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Microsoft No Longer Allows Admins To Block Windows Store Access In Windows 10 Pro (zdnet.com)

Posted by msmash on from the windows-woes dept.

If you're an administrator, you will no longer be able to block Windows 10 Pro users on your watch from accessing the Windows Store. Mary Jo Foley reports for ZDNet: Up until a month ago, admins could use Group Policy to shut off employees' access to Windows Store if they were running Windows 10 Pro. Controlling this access is a requirement for some businesses. But last month, Microsoft changed that option, claiming that Store access was required for all versions of Windows 10 except Enterprise and Education "by design." Admins still can use AppLocker or Group Policy to block access to the Windows Store if their employees (or students) are running Enterprise or Education.

13 of 407 comments (clear)

  1. God by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This company SUCKS.

  2. Par for the course by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You don't own your computer. redmond does.

    1. Re:Par for the course by ChromeAeonium · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This is increasingly apparent. My computer constantly bugs me about installing something I don't want, and I keep hearing stories of people whose computers decide to update anyway without their explicit permission, and of people who try to revert after the upgrade but have problems doing so. I paid for Windows 8. I don't really care for it, I preferred the last version, I liked the Start menu is much more useful than whatever the hell I've got now is called, but that's what I've got on my machine, and if it is really my machine, than I get the choice to do what I want, how I want, when I want, and if I want. Microsoft it seems does not appear to agree with that and can't take no for an answer. I don't care if Windows 10 is the best thing ever; it's my property and my choice.

      I've for years been one of those uncommon people who has had experience and done work on Mac and Linux systems but still preferred Windows. Next computer I get, and I'll likely be in that market soon, I do not think I will get a Windows machine. This is too much humbug, and I don't like where Microsoft is taking things. If this story is accurate, this is more of Microsoft trying to control what should be under your sole command and ownership, and that's not acceptable.

  3. This is the year of the Linux Desktop by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Funny

    This time, I can actually believe it.

    There is a reason now to switch.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    1. Re:This is the year of the Linux Desktop by Harlequin80 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Yes it does. If you were to try Linux Mint MP3s will play out of the box, on the assumption you download the international version. Due to legal issues the USA version has mp3 playback removed in the default install, but can be added with 3 clicks after install. The part that is removed is the codec to allow MP3 playback.

      At first boot it will be using the opensource drivers for your video card but a box will pop up saying "proprietary drivers are available for some of your hardware" it will list all of them and ask you if you want to install them or not. Hit yes and your machine will install the nVidia / amd drivers and reboot once. From there you are done. I haven't run into any media that won't play on a default install, it comes with LibreOffice which will do 99% of what people use MSOffice for, firefox, DVD burning software, audio recording software and image editing software.

      There is always the possibility that you may have an edge case with your hardware that may cause you issues. However I haven't run into any other those in the past 5 years. I am running Mint on Dell latitudes, E6420 i7-2640m, NVS 4200m graphics, as their primary O/S, as well as multiple AMD processor (x2, x4 & x6 AM3 machines) on gigabyte boards with Nvidia graphics. I also have 3 Atom based machines with a mixture of Nvidia Ion and AMD Radeon cards that run without any hitch, including wireless, and ethernet. These are Shuttle XS35 machines and an ASUS EEbox.

      All of these machines boot off the live cds with all hardware working. No hacks, grub parameters, hacking, compiling of drivers, downloading of anything weird, touching terminal or anything else required.

      I have also installed mint on my MIL's crappy HP laptop which is an AMD Radeon and it worked perfectly. I can't remember any more of its specs though.

    2. Re:This is the year of the Linux Desktop by KlomDark · · Score: 5, Interesting

      That did used to be the case. That's one thing that made Linux suck back in the day.

      But these days, I've got no problems getting any of my stuff to work. Including a couple things that don't work on Windows anymore. I've got an old legal-paper size HP scanner, there haven't been Windows drivers for it since (!!!) Windows 2000. Works just fine on Linux Mint, I was amazed. Also an old thing that lets you use an SD card as an external drive via a USB cable, hasn't worked since around Windows Vista, also works just fine on Mint. An older 8-core 64 bit Xeon box (Dell Precision 690) that I had no driver issues with.

      It's really gotten better. I'm sure the Mac guys will vehemently disagree, but I'd say the latest version of Linux Mint is better than anything from Apple or Microsoft.

      Try it again!

  4. I really liked Windows 7 by flopsquad · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Why are they continuing to aggressively push invasive, paternalistic, and generally super-assholey "features" that make me never want to go back to a Microsoft OS?

    --
    Nothing posted to /. has ever been legal advice, including this.
    1. Re:I really liked Windows 7 by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 5, Insightful

      MS realized that corp america will be stuck with them for still quite a while. home users user whatever comes installed; they mostly are just sheep and do what they are told. we are a tiny tiny exception. and beyond that, mac people are their own strange kind that will never consider using windows (most hate linux, too).

      MS can do whatever it wants and it will still have business' loyalty.

      the key was entrenching Word format and getting it so complicated that it simply cannot be made interoperable with free alternatives.

      when all your docs are locked to MS formats, you know the result. you have no choice anymore.

      MS stopped trying to get us to CHOOSE windows. they now have decided to say 'fuck it' and just force whatever they want on people and with win10, they remove all your choices. little by little, the frog is slowly cooked and users are having all their choices taken away, for rejecting updates and for setting policies on their own.

      you and I will reject windows, but again, we are not big enough ($$) to even register on the pocket-change o-meter that MS has. MS is kept alive by business licenses and the home stuff is just to keep you 'trained' on using windows so that business will continue to think that their userbase needs to continue with that same old os.

      --

      --
      "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
    2. Re:I really liked Windows 7 by mhkohne · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Because renting you stuff and getting a steady revenue stream is a WAY better business model than trying to get you to buy a new version every few years.

      The truth is that selling the OS & Office the way they have been is a sucky way to make money - you have to put out a bunch of cash making the new version, then hope you can con enough suckers into buying it to make your money back at the end. Much better to sell monthly subscriptions to Office 365 through your controlled App store. Plus, you can charge a fee to let other people sell through your app store.

      I'm waiting for the day that they try to block non-app store installs.

      --
      A thousand pounds of wood moving at 300 feet per minute. Don't get in the way.
  5. Coming soon... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Candy Crush Pro Business

  6. I really can't beleive it at this point,....... by AbRASiON · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'm not your normal /. "#$%! Microsoft" kinda guy. I've been an MS guy my whole life, only dabbling in other OSs briefly.

    Often you see people (here) chanting about #@$%^ Microsoft or "are you surprised" or any other snarky remark, I traditionally dismiss these as the extreme tinfoil people who would hate whatever they do, regardless.

    That being said, Microsofts moves with Windows 10 have gone from "hmm ok that's questionable, but I can see past it" and "this looks desperate, it's kinda shitty, but oh well" and "well that's definitely dumb, but I'm sure some great nerd will hack up an awesome all-in-one little 'fixit' tool for Windows 10 to take out all the crap"

    It's now at a point where it's outright sounding BAD. Like proper, bad. The things they keep doing are worse and worse, more and more intrusive. I thought the pushy installer was rough but ok, once it's on, they aren't going to abuse it too much, they are getting their data, from most people who aren't clever enough to turn stuff off.
    Nope! It's getting SO bad, I'm really thinking of sticking with 7 as long as humanly possible. Maybe I really will end up a Mac guy after all, or something?

    Super unimpressed at this point.

    1. Re:I really can't beleive it at this point,....... by vux984 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      " Maybe I really will end up a Mac guy after all, or something?"

      Ok. Since the presence of the 'forced' app store on Windows 10 offended you so much that you are considering switching to Mac.

      What is the Apple supported way to remove the App Store in OSX El Capitan?

      The app store in OSX is, if anything even more integrated than the App Store in Windows is, as it delivers OS updates as well. I look around a bit and found a few articles from circa 2011 when they first introduced it in 10.6. and even back then the removal instructions amounted to hacks where "you can do a-b-c to remove it but its not supported by apple at all". And that was several releases ago now.

      So here we have a case of Microsoft doing a thing that everyone has seemingly already accepted from Apple years ago... but hate Microsoft doing it so much that they threaten to switch to Apple over it... so...um... yeah.

  7. Re:I am guessing by rudy_wayne · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There's probably technical reasons for this

    No, there isn't.

    additional revenue.

    The *ONLY* reason it's being done.