Microsoft To Make Saying No To Windows 10 Update Easier (zdnet.com)

Less than a week after a California-based woman won $10,000 lawsuit against Microsoft over Windows 10 upgrades, the Redmond-based company has announced it will make it easier for users to say no to Windows 10 updates. The company plans to change the Windows 10 update prompt to make it clearer and easier for Windows 7 and Windows 8.x users to schedule or reject upgrading to Windows 10. ZDNet reports:Microsoft officials said late on June 27 that the new update experience -- with clearer "upgrade now, schedule a time, or decline the free offer" -- will start rolling out this week. Microsoft also will revert to making clicking on the Red X at the corner of the Windows 10 update box dismiss the update, rather than initiate it, as it has done for the past several weeks. Microsoft officials said they are making the change "in response to customer feedback."

Comments

Timing

[dan_waggoner]

They could have done this months ago and not taken a single bit of negative PR.

How to fix for good:

[DogDude]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Gwx] "DisableGwx"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate] "DisableOSUpgrade"=dword:00000001

Although granted, one shouldn't have to do this...

Simple fix. No 3rd party required.

[jdagius]

There are two Boolean flag vars in the Registry which turn off the automatic update and free-offer notifications. Using the builtin registry editor ("regedit") drill down to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows] and look for key entries 'WindowsUpdate' and 'GWX'. If they're not present then use the editor to create new key names WindowsUpdate and GWX in the Windows key list.

Then to disable auto-update add a dword named DisableOSUpgrade under WindowsUpdate and set it to 1 (true)
"DisableOSUpgrade"=dword:00000001

To disable the freeWin10 upgrade offer notification add a dword named DisableGWX under GWX and set it to 1 (true)
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\GWX]
"DisableGWX"=dword:00000001

That's it. Now you can turn the automatic Windows-update back and not worry about Win10 being installed. Also you won't be nagged about the free Win10 offer.

Re:What are the alternatives for Windows users?

[unrtst]

Using old, potentially-vulnerable versions of Windows long after they're no longer supported isn't a real option, of course.

See here: https://support.microsoft.com/...
Windows 7 end of mainstream support: 2015-01-13 (extended is 2020-01-14)
Windwos 8 end of mainstream support: 2018-01-09 (extended is 2023-01-10)

How is that "long after they're no longer supported"?
And yes, I know 2015 is less than now, but it's not long after, and it's still in extended support. For that matter, vista is still in extended support until Q2 2017!

I shouldn't be feeding the trolls at all, but continuing to use those *should* be a valid option. That said, I'd still recommend GNU/Linux or MacOSX.

Nice Try, Assholes

[ewhac]

I'm still not installing KB3035583.

I know..... feeding the trolls....

[gosand]

The only place you're seeing any adoption of Linux on the desktop is a few European companies, and that's due to anti-American sentiment more than any technical superiority.

Sure, we all know you are trolling. But why not throw in some fun (actual) facts?

There is a company who uses Linux on their desktops. They are slightly technical, and you may have heard of them - Google.
And although it was about 4 years ago, there was a nice article about Goobuntu (their modified version of Ubuntu) on ZDNET. Another interesting fact from the article is that they were paying customers for it, and not the largest. Things may have changed since then, I don't know. But I do know that they haven't switched over to Windows.

What I really don't understand is what you get out of your copy/paste trolling. Or do you really believe what you posted? Either way, you're obviously wrong. But then again, you're posting as an AC, so what else could be expected.

I remember back in the good old days when trolls at least had a little bit of skill.

Re:Too little too late

[Z00L00K]

The trust is already broken, and I have disabled Windows Updates now.

Re:Too little too late

[macs4all]

Anyone have any advice on the best way to rollout OS X to 1,500 Dell OptiPlex computers?

Quite simple, actually.

1. Fill out Purchase Requisition for 1,500 Mac mini computers. You should be able to use the bottom of the line version, but I would suggest the BTO RAM upgrade option to 8 GB, just because. Other than that, if these are being used for typical front-office applications, you should be absolutely fine. Contact Apple for a Governmental and Large-Purchase Discount.

2. Fill out Purchase Requisition for a volume license for Microsoft Office for Mac. Again, Microsoft is likely to give you a large-purchase Discount. And you will likely be able to install Office from a single Server-based copy.

3. When the hardware and software comes in, take the Dell computers' Hard Drives out and recycle the now-useless carcasses of the Optiplex computers. But don't forget to retain the Monitors, Mice (ewww! Dell mice!) and Keyboards (ewww! Dell keyboards!) for use with the newly-purchased Mac Minis.

4. Unbox and setup the Mac minis, using the existing Monitors, mice and keyboards; setup to join your Domain, then install MS Office. ProTip: If your setups are similar, you can even set your Macs up to NetBoot from a single image. But most non-educational users find that approach a little too restrictive for individual users.

With 1500 machines, I would DEFINITELY put in a Requisition for a copy of the most-excellent Apple Remote Desktop's Admin Console (the "server" side is built into OS X/macOS). It is QUITE nice for managing a googolplex of Macs (and it reportedly can do limited Windows and Linux admin. tasks, too).

5. You're done.

Re:Too little too late

[rtconner]

Yep. I'm a life long Windows user. But I'm in the process to transitioning to a mix of Mac and Ubuntu as my OS's. I can't trust Windows anymore, so I guess I won't use it.

Re:Too little too late

[thegarbz]

There's only another month of the "free" "upgrade", so who's left to take it?

I'll bet you a marsbar that the free offer extends beyond the coming month.