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Windows 10 Upgrade Activates By Clicking Red X Close Button In Prompt Message (bbc.co.uk)
Reader Raging Bool writes: In a move guaranteed to annoy many people, Microsoft has "jumped the shark" on encouraging users to upgrade to Windows 10. Microsoft has faced criticism for changing the pop-up box encouraging Windows users to upgrade to Windows 10. Clicking the red cross on the right hand corner of the pop-up box now activates the upgrade instead of closing the box. And this has caused confusion as typically clicking a red cross closes a pop-up notification. The upgrade could still be cancelled, when the scheduled time for it to begin appeared, Microsoft said
The change occurred because the update is now labelled "recommended" and many people have their PCs configured to accept recommended updates for security reasons. This means dismissing the box does not dismiss the update.Brad Chacos, senior editor at the PC World wrote about this incident over the weekend, and described it as a "nasty trick".
That's it, I'm getting my Commodore 64 out of the closet and booting up GEOS.
I, for one, welcome our Steaming Pile of Dung Overlords.
"Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair" - George Washington
For following years of best practice of automatically installing updates on home machines.
Got it.
Perhaps you mean the white X inside the red square?
But, yeah, this is the kind of thing that malware authors use. It's pretty shady.... if people don't want to upgrade, they don't want to upgrade. You gave them the box and you downloaded (and expanded) all of the files... you have already done everything you can to "promote" Windows 10 (intrusively) on people's computers...
Why are you stooping to this Microsoft?
You may as well just not give people a "choice" at all and just install the damn thing... why the pretense of having a user click something?
My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
Somehow.
There has been so much junk from MS over the last few years that my brain immediately plays this off as just more needless UI redesign that no one wanted or asked for.... Only then does it kick into "Yeah, That's pretty slimy...."
It's shit like this that makes me determined as fuck to hold onto 7, 8, whatever. When Google pulled this same fucking bullshit on +, I did the same damned thing and went out of my way to ensure I'd never be bothered with that garbage. Windows 10 is Microsoft's Google Plus.
I could give you many reasons for why you are wrong, but it's simpler to tell a troll like you to go f*ck yourself.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
It seems like all adult supervision has disappeared at Microsoft.
If you don't move to Windows 10 then you deserve all the security problems you will inevitably have. GUI and "principle" issues aside - it is a smart move.
Most people should be forced to switch. If you are too dumb to prevent the switch then you are in the camp of people who should be forced to switch. The tears mean its working.
You're already fucked in in the ass by a flaming, splintered telephone pole security-wise for running Windows in the first place.
Windows 10 adds massive phone-home surveillance to an already-insecure OS.
Modern app appers should make sure LUDDITE systems running LUDDITE Windows 7 get appgraded to Appdows 10! That includes every system, not just your own appy apping devices! You should forcefully appgrade your coworkers and friends' LUDDITE computers to appy Appdows 10, because then they'll become appy appers!
Apps!
Amusing that Microsoft wants us to love their stuff when they employ the same tactics as all the sites trying to confuse users into installing malware use.
DogDude and all the other MS shills have assured me that Windows 10 doesn't install itself, it's just my younger sibling playing a prank on me (he/she's obviously quite talented to break into my office and install it on my co-worker's computer!). Of course Microsoft, being the honest company they are, would never ever try to force their ad+spyware onto their customers without their thorough approval given by root password, last four digits of their social security number, and a hand-written letter to the executive board of Microsoft--everybody knows their customers are all serious-business enterprise clients that wouldn't tolerate anything remotely close to what TFA is insinuating, so therefore Microsoft can't be doing it! They are, after all, infallible.
Cant the makers of XP Antivirus 2010 issue some sort of DMCA cease and desist against Microsoft for infringing on their intellectual property? I believe they were the first ones to invent "Pressing the [ X ] button will initiate installation of said software..."
I could give you many reasons for why you are wrong, but it's simpler to tell a troll like you to go f*ck yourself.
just start with one.
I think you forgot to add the standard disclaimer: Paid advertising by Microsoft.
Ha! I call "FUD!" on that. Everyone ASSUMES the devil they don't know is better than the vulnerabilities that have been teased out over time (sometimes a long time) on a previous software. It can never be proven as true since time is forward.
It's been my experience that people are way more vulnerable in other ways, and most of these OS updates are dubious at best when it comes to being more secure.
An embedded firmware guy
Of course, they didn't mean the best version of Windows for customers. (That would likely be either Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 with a third party tool to restore the start menu/desktop.) They meant the best version of Windows for tracking their users' every move. Using that metric, Windows 10 is the best!
My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
I don't think "jump the shark" means what you think it mean.
If you don't move to Windows 10 then you deserve all the security problems you will inevitably have. GUI and "principle" issues aside - it is a smart move.
Most people should be forced to switch. If you are too dumb to prevent the switch then you are in the camp of people who should be forced to switch. The tears mean its working.
Windows 10 fits more criteria for "malware" than the most well-known malware suites do. Forcefully installs itself? Check. Spies on you? Check. Displays ads to you? Check. Uninstalls competitors' programs? Check. Doles out your security keys to people on your contact list? Check.
It's one step away from literally being ransomware.
Going forward, Microsoft has decided that they need to aggressively dump their old OSs as win10 will be their platform for new products and services. (Mostly services)
If you don't want to be on win10, maybe you should take the hint and switch to something else.
Belive it or not I understand MS's point of view here. They know they need to change or simply be left behind. They're actually doing pretty well with their cloud services - Azure and O365 are being adopted like mad.
I'm surprised they're still charging home users for windows a this point.
You just crossed the Red Line.
Morons
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
Microsoft said: "With the free Windows 10 upgrade offer ending on 29 July, we want to help people upgrade to the best version of Windows ...
trust us ...
The X button means fucking **quit**, not "minimize", you UI retards. If you're going to hijack the last 40 years of WIMP then give users an option to enable / disable this shit. Preferably the default would be OFF.
Microsoft Windows: noun, A 64-bit compilation of 32 bit extensions and a graphical shell for a 16 bit patch to an 8 bit operating system originally coded for a 4 bit microprocessor written by a 2 bit company that can't stand 1 bit of competition with 0 bit of understanding good UI.
STFU and go design an OS that's worthwhile bitch.
C|N>K
If you don't move to Windows 10 then you deserve all the security problems you will inevitably have. GUI and "principle" issues aside - it is a smart move.
Most people should be forced to switch. If you are too dumb to prevent the switch then you are in the camp of people who should be forced to switch. The tears mean its working.
Windows 10 fits more criteria for "malware" than the most well-known malware suites do. Forcefully installs itself? Check. Spies on you? Check. Displays ads to you? Check. Uninstalls competitors' programs? Check. Doles out your security keys to people on your contact list? Check.
It's one step away from literally being ransomware.
1. Install ransomware on hundreds of millions of computers
2. PROFIT!
I think you've uncovered Microsoft's business model.
My wife accidentally clicked it on her admittedly elderly machine, now it won't boot up, no way to roll it back, all her files are gone.
This is different than malware... how is that?
Microsoft, you gave us this OS and introduced the masses to the concept of windows in a UI. You were even arrogant enough to name your UI Windows.
And all this time, we have gone through several iterations of your UI, but one constant has remained; the general understanding that if you click the fucking X located in a specific area of any window in your UI, it closes.
This has been by design since the dawn of Windows.
And since you've now taken the path of malware authors with this shady bullshit, we should treat you as such. It's one thing to ask users. It's one thing to force users. It's another matter entirely to trick and deceive users.
Bottom line is it's time to start the class-action lawsuit. This should not be tolerated in any way. Put another way, if malware was introduced into the core OS and deceived users against Microsoft's wishes, you better believe they would be attacking the cause of that problem and look to put a stop to it.
Why so desperate?
So, uh, how's that Free Market workin out for ya, M$... I've never seen you compete in one, and you sure aren't now!
C|N>K
If you don't move to Windows 10 then you deserve all the security problems you will inevitably have. GUI and "principle" issues aside - it is a smart move.
Most people should be forced to switch. If you are too dumb to prevent the switch then you are in the camp of people who should be forced to switch. The tears mean its working.
Windows 10 fits more criteria for "malware" than the most well-known malware suites do. Forcefully installs itself? Check. Spies on you? Check. Displays ads to you? Check. Uninstalls competitors' programs? Check. Doles out your security keys to people on your contact list? Check.
It's one step away from literally being ransomware.
Bitlocker will be enabled by default. If you don't keep subscribing to Windows 10 your bitlocker keys are deleted.
Thats 2 steps but totally doable.
In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
Just one? Seeing ads on startup and being forced to share more and more information are too high a price for a "free" upgrade.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
I could give you many reasons for why you are wrong, but it's simpler to tell a troll like you to go f*ck yourself.
Microsoft are deeply ashamed of all the Windows that came before 10 and would prefer everyone forget they ever existed. I kind of feel for them.
In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
I can't think of anything the fruit peddler has done that comes close to the arrogance Microsoft is showing regarding anything about Windows 10.
It's enough to make a cynical paranoid think Microsoft is being paid to be this obnoxious and intrusive. Paid by whom? I'll leave that to the conspiracy theorists.
Win 10 sounds like a data-collecting piece of spyware, don't it?
The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
I love how Microsoft is calling this a recommended UPDATE. There is a generally accepted difference between an upgrade and an update. This clearly crosses that line.
From what I see, it schedules the upgrade, and you have to opt out by going into some other settings to cancel.
It's not that the "X" activates the upgrade - at that point, it's too late.
Still, it's very shady not to give users an obvious choice on the popup, let alone not making it an "opt in" choice.
All of my machines are running Windows 10... shrugs... at this point, all the bitching is basically all about the point of the matter. Win 10 runs fine on the machines I've installed it on (several laptops, 9 or 10 desktops, some 10+ years old). Unless you have some particularly specific niche software or hardware (that can't run in Win7, therefore, not in Win10, since the drivers are mostly the same), people really shouldn't have too many complaints.
I'd be more concerned if Microsoft was pushing people to Win8 and the crappy fail that was the Metro Start Screen. Win10 dialed it back and makes more sense in the case of a desktop/mobile hybrid OS. Still, the exec who is pushing this sort of tactic needs to be fired ASAP.
What do you mean "one step away from literally being ransomware?"
Anyone who's tried to restore their former system and had it partially fail or trash their OS install completely is going to have to pay one way or another.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
In a surprising coincidence, I had just finished reading this article when my son burst in saying "Hey Dad something's strange with the gaming PC, it's shutting down saying it's configuring itself for the Windows 10 upgrade, but I never accept that!"
I have a backup . . .
meh
One of my fellow engineers also owns a pet store (run by his wife and son). Over the weekend their computer that runs their point of sale software upgraded itself. The store's software does not run on Windows 10, so this was a mess for them while they spent the effort and time to downgrade. He is suitably pissed.
If you do, on an older machine, you may well get driver issues and software incompatibilities. I have a number of laptops from circa 2010-2012, and Windows 10 is basically unusable on them. I am gradually purchasing SSDs and reinstalling Windows 7 on them (may as well do the SSD upgrade while I'm at it). I have a friend who's laptop failed to do the update properly and was left in an unbootable state, at which point he was talking about taking it to a repair man to get the data off and buying a new laptop. That is the kind of nightmare the non-tech-savvy are put into. As for security problems, if Microsoft really cared about security, they would do a better job of designing Windows. They intentionally put in may hidden cubbyholes for proprietary software and oem customisations to take advantage of, and much malware thrives on this sort of thing. If companies like MS made things as simple as possible, security would be much more straightforward.
John_Chalisque
Over the weekend I set up a new Win 10 machine for Dad (store bought HP Envy). Going through updates and installs I found one nasty surprise, Flash was installed by default on this box. I was hoping to wean him over to HTML5 with this upgrade (from Vista !), but HP builds them with Flash already in place. Went ahead and made Firefox64 the default browser, and Chrome as an alternative, but since Cortana and all MS services default to MS Edge no matter what you set, it's going to be a mixed operation from now on
Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now, and let us slay him... and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
They don't encrypt your data and threaten to withhold it without paying a subscription or consenting to their spyware/adware.
At least not yet.
Given the long-held tradition of US FedGov doing jack-shit for consumers, I've hoped that the EU regulators will yet-again drag Microsoft by their tiny, tiny balls back into court and brutalize them like MS is doing to Win 7/8 users, but the silence is deafening. Perhaps Brexit is taking up all their cycles?
Microsoft hasn't changed as much as they like to say they have, so glad I moved off windows years ago, go linux!
This is the same crap that malware distributors use to trick you into installing garbage on your system, displaying fake windows with fake widgets.
Why not just force the install without any user interaction at all? That would be more honest. This aren't getting consent, they aren't allowing user choice, so why the trickery to somehow involve the user in a process you're going to do with or without them?
The only think I can think is that it is a victim-blaming manipulation strategy. Most people will try to close the window, see that the install launched, assume they made a mistake (that they can't verify because now the window has vanished), then after the panic subsides, sigh and resign themselves to their fate. So they'll blame themselves instead of blaming Microsoft.
I already knew I didn't trust them. It's nice to be vindicated, I guess. It certainly pours gasoline on my cynicism and paranoia regarding humanity.
Bullshit. How hard it is to understand that I bought Windows 7 and that's exactly what I was delivered. If I need 10, I would have upgraded already. What makes Microsoft think they can change product their one sided decision to something else?
Car analogy would be you take your car in shop for periodic maintenance only to find vendor changed model without asking and claims it to be better even though you prefer the old one.
Microsoft should be nailed by the balls to potty till they learn.
Microsoft is a really serious, trustworthy and reliable company. It has really changed since the past! I mean, there's no way they'd even thought about pulling this kind of shit in the 90's...
If this assholery doesn't doom Microsoft from ANY kind of serious business, enterprise or agency, nothing will. They are basically screaming "we're crooks", but I guess "so schlimm kann es doch nicht sein".... A LOT of people are about to get a rude awakening, eventually.
Doesn't matter. If people are being tricked into upgrading to something they haven't agreed to and/or do not want, then it's wrong.
That's what Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook, and many other companies and governments are doing; they are attempting to seize control over you and your apps and your data; They already claim ownership over some of your personal data, and soon they will try to claim ownership over the rest of your data; your spreadsheets, word documents, etc. etc.
Get control back in your hands, move to Linux now and be done with it.
Get over it, Windows 10 is meant to be the big bug & security fix release, it so happens that it also comes with some UI changes, so what? Pick your fights, people.
Now everyone is a prom queen and has just found the prompt kings hand wandering
Who is responsible to support Win 10 ?
The OEM did NOT install this. If MS is forcing this on people they should be taking over OS support!
I was impressed my dad didn't fall for NOW or LATER. This is too much, if he calls for helps I am referring him to MS since I know nothing about 10, nor care to. Might be learning Ubuntu or something at this rate :(
I see someone has sneaked a peak at next years' business plan.
We are upgrading your system...resistance is futile...
You're messin' with my Zen Thing, man.....
Whoops sorry, I misread your comment... but you were close. FTFY
If you move to Windows 10 then you deserve all the security problems you will inevitably have. GUI and "principle" issues aside - it is not a smart move.
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
You assume that they are truly proud of what they have now. Windows 10 (especially on mobile) has been a cluster f. It shipped too early, unpolished and only barley tested (which isn't unexpected when you fire all of your testers the year before).
Pity them. Windows for desktops/laptops/devices is dying and they are desperate to make and/or keep it relevant.
The only money making that happens wrt Windows today and likely in the future is as the backend of Azure... which does sort of make you wonder given their push to CoreCLR (ie not Windows centric), at what point they fire most of the devs behind Windows, put the business into sustained engineering mode and ride the wave until it finally ends (ala Radio Shack).
Help Brendan pay off his student loans
The sad part is that almost nobody from the "real world" knows this. Just the other day I was browsing the bogleheads.org forum (a popular investment forum where the typical member is well-educated and makes an upper-middle class salary or greater). There was a post about windows upgrading itself without permission, and half the replies amounted to "it can't hurt anything" and the other half "you need the latest and greatest anyway". They are utterly clueless about the spying, the tracking, the phoning home, and the fact that it amounts to malware.
Microsoft security support for Win7/8 for the next decade or so?
There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
This is so blatently at odds with all of their own UI design principles, that there's no way to justify it as anything other than intentional deception. Can some of you US citizen splease complain to the FTC, for the world's sake? At least you can say you tried, years down the road when they've completely destroyed the concept of owning one's own PC.
MS has already announced that anyone with the GWX.exe program on their PC (KB3035583) will receive Windows 10 by July 29th whether they want it or not. So if you have not already uninstalled KB3035583 and do not want windows 10, please do so soon. Otherwise you'll turn your PC on one day and it will be booting into windows 10.
Define "consent" in the no-means-yes world of Windows 10
People used to laugh at me when I told them my Win 7 install is never connected to a network.
Look, there are a zillion things that MS did which are sneaky and downright reprehensible with regards to pushing Windows 10, but this is NOT one of them. Has anybody seen the actual dialog? It is NOT a question asking whether you want to upgrade. It is only a notification informing you that your PC is scheduled to upgrade since you have recommended updates turned on. Your PC would have updated to 10 in any case even if that dialog were not to popup, because 10 is a recommended upgrade. This notification is in reality offering you a chance to opt of it - I remember "click here if you want to change your update setting or cancel the upgrade" or something of that sort. Then an OK button. Clicking on "X" is not somehow "activating" an upgrade. It actually does nothing, as required of a notification dialog - it is just letting the already scheduled upgrade proceed, which is what one should expect.
If anything is sneaky, it is TFA which portrays the dialog box in a false light. The entire media just repeats without once stopping to think - it has become fashionable in tech media to hit on MS pushing Win 10, but this kind of reporting only detracts from the credibility of reporting on all the real sneaky things that MS is doing.
I am ready to join the class action lawsuit as soon as an lawyer has enough guts to go after Microsoft.
Disclaimer, I do use Windows 10 on my machines at home and especially my gaming rig.
The laptops, because that was what came installed, but the gaming rig, obviously since it is actually pretty good for gaming.
I do not really mind the OS itself, but I am growing tired of this constant crap they are pulling. Like forcing my to use Bing! I fucking hate Bing. If I accidentally search with Bing, I will go to google and search again even if the Bing answer may have been correct. I HATE Bing!
I really hope that this year, with Vulcan coming online, my biggest reason for not switching to Linux will be gone. I can imagine that Steam can really help to push Linux on gaming with the HTC vive. I have ordered it myself.
I'll need to update my graphics card, but I need to see what's on tap from AMD first.
It could finally be time for the Linux desktop.
This is exactly why free software (in the vein of what Richard Stallman calls for) needs to be supported. *YOU*, the user, must own complete control over your computer and the software it runs, not developers (much of the more liberal open source licenses are about developer rights, not user rights -- big difference!) or corporations.
I know many of you would object, "But I bought this computer, it's not Microsoft's!". Well I wholeheartedly agree, but the thing is, Windows being proprietary closed source means that Microsoft has a claim to intellectual property rights. Microsoft believes that you license Windows, not own it. Essentially, they still own the software on your computer. Again, I know that *you* disagree, but it kinda doesn't matter what you think -- Microsoft has money and lawyers and they push for the outcome they want. Which is to own your computer. And if they own it, they're technically allowed to do whatever they want with it, including force upgrades. That is the nature of licensing agreements -- you agree to their licensing rules, which means they can do whatever they want.
If this bothers you, switch to a free software OS. Some flavor of Linux or even BSD. Get involved in the free software community, both the technical community (making more/better free software) and the political community (that lobbies for changes to copyright law, tries to get government to adopt open standards, etc.). We have to fight back, or you can expect more behavior like this from Microsoft, Apple, etc., in the future.
Oh the security keys again? Look, it's this simple, if you can be bothered to actually know what you are complaining about, just shut the fuck up about it. Windows 10, a no point, gave your security keys away. It at no point gave your contact list your wifi passwords without your consent. The system was turned on, yes, to allow you to choose to use it. It never, ever, gave your keys unless you specifically told it to do so. As well, it never actually exposed your key, just a hash. But like I said, if you are still whining about that, you are an idiot
I hope you posted in the thread to inform them, then!
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
FYI: GWX Control Panel will get rid of all the windows 10 BS and even get rid of an windows 10 upgrade in progress. Worked for me and was clean.
The sad part is you are somewhat right about security issues. 7 wont be getting security updates at some point
However, its no panacea and its offensive as fuck. Ads? Even when privacy settings are enabled, its still talking to bing like crazy. As far as I can tell, the only way to be even a little bit private with your windows usage is to block bing at your border routers.
"I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
WAY to go dude! Give them ideas why don't you! :-) Though given how evil they are I presume they have this idea themselves & are just debating how to make it SOUND like a 'feature'...
Being the tech support for my family, I spent last Sunday restoring Win7 on my parents laptop.
They're in their 70s, they're comfortable with Win7, didn't ask,request or give permission for Win10 to install itself.
They didn't like what they saw, and in their own words "wanted our computer back the way it was"
Fucking hell Microsoft, even Apple aren't this cunty at forcing shit on people. (well, apart from that U2 album incident).
My local PC shop is doing a roaring trade in rolling people back to Win7 , customers aren't baulking at their £95 fee either.
Says it all.
Why not switch to Linux or Mac and emulate a windows environment if you must?
Doles out your security keys to people on your contact list? Check.
Actually, Redstone 1 will remove this "feature" because it isn't used by many people and is hard for them to maintain.
What a dumb marketing choice as far as names go.
Anyway I don't think Vulkan will turn out to be the miracle tool everybody is hoping it will be and I forsee a lot of hassles as 'legacy' OGL hardware support is dropped as a result.
I had trouble on my old desktop. When I installed Win10 on it, it worked for awhile, but then an update fsked my internet access. I ended up installing Ubuntu on it.
Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
Check out Never10, a free, nifty little utility from GRC to make sure your Windows box's settings are such that 10 won't be installed:
https://www.grc.com/never10.htm
Handy!
Why not try a linux distro?
Until literally this week, there were no hardware drivers available for our receipt printers. Without GWX Control Panel, an automatic Windows 10 upgrade would literally put us out of business. Is that a good enough reason for you? Probably not.
It's one step away from literally being ransomware.
That comes in July, when it stops being free, but doesn't stop being an automatic install.
"You're copy of windows is unlicensed. Pay us $100+ or you will never see your own data again."
I wish I thought this was an exaggeration, but frankly, I expect exactly that.
Microsoft should be prosecuted for racketeering for how they've handled Windows 10.
Uhh, Windows 10 is less secure than Windows 7 and Windows 8.
Is piss them off so next time they buy Apple products.
Bullshit. How hard it is to understand that I bought Windows 7 and that's exactly what I was delivered. If I need 10, I would have upgraded already.
When they released Windows 7, they published a life cycle that said they would provide security updates until 2020. That's an implicit contract that it be usable until 2020. Now they're trying to cheat their customers out of four years of use.
Fraud is a predicate offense for racketeering. And racketeering lawsuits can be brought privately. Is there a Kickstarter for legal fees?
Are you renting/leasing this car?
Lets stipulate you don't expose any ports to Microsoft listeners (RDP, IIS, SMB..etc), don't use Microsoft browsers and don't have to worry about multiple user accounts any thoughts on wholesale firewalling the entire Microsoft domain and be done with it?
In the past there have been defects in IP stack, font rendering and various things that could bleed thru and affect someone simply running software or browsing the web but I flat out don't trust Microsoft to even behave rationally anymore and I'm losing confidence even "critical" security updates are worth it until we switch to Linux.
If you are a Canadian, I would invite you to report this as a violation of Canada's Anti-Spam legislation that also now covers unauthorized installation of software. Hopefully, having enough Canadians reporting this issue will cause the government to take action against Microsoft. Microsoft should not be permitted to "trick" users into installing software - this is not consent.
Report here:
http://fightspam.gc.ca/eic/site/030.nsf/frm-eng/MMCN-9EZV6S
Enjoy winning your lawsuit in a decade and getting a coupon for $10 off Office 2026.
Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
No, the real sad part is that most people that know all of that don't care. They'll say they've nothing to hide or that Android also spies on you (that one is true but that's no reason to also have this crap on Windows).
You're dismissing the box wrong
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
So long as you're using Windows updates, they're going after you with road gravel and Lye for lube.
This is as bad as those internet popups that nag you about leaving the website when you close a page, then install malware no matter what button you click.
I never click on those popups. When I get these anymore I pull the plug on the internet, use System Monitor (I'm on a Mac) to force the browser to close (bypasses the popup), re-open the browser and close ALL pages except for a blank page (check for pop-unders!), close the browser, THEN it is safe to re-connect the internet and open the browser.
I don't regret my move to Mac one bit after seeing Microsoft go this low. Way to lose customers to Apple, Microsoft! What's next, a Sony-style rootkit on music CDs?
Eternity: will that be smoking, or non-smoking? I Corinthians 6:9-10
But Microsoft says it's ok, and we all love Microsoft here, right?
This is why my gaming Windows 8.1 PC is set up to check for updates but not to download anything automatically. I can then examine the KB for each download and then block/hide the undesirable updates.
No sig. Move along - nothing to see here.
They tested with barley, or were they imbibing barley while testing?
I wonder what the chances are that Microsoft will invoke a totally forced upgrade for:
(a) ...all Windows 7 PCs, regardless of GWX registry settings or install type (home/pro/enterprise)
(b) ...all Windows 7 PCs missing GWX registry?
(c) ...all Windows 7 Home and Pro editions with/without GWX registry?
I guess at this point I can see them pulling the pin on it and just not giving a shit as many customers have no choice but to keep running Windows, and while for some it may totally break their software, for possibly many others it will just piss them off and they will keep working but MS will have "won" having upgraded them off 7..
So much this! I have computers interacting with legacy hardware that this would totally bork. When are someone going to start a class-action lawsuit? Or will the EU go after MS for anti-trust issues and finally break them up?
The thing is, their core bread and butter is the corporare office, not the home users. And yet they are completely alienating the corporate world, the developer world, and any professional who uses Windows. The only traction they get in the corporate world is because of brainwashed IT staff who take orders from Redmond. They really can't be so stupid that they would shoot their golden goose, and yet it seems they have.
I can't imagine what internal developers at Microsoft are thinking, they're probably in a state of depression or trying to make their resumes look good without having the word "Microsoft" appear.
But what's worse? Ransomeware trojan from visiting an unsecure site, or ransomeware Windows 10?
Down somewhere in the Edge preferences, there's an advanced options dialog where you can prevent Flash from running.
Hi, we replaced your car with a Yugo while it was in the shop. This should provide you with a better driving experience. After all you're going to have to upgrade eventually, so we made it easy for you.
I wondered why I saw a message congratulating me on scheduling my Windows 10 "upgrade". I found the cancel link, but I think I had to acknowledge at least twice that I didn't want their malwar....er...upgrade. Apparently, this is an indication that Microsoft knows that Windows 10 is about as popular as Kim Jong Un, that is, you must be forced to take it.
Really?
1) This wasn't an operating system update, this was an upgrade. This means a whole new operating system, not just adjustments.
2) The reasons why I didn't want to upgrade yet
a) Some of my wife's old programs wouldn't (and didn't work) on Win10 and I wanted to see about an upgrade path for that software BEFORE Microsoft forced it on me. This is absolutely despicable.
b) I have all kinds of ad blockers to avoid the problems they can present, but now Microsoft bypasses all of that in the OS? Fuck MS
3) The previous 100 dialogs presented were "opt in". This particular dialog switched to "opt out". Furthermore, the dialog layout makes you have to deliberately go through the whole dialog and see the right link and it's not obvious at all visually which link to choose from immediately. By my UI standards, they deliberately chose to do this to trick people who use muscle memory to just click the "X" and not realize they were implicitly agreeing to this.
4) You really think bundling constant ads for a full upgrade with critical software updates for security protection is a good thing???? Fuck MS.
So Microsoft knew exactly what they were doing and it's obvious they were tricking customers who do not pour through each dialog constantly crammed in their face into upgrading against their will.
So fuck you if you think this is an OK practice. You're probably the middle manager in Microsoft who thought this despicable practice was OK to do.
So I'm going to reinstall a previous Windows OS in a virtual environment and turn off the updates. Fuck all of you as I do not give a shit if I get that OS "owned". It doesn't matter, Microsoft is now doing the owning anyways.
What's more secure about windows 10? They said this about win2k,xp,vista,7,8, and 8.1
I think Bing is appropriately named, if it is named after that useless machine in the beginning of Monty Python's "The Meaning of Life".
As a concerned lawyer (liar, rather), I'm interested to know when the class-action business is going to start.
Honestly, Microsoft doesn't seem that far from being the next cryptolocker. Microsoft has been hinting at a subscription based model ever since Windows 8 came out, if they happen to move to that and you don't pay for a few months, what happens? It seems very easy to lock you out and force you to pay what you own to get back into your system.
Why do people keep on asking this as if somehow everyone has to use android? phones are phones the dumber the better.
or not buy nothing, and just try a linux distro again
Since they don't' mind that Google and Apple do it, there's no point in telling them MS wants to do it also.
This posting is provided 'AS IS' without warranty of any kind, implied or otherwise.
Yes, I reached that conclusion today; my next laptop will not be a Windows OS system. The only thing I need Windows for now is to run PC games.
-Bob-
Absolutely. We do all love Microsoft.
Who could have known that CUA dictates that a red X means Accept. But now that we have been enlightened, it is hard to deny the brilliance? I imagine that shortly red Xs will be popping up everywhere.
Yes. We all love Microsoft. And we have always been at war with EastAsia.
You can't see ANYTHING from a car, You've got to get out of the goddamned contraption and walk...Edward Abbey
That isn't sad, that is reality. Most people do not share your concerns.
Most of the people posting in this thread are stuck in a echo chamber, unable to see anything else.
So MS knows my web history and my search history. So what, so does Google!
If you are afraid of information getting out, perhaps the Internet isn't for you. Your illusions of privacy online are over inflated.
Forget what?
You can't see ANYTHING from a car, You've got to get out of the goddamned contraption and walk...Edward Abbey
Next step is to prevent any sort of backup unless and until your subscription is up to date. You can continue to run (for a while). You just can't archive data until you pay.
You can't see ANYTHING from a car, You've got to get out of the goddamned contraption and walk...Edward Abbey
Since the Windows Drive Model hardly changed between Windows versions I've not found a driver that existed in Windows 7/8 that didn't currently work in 10. I even got the serial port connected touchscreen in my vista era General Dynamics notebook working on Windows 10.
Sometime an MSI installer would check the Windows version (fix with Orca) or need to be run in "Compatibility Mode" - but I have all sorts of long unsupported hardware running in Windows 10.
The real kick will be when an automatic Windows update screws everything up and Microsoft says "Not our fault" - but I anticipate this will be a crap-shoot with both supported and unsupported apps and hardware the same... the difference being that the "supported" hardware may become unsupported or possibly get a fix after the impact has already been noted.
120 characters ought to be enough for anyone
Let me guess, you can't uninstall those things, despite the EU ruling that doing that with Internet Explorer was illegal...
Microsoft PR wants to boast how this was fastest adopted version ever. This would not naturally happen without their trickery, and maybe not even then. They systematically unleash all kinds of tricks to adjust the adoption curve when needed, it seems.
>we replaced your car with a Yugo
Come on now, it's not like they are forcing their users to install linux!
I get you are joking, but here's a serious answer anyway:
Windows is a decent operating systems at its core these days, and Windows 7 even had a decent GUI. The only problem is that Microsoft can't leave a good thing alone if it does not make them money. If necessary, they will introduce new "features" that serve them more than their users. So far we had
-the attempt to push a tablet and phone GUI on the desktop user (Windows 8). Presumably to train the user to accept Windows Phone.
-and recently, increasingly shameless data collection from personal data. My best guess why is monetizing the user's private life by selling personalized ads.
IMHO we are at the point where Microsoft's shenanigans are diminishing the worth of Windows to the user.
C - the footgun of programming languages
>the only way to be even a little bit private with your windows usage is to block bing at your border routers.
And? Did you expect MICROSOFT to do that for you?!
Better than a class-action lawsuit is quit using Windows.
You assume that they are truly proud of what they have now. Windows 10 (especially on mobile) has been a cluster f. It shipped too early, unpolished and only barley tested (which isn't unexpected when you fire all of your testers the year before).
You assume they're not? I don't know how you can't fuck something up that gloriously with the entire world telling you not to, unless you're doing it on purpose and for a reason.
Sorry I might be mistaken, but doesn't the key need to be shared to the contact in order for the contact to actually use the Wifi, not just a hash of the key. The hash of the key would be useless for authenticating on the network unless the hash itself was the passkey.
The actual access device could store a hash of the key to validate if the provided key is valid instead of storing the key, but if it is checking the provided key matched the hash exactly without actually hashing it, the hash is now the key...
If it is able to share a key, it must be stored in reversible encryption. There are tools for Windows (and pretty much every other operating system) to recover the saved keys. I think the only thing that makes Windows 10 unique is that it saves these keys "in the cloud" and allows you to share them across systems. Sort of like Google Chrome saved passwords.
120 characters ought to be enough for anyone
Actually clicking it doesn't accept. The "x" just gets rid of the window. The upgrade is already pre-accepted and scheduled and the user has to take positive action to undo the scheduled upgrade. What's wong is that the "Accept" button at the bottom doesn't do anything really, it just closes the windows the same as the "x" does. They're fooling the user into thinking that by not clicking "Accept" that the upgrade is not yet accepted.
they now use STOP for GO
No, Microsoft deceived its users.
And the U.S. Federal Trade Commission again does nothing, but keeps signing the our cheque nether the less.
https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
I upgraded to Windows 10 willingly. Twice - on two computers. I don't know why you're moaning. I don't have this problem :)
Ultimately, Microsoft will be able to get away with this, and there isn't thing one anybody can do about it. I'm sure this type of thing is covered under their EULA (yes, even the Win7/8.x EULAs), and they're response will be something like "Don't like it? Don't use Windows".
And the tragedy of all of this is most people will just go along with this and accept it. I've said for a long time that most people use Windows because they don't know any better. I often get a lot of flack for saying that, even on tech boards like this one. But anybody who is seriously surprised by Microsoft's actions with regard to Windows 10 has not been paying attention. Microsoft has been aiming for this scenario for decades, and what they are doing now is a Bill Gates/Steve Balmer/Satya Nadella wet dream! Most people will have to go along with it because so many custom or specialty apps are built for Windows. Those who are motivated might port their apps over to MacOS or Linux, but it will be a long time (a year, maybe two) before such apps would be available to end-users. In the meantime, Microsoft will be able to run roughshod over their entire user base and flip them off in the process.
I stopped using Windows as my main operating system in 1998, and I'm SO glad I did! I'm not touching Windows 10 with a 10-mile pole!
I think Microsoft will realize their subscription Windows dreams with Office 365 providing cross platform "Windows" as a service. Where "Windows" is the application user experience, not the drivers, kernel, codecs, etc. that only make them money from new PC sales anyway.
If the Windows Store and Apps take off, I guarantee that it will become a cross-platform subscription. You will bring your own hardware/hyper-visor/operating system/etc and install "Windows Services" or interact with them "in the cloud"
I tried to switch to Linux on my work laptop but I kept encountering office documents from with OLE embedded files, power point presentations which still didn't display correctly in Libre Office despite pirating all the Microsoft fonts etc.
I'm back to running Windows because it's cheaper and more tolerable than paying for an Office 365 subscription and there is no viable office suite for Linux
as always s/in the cloud/on someone else\'s computer/g
120 characters ought to be enough for anyone
I got hit by this force windows 10 upgrade while I was in a college final class. Microsoft go blow a hole.
I recommend using https://www.libreoffice.org/ in MS-Windows, having MS-Office used only as fallback: this way you can gradually identify and fix the problematic documents (please, try to use ODF whenever possible =])
Over the weekend I set up a new Win 10 machine for Dad (store bought HP Envy). Going through updates and installs I found one nasty surprise, Flash was installed by default on this box. I was hoping to wean him over to HTML5 with this upgrade (from Vista !), but HP builds them with Flash already in place. Went ahead and made Firefox64 the default browser, and Chrome as an alternative, but since Cortana and all MS services default to MS Edge no matter what you set, it's going to be a mixed operation from now on
You set it in control panel now. Setting it to default in the browser itself will not work.
Yes Red X means do it.
Where is the Please God No Button?
Everyone is doing it. 1) Turn on something by default. 2) Make you have to jump through a bunch of hoops in order to opt out or turn it off. 3) Charge you a lot of money if you fail to do so. My phone company does it. My satellite company does it. My credit card company does it......
Microsoft have been wantonly abusing their customers with these non-consentual updates to Windows 10. This should not stand. There needs to be strong legal action against this sort of thing. Let's start by calling it what it is: #WindowsUpdateRape.
I didn't consent to the upgrade, I repeatedly said no, Microsoft repeatedly re-pushed the same upgrader and nagware to my machine. The best way to describe this behavior is "update rape".
You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
Like on every bit on malware, ethically bankrupt popup add etc etc. Which is what windows appears to be moving toward: a bit of morally bankrupt malware hellbent on forcing installation whether you want it or not.
I recently had the job of restoring a vista pc who's wga key (label on the pc) became invalid three years ago, and was finally infected by a bitcoin ransom ware file locker. Nobody wanted to help.with the wga thing, the ransomware reminded me of sony corporation
It now has a copy of linux on it and the files where backed up - it seems to suit the user.and the hardware still works
I would love to know why the wga key became invalid and being that i am not sure i could convince anybody to part with cash for a microsoft product and discover that they dont really own it.
I hope many people do what i did by looking at alternative solutions
Waiting for July 30th when all this silliness will end. Please.
Guess I need to block Microsoft updates/servers until then. That's fine - only use Win7 for recording TV. That OS only goes on the internet to get TV schedule data anyway, which MSFT screwed up last July.
Switched to better, free, more secure, easier to use, platforms back in 2007 for almost everything. Just TV recording is left on Windows. Plus the other OSes are easier to maintain - patching not just 1st-party software, but 3rd party tools WITH THE SAME COMMAND, AT THE SAME TIME.
I'm always surprised about what people will put up with.
Pretty sure you can uninstall Flash if you want. Pretty sure Firefox also lets you disassociate Flash from the file extension as well.
Not sure if Flashblock is still a viable extension in Firefox, though. ... mostly because I pretty much extirpated Flash from my (Vista) system.
Hey, don't laugh at me. It still plays Civ IV, so I still don't have any free time...
Maybe this is for the Japanese market, where the X and O on a Playstation controller are backwards compared to how North Americans would expect.
Japan:
X is Cancel, O is Do
US:
O is Cancel, X is Do.
My friends: So convinced am I of Microsoft's perfidy that, some time in the next 6-24 months, Microsoft will attempt to revoke the Secure Boot keys for Windows 7 and 8, and every machine with a UEFI BIOS still running 7 and 8 will refuse to boot. The government will do nothing. The industry press, though publicly wringing its hands in consternation, will do nothing. The only proffered "fix" will be a Windows 10 install.
"Can you prove it won't happen?"
Editor, A1-AAA AmeriCaptions
Then you should have better control over your computers.
I think a whole lot of people agree on this point. We, the people who OWN the computers, should have much better control over them. Such as being able to say NO to an upgrade, and have that preference stick, and not be surreptitiously reset or otherwise bypassed AGAINST OUR WILL.
Windows 10 fits more criteria for "malware" than the most well-known malware suites do. Forcefully installs itself? Check. Spies on you? Check. Displays ads to you? Check. Uninstalls competitors' programs? Check. Doles out your security keys to people on your contact list? Check.
It's one step away from literally being ransomware.
I consider it ransomware, more so when the computer is locked to that OS and it can't be changed.
I know dual boot Linux, explain that to my Mom.
I had no difficulty setting chrome as the default browser on my personal box and any searches I do I do from the address/search bar in the browser so I don't think Cortana is picking that up
Must be sponsored by Upgrades Sans Frontières...
"I'm not anti-anything, I'm anti-everything, it fits better." - Sole
I am Microsofts worst nightmare. Nothing should scare Microsoft more than an educated customer.
Apple, where is your kickback program when I need it?
Kind Regards,
me
I understand it perfectly. That's why I know what a sleazy bunch of malware distributors Microsoft has become.
We have little choice on software that we use for point of sale. What we use is the only system that interacts with the national franchise, so if we don't use it, 300+ employees are out of a job. We don't write hardware driver for printers, and we don't write the software that interacts with those drivers. We can't. No retailer our size can. The resources simply aren't there. If you believe otherwise, you have no idea what you're jabbering about.
The only alternative to keeping a close watch at Microsoft's malware attempts is to go out of business. We finally have the option of moving to Windows 10, but I'm still not convinced it's possible to turn off enough telemetrics to be PCI compliant. It's entirely possible that we cannot continue to use Microsoft products without committing fraud against our merchant service. That not only has Microsoft resorted to being a criminal enterprise, they're going to force their customers to do so as well.
Thanks. Microsoft.
Since the Windows Drive Model hardly changed between Windows versions I've not found a driver that existed in Windows 7/8 that didn't currently work in 10.
You've apparently never worked with Epson receipt printers. When I tried the Win 7 drivers on Win 8, it blue screened so hard the blue screen crashed. That's 7 to 8, not 7 to 10. Our receipt printers would cost at least $100k to replace, and until two days day, our point of sale vendor (they have the only software that works correctly with the national franchise) did not sell a printer that had working Windows 8 drivers. Yes, they are very slow updating stuff; they test thoroughly, and yes, they suck in many ways, but it would cost us seven figures to replace them, and nothing we could build ourselves would actually work.
Microsoft knows there are millions of computers out there that cannot be upgraded without destroying the ability to perform the work they were bought to perform. And they don't care.
And that's fraudulent.
I'll take the Trojan over Windows 10.
Microsoft should be prosecuted for racketeering for how they've handled Windows 10.
i disagree! they should be commended for their efforts to spread Linux! ;)
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
I went out to a newsagency on Saturday afternoon because Win10 decided to upgrade the customers POS Server for his POS tills. The whole of a Saturday in a busy area of town was taken up not by 1 staffer and POS equipment but now 2 staffers and manual receipting.
How is this ok?
http://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/imac
At least that is how I took care of my Windows 10 issue. Now my OS is version ten and actually doesn't suck.
They must be taking lessons from Bill Cosby!
Try the veal folks, I'll be here all week!
-- You are in a maze of little, twisty passages, all different... --
Then employ someone that knows how to use Windows properly. If I can do it, you have no excuse.
Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
Learn to manage your systems properly, if I can do it, then you have no excuse.
Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
Your codependency has gotten completely out of hand.
It's one step away from literally being ransomware.
That comes in July, when it stops being free, but doesn't stop being an automatic install.
"You're copy of windows is unlicensed. Pay us $100+ or you will never see your own data again."
I wish I thought this was an exaggeration, but frankly, I expect exactly that.
Microsoft should be prosecuted for racketeering for how they've handled Windows 10.
If Microsoft continued to try to force an upgrade to Windows 10 down our throats with tricks like these after it was no longer a free upgrade, I'd be willing to bet that you could make a solid case that, under 39 U.S. Code 3009, it meets the definition of "unordered merchandise" and Microsoft has just given it to you for free, and can be required to cough up a valid license for it. I'd also be willing to bet that Microsoft isn't willing to have that premise tested in court, and that all the "Get Windows X" code will receive an update well in advance of the drop date that will cause them, on or after the expiration of the free-upgrade period, to require payment in advance before it will even download the update.
My backup image restorations always work perfectly, why?
Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
Didn't Microsoft say that at the end of XP they would release a tool that stopped the request for Activation? Tons of people would go back to XP if this was available.
that implies merely extreme lameness, not menacing danger.
the correct metaphor is that MS are getting desperate and violent in their attempt to get a little kid to come and get some of the sweets they have in the back of their van.
I do believe that violates Microsoft Certification of Software. Which is Hilarious!
Someday, I hope a heart surgeon says this same exact thing to you.
Please share all of your personal information here. You have nothing to hide.
No, the problem is you, not MS.
If you had security updates installing but recommended updates turned off, this would not happen.
The problem is people not understanding and being proactive about their computers.
If your enterprise is large enough to have $100k in printers and you're dealing with unwanted Windows 10 updates, you're doing in wrong.
This is what happens when all businesses think they can do without IT, or even worse, outsource it to India.
Hire an IT guy. Hire one local to you. Your technology experience will improve.
in fact, I haven't updated any of my windows machines past 7SP1. First thing I do on a fresh install: turn automatic updates off. GWX PROBLEM SOLVED!
Funny story: I had a letter through from my internet carrier recently saying that one or more of the computers in my home have become infected with Conficker. Now this is weird, since last I checked Conficker was a Windows worm, and being as all my Windows boxen are airgapped and have no network access beyond temporary LAN connection for pulling from the local repository, the only systems I have which are connected to my broadband are Linux machines and well, I don't know if/how Conficker runs on Linux. Anyone? Or is Virgin Media just trying to sell me some overpriced, overstuffed and subutility Windows antivirus package that a: I don't really need and b: I can't use on my networked systems anyway?
Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
any civil lawsuit can be brought privately (and most still are); lately it's been made difficult with the introduction of obscene fee structure in England which basically prices most people right out of obtaining an equitable solution to a conflict. Criminal prosecutions don't/shouldn't cost anything to file.
Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
KATE and a LAMP stack, what more could you possibly need??
Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
I am not a lawyer.
Why are there not lawsuits everywhere over this behavior? Really, WHY?
They have wasted hours of my time figuring out how to avoid the installation of the spyware. My time is not cheap, and I really feel like they have no right to be forcing me to spend my time fighting them. As far as I am concerned, they need to reimburse my time at typical consulting rate for this, and a premium on top of that for the screaming insanity of the behavior.
Seriously, when did they get the right to screw with my system at their leisure, and force me to actively counteract them installing software that I consider only to benefit them, and not to benefit me? How does this happen?
Simple solution... are you ready?
Disable Windows update completely. Period. Not even running the Windows Update service. Rename the .dll or .exe if you need to.
I did this and it is so nice and quiet on my laptop for a few months now.
If you support the PC of some elderly person which is not very savy then do him/her a favor and just diasable this annoyance. It is based on FUD mostly anyway.
You can reenable it after Windows 10 becomes a paid for option. Then they will not do the automatic update as you will need to pay for it.
I'm one of the few who actually likes Windows 10, but this thing, which I just experienced first hand today on a Windows 7 machine is over the line for obnoxious. Geeze, let people stay on older versions if they want to. This is too much shoving it down people's throats. All the nagging really needs to go away now. People who are interested in upgrading have probably already done so, this is just pissing people off now. I like Windows 10 and this level of shoving is pissing me off. Stop now.
come on, Microsoft just want to be another Google. Like everything they copy, they will lose, again and again.
The big players on the net just want to put you on a spit and slowly roast you over a fire.
Amen... If you use technology in your business, then to some extent, you're IN the tech business, at least in so far as needing someone competent to manage it.
If a random employee sets up your computers, or the boss does it between meetings, and then something goes wrong and your first response is to swear at the computer or Microsoft, then you're doing it wrong.
"No means yes, yes means Windows 10"
I thought I'd throw in a few thoughts for people transitioning away from Windows.
Wine, a program that runs Windows software on Linux, might look attractive at first. Most of the time, it works better to run Linux / open software on Linux. You'll probably end up happier if you consider Wine as last resort, when you really want a specific brand of software (game?) that's Windows-only. How often did you use a Linux emulator to run Linux software on Windows? Examples - use Chrome or Firefox, rather than trying to run IE under Wine. Use LibreOffice/OpenOffice rather than Microsoft Office. For most people, Gimp will be better than Photoshop under Wine (graphics professionals will mostly be using Macs).
For taxes, that's something you do once per year. Good tax software is available under Linux, for countries other than the US. For US taxes, why screw around installing different different things trying to find something that runs well locally when the providers are all focusing on their online services. Ibuse Taxact.com. Better to have my taxes done in a few hours than to spend a few hours each year screwing around with different software.
The real power of Linux, the biggest advantage over Windows, is at the command line. Once you get used to using your main applications in GUI, experiment and learn a bit of the command line. It can save you many hours of tedious clicking.
If you really get stuck, the very same programmers who wrote Linux and created all of the open source software are here to help you! You wouldn't ever imagine that you could email Microsoft and the lead programmer for MS Office would personally answer your question, but that's exactly what happens with Linux, if you have a good question. Eric S. Raymond wrote a somewhat tongue-in-cheek but very useful guide to getting help called How To Ask Questions the Smart Way. Yes, you should use Google first (include the word "howto" in your searches) and maybe even read the directions. If you do your part and can't find an answer, though, you may well get an answer from Linus, or Ted Tso for filesystem issues, from Daniel J Bernstein for qmail his other software, from me for storage and Perl stuff, etc.
I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid you can't do that. (Maybe it works in non-Cortana "MS Services", whatever those might be)
I declined to enable Cortana on my laptop during the upgrade. We'll see how long before I start getting popup windows insisting I turn it on (with options for [Enable] [Activate] [Turn On] and an [x] button in the corner that automatically agrees to Cortana's EULA)
If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
and a shitload of open services and ports and tunnels that can be used to screw you.
Click the X and you get 10. Sweet!
Get your dogma outta my yard!
Isn't this the primary reason people say that Linux isn't for the masses? If what you're saying is true then there is no reason to use windows in business, right?
The only option you offer is, literally, to go out of business and put 300 people out of work. I'm not the one who doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground. If you work in IT, which I don't believe you do, you are incompetent, stupid, and malicious. Do you work for Microsoft's malware department?
You clearly have no idea how much point of sale equipment costs. It's not that many printers or systems.
And I don't take advice form clueless morons, or people who promote malware.
If this will be referred to as Windowsgate.
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
Windows 10 fits more criteria for "malware" than the most well-known malware suites do. Forcefully installs itself? Check. Spies on you? Check. Displays ads to you? Check. Uninstalls competitors' programs? Check. Doles out your security keys to people on your contact list? Check.
It's one step away from literally being ransomware.
Just a slight bit in the melodramatic/exaggeration side, don't you think?
"Forcefully installs itself?" - Nope. I made the choice when I upgraded every one of my systems to Windows 10.
"Spies on you?" - Nope. Disable Cortana, don't use Edge, or Bing, or a MS Email address. (I do use OneDrive for the free TB of online storage, but all uploaded files are encrypted >>> zip >>> encrypted, so I'm not that worried there, if MS or the NSA, or the CIA, or whoever wants to see what I have stored online they are welcome to look - It's mostly photos of my kids, and music, oh and backups of software install CD's...)
"Displays ads to you?" - Nope. I have never seen a single ad anywhere outside of the Windows Store, (which I have only used once so far on my main PC).
"Uninstalls competitors' programs?" - Nope. And since I have all the programs I need already installed, (and none have been uninstalled), I don't see that happening anytime in the near future.
"Doles out your security keys to people on your contact list? " - Nope.
"It's one step away from literally being ransomware." - You know, there are medications that can help with your paranoia, and difficulty dealing with reality.
Personally, I have found Windows 10 to be a fantastic upgrade to both 7 and 8/8.1. I love the UI, both my laptops boot up much faster then they did under 7, (my ASUS i7 with SSD cold boots to login screen in around 4 seconds or so), and my old i5 desktop, (which I was thinking of upgrading), will probably give me another 5 or 10 years of decent enough service.
And the upgrade was free... Much better than wasting time with Linux, or worse still, paying the CrApple tax, and ending up with an overpriced PC that will someday be un-upgradable due to CrApples "Planned obsolescence" program of OS updates...
Just one? Seeing ads on startup and being forced to share more and more information are too high a price for a "free" upgrade.
That's two.
Wanna buy a shirt?
https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
He won't, because I'll be paying him for his services.
Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
Or fire one of those three hundred (if your costs are that tight) and employ one person that can do IT properly. You know, it's upsetting to even learn that you've got a business with 300 staff with an IT infrastructure that isn't even ran by legitimate professionals in the field. I'm sure with an audit we'd find all sorts of data security issues, vulnerable configurations etc. With the size of the company you describe, you've probably put at risk a lot of people, not only your staff.
So, why would your opinion on whether I work in IT mean anything to me? It's clear you don't even know the basics of Windows administration. All this could be resolved from knowledge gleaned from the MSCA and applying a bit of common sense.
However, if you can't learn the basics and can't be bothered to hire proper help and then complain you can't do business because you don't know to administrate a system properly, maybe you should have done a better job at assessing your business risks and benefits to begin with.
I don't consider myself the brightest or most intelligent person in system/network administration, development, IT etc. So it's not like I am operating on some sort of God tier knowledge.
Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
It's what people say, but in reality, I think the issue is that usually by the point this becomes an option, they've already got people that are experienced with Windows and such, the issue being, everyone has to be retrained etc.
The biggest problem with Microsoft products, is that to use one effectively, you need another... Like, you have Microsoft Office, but document sharing and management needs Sharepoint, then you need active directory for Sharepoint to work, then you need single sign on for that to work transparently, then you need Exchange for Sharepoint to work properly with e-mail and Outlook, then you need better tools for managing your infrastructure like SCCM etc. You won't see top-down application-service integration like this on Linux to this extent outside of certain proprietary enterprise solutions from SuSE Linux etc.
Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
This is finally it.
"Freemium" The mium is Latin for 'not really'
Wanna buy a shirt?
https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
Microsoft are dicks after all? Global Mother Fucking Spyware revealed now? OH NO SHIT!?!?
distrowatch.com
Ubuntu and Fedora/Redhat AVOID. (Microsoft wannabe's).
The rest are awesome.
And? If you distrust your OS vendor so much that you have to block their search servers at your router, maybe you are in a losing battle and its time to switch battlefields. I am seriously thinking of going back to single booting linux instead.
"I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
Why would you opt in to recommended updates on a business critical machine?
This posting is provided 'AS IS' without warranty of any kind, implied or otherwise.
Since egde is an app and not some underlying OS function, (after all, it's new, the hooks can't be deep) then MS should be able to comply and let you uninstall it at least
I could give you many reasons for why you are wrong, but it's simpler to tell a troll like you to go f*ck yourself.
just start with one.
You are too stupid to start a simple sentence correctly. And there you have it.
I realized that what I wrote about taxes wasn't exactly clear. For my business taxes, there is bookeeping data that drives the income and expense figures. I do my bookeeping in Gnucash. The taxes themselves are just a collection of forms, no real "data". For a form wizard to fill in the forms, I use Taxact.com, then save the output locally.
It's cheaper amd faster to use an online tax service than to set up a Windows VM and buy Windows tax software. Obviously that's personal preference, but consider the online option, saving the output locally when you're done. The online versions are better anyway because that's where companies are putting their development efforts.
Their code is closed and it is allowed BY LAW to disregard your desires to "protect intellectual property". It is insisted BY LAW (though usually by de facto rather than actual law) that the computer and all the software IS NOT YOURS but the property of the maker. And if you don't use MS products, you can't access ISP help, use most hardware with actual support already included in the price, or even access government required documents and resources. You can still do so in almost every case, but it is all entirely your fault if it doesn't work.
It's even becoming mandatory to trust only Microsoft (and definitely not yourself) with the UEFI secure boot system getting required in more and more places with no recourse for you anywhere in the legal world.
So in what fucking sense is it ANY customers fault they trusted microsoft? THERE WAS NO CHOICE NOT TO.
are you saying that every computer owner needs to know how to write device drivers to proprietary technology? on a changing DD-SDK?
Both.
Sounds to me more like people need to READ the popup that happens... Microsoft is in the wrong for how they're pushing this, by they by no means upgraded without consent... if you read the window it clearly says that they will be upgrading at the HUGE FONT TIME specified. PEBKAC error.
I was hard at work on my Win8.1 machine, and the "Upgrade"-dialog popped up. I dismissed it; (yes, by clicking the red 'X'.)
Next, I took a call from a client, and mid-conversation, I saw that my machine was busy upgrading to Win10. I had to excuse myself for losing my train of thought during our conversation, and had to wait almost two hours for it to complete, then another hour for it to downgrade once I refused the Terms of Service. I was furious, and let Microsoft know it.
Uhm... so what happens if you have encrypted data running on windows 7, then this Shit 10 tries to install and fails, and then fails to restore your previous system... doesn't that leaves you with inaccessible encrypted data?
1, 2, 3.11, 95, 98, NT4.5, NT5, 2000, ME, XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10 (9 must have really sucked balls... did anyone hear about it?), Who cares, really, what version it is? Your computer is still going to Blue Screen and go pout in a corner like a moody teenager unless you use it exclusively for the tasks it was meant to do: i.e. gaming and re-partitioning your drive to install Linux for real work :P
It is BAD for EVERYONE to allow this sort of unethical, dishonest behavior. It is incumbent on ALL peoples to demand that the entity 'Microsoft' fix this, and all related behaviors, immediately in order to regain any integrity. Until MS stops treating people like money mines, they need to be boycotted.
Self-importance and self-indulgence is the root of ALL evil.
Microsoft knows there are millions of computers out there that cannot be upgraded without destroying the ability to perform the work they were bought to perform. And they don't care.
And that's fraudulent.
Oh no, they care. They want you to go out and set up and Active Directory domain to put all your computers on and manage them that way.For many years, things that should have been a system setting or at most a registry setting have been going over to Active Directory. I keep running into issues where the published MS solution begins with "Have your Active Directory administrator..." I wouldn't doubt that this is just the beginning of making all consumer PCs connect to and be managed by a giant consumer domain controlled by MS.
"Tester: Windows 10 needs more work, auto updates sucks, ads suck, and you are killing privacy with all the snooping...it will be hated
MS executive: Your to negative...your fired...you and your team Windows 10 is the best and will ship now"
http://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/22322-upgrade-windows-10-update-enable-disable-windows-7-8-1-a.html
https://www.grc.com/never10.htm
Since they DIDN'T upgrade to Windows 10, they obviously had recommended updates turned off. They were proactive about their computers. The problem here is Microsoft is changing the game, obfuscating the Windows 10 upgrade in the hope that you will install the update disguised behind the completely ineffective red "X".
That Microsoft has to resort to this subterfuge to get people to install their software reeks of desperation.
How come Slashdot never gets Slashdotted?
Link your Windows live accounts and you kinda just did make your Windows 8/10 PC basically get managed by the Microsoft controller ;)
@taustin that AC who says you are doing things wrong may sound a bit brash, you have to acknowledge (to yourself at least) that he is sort of right... if you were running the POS systems connected to a domain controller you have the ability to enforce code signing (app locker), security policies, which updates are pushed etc. - many options which will help protect your employees and customers and if you were running Enterprise, your Windows 7 devices wouldn't even attempt to upgrade and you have the legal entitlement to image and clone your Windows 7 base image onto the POS systems you purchase and bring into your network. If you were really crazy in IT you would have your POS systems as thin/zero clients.
I understand franchises try to force franchisees to buy their chosen fixtures they chose through their purchase channels - guess it's all part of the game.
120 characters ought to be enough for anyone
Since they DIDN'T upgrade to Windows 10, they obviously had recommended updates turned off. They were proactive about their computers. The problem here is Microsoft is changing the game, obfuscating the Windows 10 upgrade in the hope that you will install the update disguised behind the completely ineffective red "X".
I think you're mistaken...
There wouldn't be a "red X" to click if they had recommended updates turned off. That they had anything to click says they were on.
Finally, I'll bring up another point... how many businesses are running Windows Home edition that has less control than the business editions? There is another problem.
I run a domain in my office, I control the network and updates myself, all my computers run the Pro edition of Windows and there are differences that matter for an administered environment.
If you depend on technology for your business to work, then you're in the tech business, at least in so far as you must have someone who understands all this and keeps ahead of it. Either employ someone or hire a company or person to do it for you.
Microsoft told me it was my fault they upgraded me to Windows 10 while I slept because I was wearing slutty clothes.
- For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat
"You may have been the victim of piracy"
Considering that you post responses elsewhere after the fact but don't address the risk raised regarding your company, it's becoming quite clear you're just running one of those companies that don't care to protect customers, employees and business partners. I can only hope they all learn of your poor practices and take adequate actions against you for your neglegence.
Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.