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Microsoft's Get Windows 10 App, KB 3035583, Reappears (infoworld.com)

An anonymous reader shares an InfoWorld article: Once again, Microsoft has unleashed the GWX Kraken, with no explanation and no description. The latest KB 3035583 appears as a "Recommended" optional patch for Windows 7 and 8.1. Those with Automatic Update turned on and "Give me recommended updates the same way I receive important updates" checked -- the default settings -- will see the patch as a checked, optional update, and it will be installed the next time Automatic Update runs. If you previously hid KB 3035583, it's now unhidden. I'm sure there are a dozen people on earth who still have Auto Updates turned on, "Recommended updates" checked, and who haven't yet accepted Microsoft's kind invitation for a free copy of Windows 10. This one's for them. In late March 2015, Microsoft released the first version of KB 3035583. Described as "Update enables additional capabilities for Windows Update notifications in Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 SP1," the patch immediately raised eyebrows. In April of last year, a German researcher named Gerard Himmelein, writing at heise.de, figured out that Microsoft was sneaking a Windows 10 upgrader onto Win7 and 8.1 machines. Life for Win7 and 8.1 customers since then has degenerated into Win10 whack-a-mole.In some other news, Chinese news outlet Xinhua reports that plenty of users in China are unhappy about Microsoft's push to get them to mandatorily upgrade their Windows OS. "The company has abused its dominant market position and broken the market order for fair play," Xinhua quoted Zhao Zhanling, a legal adviser with the Internet Society of China, as saying.

26 of 328 comments (clear)

  1. Not the first time by LichtSpektren · · Score: 4, Informative

    I've had to hide KB 3035583 over a dozen times now. It's really not worth my time to micromanage this crap on every PC in my office, so I just installed GWX Control Pane: http://www.majorgeeks.com/file...

    1. Re:Not the first time by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Until this is over, the simplest thing to do is to disable Windows Update.

      Get Never 10. It sets the Group Policy, that so far Microsoft isn't ignoring.

      I have to have a single Windows 7 machine for a few apps, and though it's rarely turned on, so far I've been safe.

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    2. Re:Not the first time by houstonbofh · · Score: 4, Informative

      Of course, even with the apps it keeps installing all the addware and telemitry. Here is a list of things to remove, and remove again, and again and again... http://www.dslreports.com/foru...

    3. Re:Not the first time by NJRoadfan · · Score: 4, Informative
      From the bottom of the page:

      A final note: I'm a bit annoyed that “Never10” is as large as it is at 85 kbyte. The digital signature increases the application's size by 4k, but the high-resolution and high-color icons Microsoft now requires takes up 56k! So without all that annoying overhead, the app would be a respectable 25k. And, yes, of course I wrote it in assembly language

  2. M$ Sales at it's finest... by MobSwatter · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I couldn't possibly think of a better way to sell Linux.

    1. Re:M$ Sales at it's finest... by chipschap · · Score: 3, Informative

      ... 99.9% of the people who are having Win10 shoved down their throats don't even know what Linux is, let alone would even consider switching to it as a desktop OS.

      Unfortunately you're right. Most people have no clue what's going on, and are easily exploited. Microsoft takes full advantage of that.

    2. Re:M$ Sales at it's finest... by dnaumov · · Score: 3, Informative

      and then almost lost her mind when she asked me if there was some easy way to go back to Windows 8 and I had to tell her no.

      Why did you lie to her? There is a 30 day grace period during which reverting back from Windows 10 to previous Windows version is roughly 3-4 mouse clicks away.

      Start Menu / Settings / Update & Security / Recovery

    3. Re:M$ Sales at it's finest... by silanea · · Score: 5, Funny

      [...] A week later she's telling me how Windows 10 is just as good or perhaps even a bit better and easier to use than Windows 8 and she's glad she upgraded.

      Well, going from 8 to 10 is indeed an upgrade. Going from 7 to 10 is better than going from 7 to 8. Better as in "being deported to Siberia instead of Auschwitz" better.

      --
      Rudolf Hess edited Mein Kampf. He was the very first grammar nazi.
    4. Re:M$ Sales at it's finest... by Jahoda · · Score: 3, Funny

      My god, that's so obvious!!!

  3. Re:-1 Repetitive by LichtSpektren · · Score: 5, Informative

    Jesus Christ, we get it. Microsoft recommends people upgrade their operating system to the newest one. Big fucking deal, let it go. Reading Slashdot means like I'm continually kept updated on whenever Microsoft recommends people to upgrade. I don't need to be in on the loop about it.

    You didn't read the article. It's not Microsoft "recommending people" upgrade to to Win10. What they've done is actively circumvent the people that explicitly chose to deny the Windows 7/8.1 update KB 3035583 that installs GWX ("Get Windows 10"), which is the malware that silently downloads Windows 10 and tries to install it without the user's permission.

  4. Fedora? Mint? Whatever you want. by cfalcon · · Score: 4, Informative

    Install Linux, problem solved.

  5. It's Nadella and his arrogance by bazmail · · Score: 5, Insightful

    He publicly said there will be one billion devices running Win 10 within one year of its release, and by hook or by crook he'll do it.

    1. Re:It's Nadella and his arrogance by Junior+J.+Junior+III · · Score: 4, Funny

      I for one can't wait to ruin Microsoft by settling for a coupon for $10 off Windows 11.

      --
      You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
  6. Even on domain computers now by Phusion · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I've been fighting off this upgrade on my network at work for months now. I deployed a GPO with a template MS provides to stop the forced upgrade of Win7 machines to Win10, but I still see that damned little icon on my user's system tray. I don't condone, but understand their strategy for pushing out Win10 to home users, they don't want another Windows XP, where a popular but mostly out of date OS keeps a small, bug significant chunk of the market long after support ends. What I don't understand is forcing this update on domain joined machines that are obviously part of a business network and the upgrade should be left up to the sysadmin (me). I know there's little love for MS on this site, but they have gotten worse and those of us working in enterprise/domaine environments shouldn't have to employ registry hacks and GPO templates to keep our client machines from forcefully being upgraded to the latest OS.

    --
    640k ought to be enough for anyone.
  7. Re:Windows 10 must not be doing so well... by Zaphoddd · · Score: 4, Informative

    sad but likely. netmarketshare reports Win7 - is at 47.82% and Win10: 15.34% the supposition that someone at microsoft's targets are not being met sounds plausible.

  8. Don't accept abuse. by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 3, Informative

    It amazes me that people have been so accepting of Microsoft's abuse.

    3 ideas:

    1) Autopatcher has not begun supporting Windows 10. We need independent control over Windows operating system updates. How can we achieve that?

    2) Don't let Windows connect to the internet. Microsoft has a long, long history of releasing very buggy code and fixing it later. After fixing 2,722 vulnerabilities and bugs, Microsoft declared Microsoft Windows XP "end of life".

    3) We need international support for a Windows-compatible operating system, like ReactOS.

  9. Software should cater to the user by HalAtWork · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If you want software that helps you do what you want, then clearly don't get windows.

  10. Aand so it came to be ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... that of all the companies in the world, it was Microsoft itself who finally launched Year Of The Linux Desktop.

  11. They want the home users off Win7, period. by ErichTheRed · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I don't agree with how they're doing it, but the simple fact is that Microsoft is totally done supporting Windows 7 for home users. They're desperate to avoid another Windows XP-style upgrade cycle. Even getting Win7 support for businesses is getting trickier; Microsoft has basically announced that the next revision of business PCs won't natively support Windows 7, and support is limited to a very small list of business-only PCs...so they're not killing support, but just making it really hard to get it.

    I'm hoping they'll soften their stance on Windows as a Service and go back to a more traditional release timeframe, but for home users that kind of model is the right choice. Grandma isn't running crazy custom VB6 applications that can't be modernized and must work. She is, however, an inexperienced computer user who is probably happy with a remote servicing model, just like iOS.

    Under the hood and without the spyware/Cortana/Store, Windows 10 is actually a good upgrade. It has decent performance on low end hardware. Now that Windows Phone is all but dead, I'm hoping they'll start loosening some of the mobile-inspired UI decisions they made and start allowing custom theming again. The second someone comes up with a Windows 7 look-alike theme for Windows 10, I'm sure a huge chunk of users will move to 10. I skipped Windows 8 because I hated the UI so much, for example, and didn't come back until 8.1's last update.

  12. Re:As if people didn't hate M$ enough already! by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What the FUCK are they thinking? I'm a paid customer for 20 years now and they think they can fuck with me like this?

    Linux time, bitches. You forced me!

    You and 1.2% of the user base. The other 98.8% will be generating ad and surveillance revenue for MS by running Windows 10.

    They don't care about you as a customer.

    --
    My God, it's Full of Source!
    OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
  13. Re:-1 Repetitive by LichtSpektren · · Score: 4, Funny

    Just because you masturbate nightly to your Windows 7 Home Edition every night before bed doesn't mean most of the world wouldn't want to upgrade to the latest, most secure version of the operating system that powers 90% of the world. Fuck.

    You make a good point. I would in fact like to upgrade to "the latest, most secure version of the operating system that powers 90% of the world" -- I'll get to compiling Linux 4.7 tonight.

  14. Re:-1 Repetitive by LichtSpektren · · Score: 5, Funny

    So you can run Windows 7 in a VM?

    Running Windows in a VM is like lowering the toilet lid without flushing. The shit might be contained, but it still stinks.

  15. Re:Swallow both pills? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    And now realists are pointing out the level of hypocritical bullshit in claiming that "oh just go into the registry and flip this bit and then go set this GPO" or "google this random application and download it and run it with admin privileges" is now how grandma is expected to set up her computer on an OS that people keep claiming is "ready for the desktop".

    Oh, don't have blanks? No problem, get the .ISO still and then get one of your thumb drives and then run Windows Installer creator. Then open that, find the .ISO file and choose the correct drive for your thumb drive. Make sure you get that right, don't want to accidentally wipe out your machine. Hey, where are you going? I thought you wanted to try installing a slipstreamed Windows image with service packs and working drivers!

    FTFY. The only thing windows has going for it is that it comes "free" with the computer already installed. That's the only reason it has a 95% or whatever market share.

  16. Re:Bad marketing by thegarbz · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Every report I've seen about that has had methodology I've used to show Ubuntu, Fedora, et al sends your personal information all over the god damned world

    Yes. Ubuntu sends relevant information required for the updating of the system. Microsoft sends personally harvested information for the purposes of marketing disguised as "customer improvement program". I actually really like Windows 10, but I am not even going to remotely defend this behaviour. At least with Ubuntu you can turn all the damn things off, with MS you're not given a choice.

    Mine warns me like 2 days before it does it, and tells me it's scheduled for like 3am 2 days later. It lets me delay that stuff to a date and time of my choosing, and will put the updates in when I reboot if I finish up early and decide I can restart at that time.

    A time of your choosing is sugarcoating a way of saying sometime during that night it will reboot. It will do so regardless if a program is blocking and will do so regardless of what you think your own update policy should be. Furthermore good luck to you if your computer is asleep for a few days and then you need to use it for a presentation only to sit there and have it go through it's update when you turn it on. My choice my arse. I like the ability for auto updates. I like that auto is the system default. I like that Windows 10 silently does it without much user gripe. Not giving someone the choice is indefensible.

    You sent me a link to Windows 10 installing itself as a new operating system and moving the previous OS to a C:\windows.old directory.

    Keep reading. In the process it SILENTLY removes software that isn't compatible. It doesn't give you the option to not upgrade, or warn you. It just does. This is indefensible especially given this is MS removing something that people paid money for. Do they now get a refund?

    Is Google Chrome immune from Microsoft setting its home page to Bing?

    Oh I'm glad you mentioned this, especially since every update seems to set Edge back to the default browser, and regardless of what you set your default browser too if you search via Cortana it'll open up in Edge.

    Windows 10 is a great solid OS, but some of the design decision mentioned here aren't just a letdown, they are the kind of thing that you can only come up with when smoking weed with MBAs. Speaking of weed, if you think that 2/3rds of what was posted above doesn't affect the vast majority of users then maybe you should let your own THC levels drop a bit before posting.

  17. Re:As if people didn't hate M$ enough already! by thegarbz · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You and 1.2% of the user base.

    Normally I would agree with this sentiment. But Windows 10 is only being adopted at a marginally faster rate than Windows 7.
    And Windows 10 is free.
    And Windows 10 upgrades are so easy people are doing it by accident.
    And Microsoft is using every dirty trick it can to make those numbers better.

    Given that colossal failure evident in the statistics I think you may actually find more than 1.2% of users have had enough of MS's shit.