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Microsoft Denies Rogue Windows 10 Upgrades, Says Users Remain Fully In Control (hothardware.com)

Posted by timothy on from the innocent-whistling dept.

MojoKid writes: Despite significant user outcry that Microsoft Windows 10 upgrade mechanism has gone rogue, installing on customers' Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 machines when their backs were turned or they were otherwise away from the computer, Microsoft is pleading innocent. News broke of the automatic Windows 10 upgrades over the weekend, and in nearly every case, it was claimed Windows 10 installed without user intervention. Microsoft issued the following statement regarding the alleged unplanned upgrades: "We shared in late October on the Windows Blog, we are committed to making it easy for our Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 customers to upgrade to Windows 10. As stated in that post, we have updated the upgrade experience to make it easier for customers to schedule a time for their upgrade to take place. Customers continue to be fully in control of their devices, and can choose to not install the Windows 10 upgrade or remove the upgrade from Windows Update (WU) by changing the WU settings." However, users are still reporting the Windows 10 has allegedly forcefully taken over their machines. Hundreds and maybe thousands of users and IT admins are still chiming in on various threads around the web that they've "been had" by Microsoft.

13 of 515 comments (clear)

  1. Confirmed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Happened on my wife's Windows 7 system over the weekend.

    1. Re:Confirmed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Happened to me last week as well. I have a desktop at my parents house running non genuine Windows 7. It shouldn't be able to run updates ever, but when I booted it after quite a while of sleeping, the Windows 10 update began. There wasn't even a mouse of keyboard plugged into the machine, so I'm sure it was not my parents.

    2. Re:Confirmed by sexconker · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Not bullshit.

      My own machine downloaded Windows 10, again, over the weekend for no fucking reason.

      I've set all manner of registry keys that MS recommends for blocking the update.
      I've hidden the updates that give you Windows 10.
      I've removed all the updates that give you the Get Windows 10 "app".
      I've run GWX Configuration tool.
      I've told Windows to NOT give me recommended updates the same way I receive important updates.
      I've told Windows to download updates but not install them.

      If I had the default, Windows 10 would have installed itself.

    3. Re:Confirmed by sexconker · · Score: 4, Interesting

      MS hasn't pushed Win 10 to domain-joined machines.
      Your 30+ machines are either on a domain, using WSUS instead of Windows Update, or you're lying.

      You seem to be vehemently defending MS and denying that any pushing is going on.
      Further, you never see Windows 10 as an update in Windows Update. Various updates, in various categories (optional, recommended, important), at various times have installed various versions of the Get Windows 10 "app" since this shit started.

      If you're claiming that this never happened to you on 30+ machines, then you haven't used Windows Update on those 30+ machines in the past 6 months or you're a fucking liar.

    4. Re:Confirmed by tsqr · · Score: 4, Interesting

      If you're claiming that this never happened to you on 30+ machines, then you haven't used Windows Update on those 30+ machines in the past 6 months or you're a fucking liar.

      Christ, calm down. As I've said elsewhere in this thread, I've seen (and evaded) it on one out of four Win7 machines at my house; not a whisper on the other three. It's entirely possible that 30 machines could skate on this.

    5. Re:Confirmed by Howitzer86 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Thankfully this will be over in late July when the free upgrade offer ends.

    6. Re:Confirmed by NotDrWho · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Ironically, I was open to the idea of upgrading until I saw how bizarrely insistent MS was about the upgrade. When I began to hear stories of stealth upgrades, I ran, not walked, to the "GWX Control Panel" app and installed it. Anything that MS is this crazy insistent about has to be up to something very, very bad behind the scenes.

      --
      SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
    7. Re:Confirmed by arth1 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      There's no reason for MS to do this. It makes no sense.

      Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
      That someone in MS made an error and flipped a switch for a patch, or made the default timeout action for a requester being "accept" or any other possibilities are, well, possible. And doesn't imply malicious actions, only stupidity, ignorance, recklessness or all of the above, combined with management that repeat what they THINK should happen as if it is what happens.

      I saw my first GWX popup on a domain joined computer last week, on a DC with GPOs where anything related to Windows 10 updates has been blocked. That should not be possible. Yet it happened.

      There is something rotten in the state of Denmark.

  2. Re:Windows 10... yeah right by krray · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I make a decent penny fixing computers [generally].

    On the few Linux installs that I've done outside of business' the users rarely call except to learn how to do something. Not because it is "broken". Business' get Linux servers and, well, never call.

    On the Mac installs they almost never call too. Except to learn how to do something because they can't use Google. I *know* virus' exist on the Mac (it is my personal desktop), but that never seems to be a problem.

    On the Windows installs I make a killing. Cleaning up virus', removing bloat they accidentally install, etc. I don't trust Microsoft. Makes perfect sense to me.

  3. Watch out if you have a restrictive data cap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Happened to my daughter's computer. Unfortunately, her internet access was obtained over an LTE device (Rogers "Rocket Stick") - the Windows 10 downloads resulted in a $100 Cdn bill.

  4. Re:You consented to the install... well sorta by grumbel · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Yep, that is my experience as well. When you click the "download and install later" option, that's it, the update will now be carried out and you have no way to cancel it. The dialog box that is presented to you before the final update does not have a cancel button or a close button or any other means to not carry the installation out, you can delay the installation by some days, but you have to set a date for the install, there is no "ask me later".

  5. Me too by SB5407 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    That was my experience as well. EXCEPT I had successfully rescheduled it several times AND THEN one night, it started upgrading without warning me. IT threw me off without a restart notice, there was no countdown that you mentioned. I was very disappointed to lose what I had been writing in a web app hosted by my Uni caused by the sudden and unexpected restart.

  6. Wait what? by Dunbal · · Score: 4, Interesting
    They deny it happens automatically by confirming it happens automatically:

    [Customers] can choose to not install the Windows 10 upgrade or remove the upgrade from Windows Update (WU) by changing the WU settings.

    Hear that? It's not automatic IF YOU OPT OUT by changing the WU settings.

    --
    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.