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This is the official user guide and announcement page for GWX Control Panel, the easiest way for users of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 to protect their computers from Windows 10. With GWX Control Panel you can: Remove the "Get Windows 10" icon that appears in your notification area, prevent your Windows Update control panel from upgrading your computer to Windows 10, prevent your computer from secretly downloading Windows 10 installation files, detect and remove the hidden Windows 10 installation files if they're already on your PC, optionally monitor your computer for unwanted Windows 10-related settings and files- and beginning with version 1.7 you can now easily delete some hard-to-remove program files that are known to cause Windows 10 upgrades and annoyances.

Windows upgrades to 10 without the user's consent or interaction. I had to download a little utility that still sits in my taskbar today that specifically prevented automatic upgrades.

While it still works, you can perhaps you can use the GWX control panel http://ultimateoutsider.com/do... to clean it up. Works great on my win7 gaming system.

I know. I've just been too lazy to Install it.

While it still works, you can perhaps you can use the GWX control panel http://ultimateoutsider.com/do... to clean it up. Works great on my win7 gaming system.

You didn't ask for help. [...] small business that has servers, but no IT.

He did ask for help and he did not mention servers. These are desktops. You know, the little boxes you often find at desks, with a keyboard, mouse, and monitor attached, often along with a printer or scanner and possibly a webcam, and typically not in a rack with dozens or hundreds of similar systems. If his company had servers of any sort on-site they'd likely have both IT staff to manage them and a WU server on their domain.

The question really was simple, though: how does one, an individual (the bits about being signed in to a domain or it being a work PC are really and truly irrelevant here) running Win 7, prevent the telemetry and Win 10 nag updates from "infecting" their system?

You might be surprised to learn that there are options above and beyond setting up your own WU server and signing into a domain. In that vein, here's an actually useful answer, so that you can know what one looks like in the future:

Try GWX Control Panel, which should not only stop the Win 10 nags, but also allow you to block the telemetry updates without fully disabling Windows Update. Since it doesn't rely on being signed into a domain, it should work for all versions of Win 7, 8, and 8.1, and not just Pro and Enterprise releases. Hope this helps!

https://www.grc.com/never10.ht...

https://voat.co/v/technology/c...

http://ultimateoutsider.com/do...

https://www.safer-networking.o...

Any, or all, of those seem to be safe to use. Try one, or try them all. They mostly duplicate each other's measures, but they aren't quite all the same, either.

download and use GWX Control Panel
http://ultimateoutsider.com/do...

The only safe way to diffuse the Windows 10 bomb is to ignore the window and instead download and run GWX Control Panel. It will force close all the malware and disable it. You can leave it in monitor mode to kill any new updates that try to upgrade you again.

Now go petition your anti-virus software developer to include the Windows 10 upgrade malware in their definition files. In fact I'm surprised none of them are offering Windows 10 anti-upgrade protection as a feature yet.

False. Refuse all the optional updates, accept all the critical updates. You can easily configure windows update to do this.

THIS. I have Windows 7 with GWX Control Panel (reviewed here) installed,
and under Control Panel --> Windows Update --> Change settings, I am set to "Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them",
and (most important) "Recommended updates" is UN-checked.

There is also a tool Never 10 (Peter Thurrott writes about it here). But always make sure you make the changes above to Windows Update.

When updates announce themselves, accept only those updates for Windows listed "critical" and "security", as well as Windows Defender updates. That's it.

So far, no problems on any of my systems. MS is being pretty shitty about all this, but they haven't yet stooped to calling 10 a critical/security update. However, anyone not savvy enough to take the above steps (e.g., parents) might be in for some trouble. So, spread the word, or suffer endless calls from suffering masses.

http://ultimateoutsider.com/do...

Run GWX Control Panel in monitor mode.
http://blog.ultimateoutsider.com/2015/08/using-gwx-stopper-to-permanently-remove.html

GWX does suck. Two free options to disable it: Never 10 (Peter Thurrott writes about it here), and GWX Control Panel (written about here).

Doesn't GWX Control Panel solve the problem? I installed this little app months ago to prevent unintended upgrades to 10 and just plain naggery, and I haven't seen anything since. But I also avoid "optional" updates from Microsoft, and only install those labeled "critical" or "security". Has anyone run this tool and still gotten nagged by Microsoft to update, like some "optional" update that defeats this tool?

Exactly right. See here for a tool to disable it: GWX_control_panel. Been using it for months, nag-free.

There are a couple of software solutions that claim to disable the Windows 10 upgrade. I can't vouch for them, but maybe someone else can. They are:

GRC Never10 https://www.grc.com/never10.ht...

GWC Control Panel http://blog.ultimateoutsider.c...

Thanks. It's too late for me but hopefully this will help someone else.

There is also GWX Control Panel.

In my general paranoia of not upgrading software that isn't broken, I never upgraded from 8 to 8.1. Maybe I'm open to all sorts of attack vectors from malevolent parties, but I feel safer knowing that the party that can hide their malware the easiest (Microsoft) isn't getting their software automatically installed on my machine.
Of course, I never really thought it would come this.

There are a couple of software solutions that claim to disable the Windows 10 upgrade. I can't vouch for them, but maybe someone else can. They are:
GRC Never10 https://www.grc.com/never10.ht...
GWC Control Panel http://blog.ultimateoutsider.c...

GWX control panel http://ultimateoutsider.com/do... it'll remove the Windows 10 upgrade app and prevent an automatic upgrade.

You will still need sanitization. Remember telemetry built in to Windows 10 was also back ported to Windows 7 and 8 via Windows Update.

Spybot Anti Beacon. https://www.safer-networking.o...

Everyone goes on about GWX Control Panel so much http://ultimateoutsider.com/do... but totally miss Spybot Anti Beacon and the fact telemetry was pack ported to Windows 7 and 8.

I also recommend apart from your favourite flavours of security software is a software based firewall like Agnitum Outpost Firewall (now sadly bought out tho). Not only do you need to firewall your network but you need something like this to protect within the operating system from dodgy programs and drivers doing things in the system itself.

I never left Windows 7. Download and run (in monitor mode) GWX control panel to really lock out the Windows 10 downgrade.

Just install GWX Control Panel which not only disables it all, it can actively monitor in the background to prevent it ever becoming enabled again by Windows update.

...In the other news, the update might be riddled with the umpteenth GWX :-)

Run GWX Control Panel in monitor mode...
http://ultimateoutsider.com/downloads/

The GWX Control Panel seems to help:
  http://blog.ultimateoutsider.com/2015/08/using-gwx-stopper-to-permanently-remove.html

and use GWX Control Panel http://ultimateoutsider.com/do...

Also worthy to immunize with is Spybot Anti Beacon https://www.safer-networking.o...

Just use GWX Control Panel http://ultimateoutsider.com/do...

Also worthy to immunize with is Spybot Anti Beacon https://www.safer-networking.o...

I found a screenshot on-line, on the GWX control panel web site: here. What I saw on my machine looked just like that.

GWX Control Panel is your friend. http://ultimateoutsider.com/do...

(I have no interest in, or connection with this free utility).

I reccomend this http://ultimateoutsider.com/do... as a way to stop win 10 from infecting an otherwise healthy win 7 install

Someone has written a tool to automate and manage the problem:

http://ultimateoutsider.com/do...

And as a sister comment said, Microsoft has switched the update to "Recommended" status. It's only a matter of time before they decide it becomes Critical.

Forget that nonsense, I found this to be much easier:

http://ultimateoutsider.com/downloads/

Was having lot's of problems on a Windows 7 laptop; amazing how much faster it runs once the Windows 10 crap was removed! Not to mention freed up a lot of disk space, apparently the reason our internet has been sucking so much was Windows downloading the Win 10 installer or some nonsense. That tool worked perfectly for me, resolved all the issues I was having.

http://blog.ultimateoutsider.c...

Works a treat :p

I posted about this elsewhere in this topic, but wanted to make sure you saw it. It's a 3'rd party utility that has, so far, (knock on silicon) prevented MS from forcing their malware onto any of my Internet-facing WIN7 machines.

http://blog.ultimateoutsider.c...

There is an excellent 3'rd party utility that SO FAR, has successfully prevented MotherShip from forcing it's malice upon several Internet-facing WIN7 machines that are under my care. This utility is basically a watchdog to keep MS's fingers out of your Registry.

Here is where you can find it:

http://blog.ultimateoutsider.c...
(I hope his server won't melt! Too bad the CORAL mirroring system is no more.)

You're welcome. ;)

So people at Microsoft are sitting around, thinking about users everywhere and what they may be doing to keep themselves on Win 7 or 8 or 8.1, brain-storming how to get around whatever those pesky users have done to protect themselves (e.g., GWX_control_panel), and then ordering a team OS-level programmers to get it done. Perhaps this division of the corporate structure have a code name? Team Borg, perhaps? Do you get a pay hike if you're part of the spacial operation to assimilate users into the Windows 10 collective? Is this where you go to be a Big Swinging Dick at Microsoft?

These managers and minions feel entitled to spend company time and resources thinking this kind of stuff up Reminds me of those guys at Comcast who say "they're our pipes" when they want to justify poor service, data caps, price hikes, or net non-neutrality. These people are not trolls in Mama's basement with nothing better to do... these are career suits who could be spending effort making Windows suck less. Instead, They're all Vladimir Harkonnen, scheming to fuck customers to... what? please the almighty god of Windows 10 penetration statistics?

Power hungry fucks. Windows 10 sucks less than it did, but I, for one, do not want my PC penetrated.

After the first round of this nonsense, I found the GWX Control panel, which claims to disable the nagware. It also monitors Windows Update and alerts you when its settings are changed to 'install automatically'.
I normally install updates once a week, so we'll see what happens in a few days.

Try GWX Control Panel to disable GWX and OS updates entirely:
http://ultimateoutsider.com/do...

Also Spybot Anti-Beacon which disables telemetry:
https://www.safer-networking.o...

It works perfectly for me on Windows 7. And yes I know that all of what it does can be done manualy but these tools do their job and work well so why bother...

Well lucky for me and my customers I didn't see that one thanks to GWX Control Panel which I HIGHLY recommend, it allows you to set customers updates back to automatic without worry about getting "Win 10'd" as it kills Windows upgrades dead WITHOUT touching the critical security patches that aren't backdoor attempts at "Win 10'ing" the system.

BTW for those that need a very easy and simple way to remove all that backported telemetry shit (funny they can't backport DX12 but they can all the Win 10 spyware) here is a handy .BAT file that wiull scan for any of the telemetry or Win 10 shit and remove it. Its updated every month to keep up with the MSFT bullshit parade so just grab a new copy about a week after patch Tuesday and you're golden.

Its fucking sad that they took what COULD have been a good OS and filled it so damned full of malware that we have to treat Windows Update as a malware vector and I really hope they get sued for this shit. I can't believe I'm saying this but....can we have Ballmer back? At least all he was doing was trying to (poorly) ape Apple and with something like Classic Shell it was easy enough to just remove the candyfloss, but I have yet to see anybody be able to show with a traffic analysis a way to 100% kill the spyware in Windows 10. Its so nasty I'm having to...gag, wretch...recommend Windows 8 as at least you can get it cheap, upgrade to 8.1, then get the GUI back with Classic Shell and use the .BAT to kill the spying, with Windows 10 its so baked in I seriously doubt anybody is gonna be able to wrench it out and leave a functional OS.

Here ya go, just use this simple windows OS update blocker, no need to even install, just run it, and you too will never see Windows OS upgrade infections again...oh and you're welcome, old Hairy is glad to help ;-)

I would never install an OS update blocker.

I enjoy killing GWX.exe as the first thing I do after logging into my Windows 7 machine way too much

Along with Adobe Creative Cloud.

It gets my juices going in the morning

Here ya go, just use this simple windows OS update blocker, no need to even install, just run it, and you too will never see Windows OS upgrade infections again...oh and you're welcome, old Hairy is glad to help ;-)

I haven't used this, so please exercise due skepticism, but I've heard this is excellent for solving the problem you describe:

http://blog.ultimateoutsider.c...

Don't worry, your old pal Hairy has got the fix for that bullshit...Bam! Kills the Win 10 spyware dead without making you constantly try to find the "gotcha!" in Windows Update. And for those that may have gotten infected with the backported to Windows 7/8 "telemetry" aka "all ur data" patches? Bam! There is a handy .Bat file in the middle of the page, just run it and it uninstalls the patches and kills any phone home shite, its even updated every month in case MSFT adds more nasties...oh and you're welcome ;-)

Go here:
http://ultimateoutsider.com/downloads/ and download the GWX Control Panel. That will remove it as well as the downloaded install files. Not my code, but it worked for me.

http://blog.ultimateoutsider.c... seems to be a good way to stop the update from installing by mistake whilst still allowing you to have Windows Update set to "automatically install everything"
Saying no to kb3035583 (and setting it to "hide this and dont install it") also helps stop Windows 10 from being installed.

The internets provide This Explanation for the phenomenon. :P