tested, product. Users are the unpaid QA testers for MS.
MAYBE the Anniversary release will fix everything but don’t hold your breath !
MS tried to design an OS which will work as a universal platform for Networks, PCs, Laptops, Notepads and Mobile Phones.
Notepads and Phones are toys for the Facebook, Twitter and You Tube addicts.
Networks, PCs and Laptops are for doing SERIOUS work.
Nadella and co boasted that Win 10 will be installed on a billion machines. Because the forecasts show a decline in installs, they are now using GWX as MALWARE !! to try and fool average users into accepting the “upgrade”.
YOU might be a self styled “expert”. There are hundreds of millions of Joe and Janet average users out there who just want to use email, word processing, online banking, etc., who are happy using an OS which fills all their needs i.e. Win 7.
I have said previously that I have performed roll backs for users who went to bed with Win 7 installed and logged on the next morning to find Win 10 had replaced it.
The number of roll backs keeps increasing. To date, I have done this 53 (YES FIFTY THREE) times.
Users are phoning me and asking me to come and stop it happening to them. How many more people are out there doing the same for their friends and neighbours ?
I can’t be bothered writing any more reasons why Win 7 / XP still have a large market share, such as business legacy software.
Apologies to other forum readers for this very long post.
Carry on being an highly skilled expert.
“Come on guys … Time to upgrade….”
When they put something out that actually IS an upgrade, I will do so. Until then, I’m fine with what I have, but thanks for your concern.
P.S. I used Win 7 for 6 months before release and it was rock solid. It wasn’t the clusterfu*k that Vista was.
If you like Win 7 you will love Linux Mint. For those who haven’t tried it, install it in VirtualBox and play around with it for a while. With 3 Gigs it is snappy. Set it up the way you like, and then discover the repositories. You can set it up to look like your current set up, that is, if you like eye candy and a beautiful desktop, which I do. Lots of good themes, and you can get a theme from within the system, if you want more than offered ones. Being trained by windows, I installed Clam AV Base (backend) and ClamTK (gui) for Clam, and update it every day. When offline, you can scan individual files or folders. You can also install a Clam Addon in Firefox to scan any incoming jpg, zip, pdf, mp4, etc. files. Sorry, typing this on Windows, just forget the name of the addon, just search for clam in addons page. I don’t mind waiting a bit while it scans. Everything else you can get from Software Manager and Synaptic. Funny thing is, after a while, you start to really enjoy your computer and then you know it’s because I don’t feel watched, and I don’t have to worry about software installs, etc. Remember to enable firewall, and if from windows, install gufw, gui for ufw.. Just a suggestion. Why keep worrying, enjoy 7 or 8.1 and use Linux Mint. Get a second hand laptop and install it. Time to make these kind of decisions? I know, there are games, business and legacy applications which require Windows. I think there are changes going on and it’s good to look at other alternatives.
Interestingly, this update means that GWX no longer adheres to Microsoft’s own Windows certification requirements/guidelines.
[quote]
The Close button on the title bar should have the same effect as the Cancel or Close button within the dialog box. Never give it the same effect as OK.
[/quote]
The source: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/dn742499%28v=vs.85%29.aspx
@ DaveyK
AS Martin says, GWX is malware.
For an computer illiterate like me Windows was a godsend. Pretty easy to operate, very reliable, gazillions of free programs and not too pricey. The company behind it appeared to be a little weird but who am I to complain about curiosity. This all has changed. Ok, I am still somewhat odd and I like my tea with rum.
What really has changed is me losing complete trust in Windows and its makers. Why are they walking this dangerous road of ignoring the real needs of their customers ? After Win7 all they were able to accomplish is distrust and a lack of undertanding with their users. Are they so socially engaged that they are now evolving the vehement need for losing clients to strengthen the competition ? Why the heck are they so amitious to ruin the little rest of reputation they have left ?
Maybe they should have their water tested at their imperial residence. Or simply wake up, get out of their think tanks, open the windows, get some fresh air and realize it doesn’t matter if a button is square or round, blue or white. Speaking of me: all I would like to get from these Redmondians is a system which is thought through well, is easy to operate and respects my privacy in an acceptable way. Nothing more, nothing less.
Seems, they can’t do it or even worse, don’t want to do it. Is Win10 malware? Well, seems it’s trying very hard to come close to it, considering the entire picture including the dastardly attempts to get on peoples PC’s. Because of all this I am getting a divorce from you. Until then I will see my relationship with you as a betrothal and will be looking for something better.
I totally agree. It is often said that politicians are far from populations’ realities, aspirations, worries. My feeling is that greater a company greater its distance from its customers/users as well. I don’t know on what basis Microsoft as well as other companies elaborate some of their decisions but many of them face so wide critics that one can wonder if the user’s comfort is ever taken into consideration. Seems often to be technocratic-led projects, maybe conducted by expert algorithms, who knows, but the result is often beyond comprehension.
Good one. It’s inexplicable – nobody seems to fight their BS legally. Where are all these ambulance chasers, where are the class action suits ? Haven’t heard anything. And to be straightforward, really, what can we do. Change to Linux or buy fruit products ? Linux is a pain in the somewhere with all their distros. For me it is much to technical, too geeky. Wanted to install Ubuntu and failed miserably, too stupid to partition my harddrive. It’s just me, I know. But as long as Linux is not idiot proof and easily to understand it’s not for me. I am not a geek. I am not even mildly interested in all this technical hubashubaduha. It has to work and that’s it. Call me ignorant I can live with it. I neither have the time or want to spend the time to get into all of this. The way these computer companies work is simple to understand: they are desperate, have to come out every 2 weeks with something “new” to keep the geeky people interest. So they blow everything out of proportion. A new button, looks like the old one but now it has a shadow around it. Wow, what an advancement. An app for everything. An app for explaining what is an app. It just sucks. They may have an suck app, too. Who knows. The entire industrie is a bunch of dazzlers, desperate about people could find out they don’t need all the crap they’ve been selling to them as the re-establishment of the wheel. Boy, I must have been angry. Look at this here. Ok, sorry for the rant. Isn’t it enough now, isn’t it time to stop their BS ? Or did they make us so dependent on these silly gadgets that we are by now completely at their mercy ? BMW (bite me, Windows).
The industry has been striving very hard to take away control from the end user as much as possible or even more. A highly dangerous development as it will turn the end user into a will-less product that only has to serve one purpose. Which one ? Think, find it out yourself. Yes, quiet scary, isn’t it ??
“The industry has been striving very hard to take away control from the end user as much as possible or even more.”
This is very true, and this is very much what MS is in the process of doing. They are quietly and steadily removing features, and removing controls from the end user (in the name of ‘security’ or stability). This is common on mobile devices (lack of user control) and MS is trying to shift the desktop to be similar.
How long before Windows PC’s ship with adware programs you aren’t allowed to uninstall, like Android?
Interesting comment stream. By and large, I would say a well educated cross section of computer users here.
Nice to see everybody getting along and vetting out logical arguments one way or another…
However, swinging back to answer the original query posed by the author (the estimable Mr. Brinkmann)…
If it looks like a duck,
Walks like a duck,
Quacks like a duck…
It’s a duck.
Mr. Joey
It’s likely only to be a duck if you consider the uncertainty principle :)
Ha! Now you’ve gone and brought physics to the table! Please don’t tell me you are one of those who must account for every single photon! Let a few go, if it helps balance things… They all come together in the end… What is it Mark Twain said? Something like, “Too much of anything is bad… Except good whisky. Too much good whisky is barely enough.”
Joey Spinosa, I was joking, in the same way I’ve always been split between physics and metaphysics, logic and fuzzy logic, rationalism and imagination, order and chaos … There are fields of investigation in so many areas but I never forget what Einstein (I think) wrote about deductive and inductive logic, and with time I am more and more interested by induction than deduction, by imagination than by check lists, by art and literature than by geometry, in geometry itself by asymmetry than by symmetry, by defaults rather than by (pseudo) perfection… by whisky than by water and by water more than by cleaning chlorine, by immunity than by medicine :)
I appreciate your feedback on my strange humor. Sometimes we can just throw a few words hoping consciously or not to get a return that sort of fixes the ideas. Thanks! And Mark Twain will always be a reference of humanism, humor and good sense. I was a kid in NY when I discovered Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn … ‘was the time as well I discovered Charles Dickens, you know those authors which can be read by youngsters and remembered by seniors because they hold the essentials of all lives …
Cheers!
companies like microsoft are doing their best to acquire… no! to conquer…. no again! to STEAL, user’s control over their computers. IMHO it is not just a matter of money this “new” approach towards customers, it is a matter of power and control over billions of people using computers supposedly in their control while it is exactly the opposite.
Win10 is just another step forward towards global control and individual mind manipulation.
Now, Imagine If M$ Starts Manufacturing Cars.
XPOCALYPSE FOREVER !
Driver:
“Cortana, plot a route from Manchester to London via Birmingham”
Cortana:
“Certainly”
Driver (2 hours later)
“Cortana, why are we driving into the sea”
Cortana:
“Because I have plotted the route to London, Ontaria, via Birmingham, Alabama, and this is the fastest way”
Driver:
“I wanted to go to London in England !!!!!”
Cortana:
“Who is in control here?
I AM and YOU do what I tell you and go where I decide !”
Not this crap again, it is reminder why monopolies should die.