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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."

36 of 212 comments (clear)

  1. Too little too late by LichtSpektren · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I have no doubt that this was all planned by Microsoft. Perhaps they didn't anticipate the backlash, but making it easier to deny the update without manually removing KB3035583 or installing a third-party program (GWX Control Panel, Never10, etc.) in the eleventh hour is too little, too late. There's only another month of the "free" "upgrade", so who's left to take it? The people who intentionally waited for the last possible moment in order to get the most stable upgrade, but they've already decided to go to Windows 10 anyway.

    In other words, the damage is already done. Now's the time to cry for your government to begin imposing criminal penalties to Microsoft and cancel their contracts with them, or MSFT will get away with it.

    1. Re:Too little too late by LichtSpektren · · Score: 2

      Treat all those computers that were auto-"upgraded" to Windows 10 as if they were hit with ransomware or otherwise intentionally broken by Microsoft.

      Just because you don't like something doesn't mean that your made-up analogies would ever have any legal bearing.

      Treat all those drivers who speed as if it were attempted vehicular homicide. Treat all those Linux distributions as if they stole code from UNIX.

      Forcefully altering somebody's OS in order to integrate spyware is illegal. For the people that paid for Windows 7 and 8 and had their computers broken during the forced upgrade, Microsoft actually did break their computers. It's not as far off as your two analogies.

    2. Re:Too little too late by LichtSpektren · · Score: 2

      Okay, and then what?

      Then reimburse all of those people of the cost to reinstall Windows 7 or 8.1, or the whole cost of the computer itself.

    3. Re:Too little too late by Z00L00K · · Score: 3, Informative

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

      --
      If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
    4. Re:Too little too late by rtconner · · Score: 3, Informative

      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.

      --
      023AD01("Child", "Evil");
    5. Re:Too little too late by thegarbz · · Score: 4, Informative

      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.

  2. Decline by sinij · · Score: 5, Insightful

    >>>"upgrade now, schedule a time, or decline the free offer"

    Based on past performance, clicking decline the free offer would lead to Win10 update and the bill in the mail.

  3. Microsoft has no choice now by sshir · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Basically, everybody and their dog, who heard about that woman's court case, will rush to enable recommended updates in order to screw up their system and go claim their $10000.

    1. Re:Microsoft has no choice now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You have to demonstrate $10,000 in losses. "everybody and their dog" does not run a business on a Win7 machine that got auto-upgraded, and then broke.

    2. Re:Microsoft has no choice now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      now there is a precedent so next person wouldn't need to go though and the class action lawsuit can go ahead.
      fuck MS

  4. risk assessment by Lead+Butthead · · Score: 2

    I am sure legal risk assessment was done before their sordid attempts to force themsel... win10 on all existing windows installations, and it was deem to be acceptable by the management of highest level.

    --
    ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI!?
    1. Re: risk assessment by Darinbob · · Score: 3, Insightful

      CEO: So what's the worst thing that can happen with this plan?
      Marketing: The entire world will hate us.
      CEO: But the entire world already hates us.
      Marketing: That's the beauty of it, there's nothing left to lose.
      CEO: Ok, let's pass it by legal.
      Legal: We're lawyers, the entire world hates us too. I say screw em!

  5. Timing by dan_waggoner · · Score: 4, Informative

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

  6. How to fix for good: by DogDude · · Score: 4, Informative


    [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...

    --
    I don't respond to AC's.
    1. Re:How to fix for good: by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I find it faster to google for Never10 and run it than to launch Regedit and find the keys. (Both do the same thing.)

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    2. Re:How to fix for good: by DerpQuake · · Score: 2

      Yes, I've done the same on every system I touch. Too bad it took a lawsuit to get them to understand common sense. I will be so pleased to "decline the free offer". Someday perhaps they will realize that gaining market share for a new product isn't worthwhile if it means alienating your customer base. Windows 10 could have been a reasonable option and worth considering, instead it became something we all had to protect ourselves and our families from being forced into without informed consent. It was a bad call and it set a bad precedent for how MS will treat it's customer's digital sovereignty over their own computers and purchased software.

    3. Re:How to fix for good: by cfalcon · · Score: 2

      https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmas...

      No, you need to remove kbs and services.

  7. Re:Argh, FU MS by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 2

    but a simple LAN card swap (to play nice with a hackintosh install) triggered the whole authentication process with piracy accusations

    Assuming you had a free slot, you could have simply added the new LAN card and not used (and/or disabled) the old one. I have a system with a 10Mbit NIC on the motherboard and added a 1Gbit card w/o any authentication issues. I have still used the original NIC to configure my WiFi AP as it came with a default IP on a different subnet.

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  8. Simple fix. No 3rd party required. by jdagius · · Score: 4, Informative

    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.

  9. If you didn't know about Microsoft a long time ago by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    You are probably already hosed.

    This site had the old school way to block it all if you did the other manual steps using the hosts file.
    https://github.com/WindowsLies/BlockWindows/

    A slashdot commenter had made a video of "wiresharking" his Windows 10 and posted it on YouTube. For those unfamiliar it is a packet sniffer and detects and displays the nature of each incoming and outgoing network packet. By nature I mean IP address, protocol as in TCP, UDP, RDP, etc name it.

    That video was pulled from YouTube nearly immediately, and obviously there was no moral reason to pull a video showing how your OS connects to Microsoft and Markmonitor servers. (among other tracking hosts)

    Then there were many articles and they are still around about how to do it manually, and even grc.com has a small portable app called Never10 that is reckoned to block installing Windows 10 over 7/8/8.1 etc.

    The problem and pertinent factors are thus. They snuck new server lists in other "security updates" and never disclosed the change. I haven't checked recently but there was a period (maybe still is) that Microsoft decided to not disclose what is actually in their so-called security updates.

    What I mean by problem AND pertinent factor is why they even force spyware on you at all. Bill doesn't need the money and it is not for anybody's protection that they track everything you do on your PC. The lies are asinine. The deceit shameful. The employees and Bill himself are forced by the US spy agencies to incorporate every possible tracking you can imagine. This is the same with Google and Facebook and others. The higher the traffic, the higher the priority to force tracking on you. Slashdot connects to myriad CA Cert servers that change on a daily basis it seems. Sometimes more than once a day.

    You should use NoScript (and remove the XSS default-to-allow permissions under advanced, and uncheck all boxes on the ABE tab). You should also use Adblock Plus or similar. Ghostery is no good any more because it's settings rely on remote server to change and it chats with it. BetterPrivacy for flash cookies is the 4th I would recommend to run on Firefox.

    Now this is important. Spy agencies and Google (gstatic, google-analytics, etc) track you all over the Internet and yes it is cross-reference-able. From your porn likes to your Facebook profile to your bank account to your SMS log on your cell phone to your shopping history at Walmart if you use a card. By face recognition too if you already have their special attention. It is accessible by any US government spy agency at will in the name of "security" but like Microsoft, it is the same lie.

    They know all about browser parameters and whatnot but blocking works. THIS IS THE BIG TIP OF THE DAY.

    Ready? Set your PC time to an inaccurate time. Change time zones. Make it as screwy as possible unless you need to sync implicitly for something. They rely on time logging and IP addresses as a failsafe tracking mechanism. This totally messes up their monitoring ability. Better than that is to use Tor, but you will notice you bump into Google captcha after Google captcha. I don't intend this to be a long tutorial but just set a wrist watch or your phone next to your monitor and keep your clock on your laptop/desktop coming from Liberia or whatever. That little clock is a itsy bitsy little teeny weeny convenience for you.. and night/day for the monitoring ability of US spy agencies.

    Also, your data is shared internationally especially Facebook profiling because the FBI has an unconscionable amount of moles.

  10. Translation: by kheldan · · Score: 2

    Microsoft Gives End-Users A Real Way Out Of Windows 10 Upgrade Because They Don't Want To Get Sued More

    Now that there's legal precedent, the floodgates of legal action against Microsoft can now open, and they damned well know it.

    --
    Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
  11. I may be a conspiracy theorist... by cyberjock1980 · · Score: 2

    Anyone else notice that the "12 month" window to 'upgrade to Windows 10 free' is closing (tomorrow in fact) and so they can now change the behavior and try to act like a poor victim while perhaps posting "1 year adoption rates" much higher than would have been otherwise.

    When this crap started I told myself that this will be "rectified" once they have 1 year of Windows 10 being out. Then they can post "their great numbers" which will, naturally include, a lot of accidental upgrades and other people that didn't even want to upgrade.

    It really sickens me, and is why I'm still on Windows 7, and dual boot with Linux and FreeBSD. Microsoft's behavior is totally unacceptable.

    1. Re:I may be a conspiracy theorist... by richy+freeway · · Score: 2

      It's the 29th July that the offer ends, but yes they've left it a bit late.

  12. Re:What are the alternatives for Windows users? by flyingfsck · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think you dismiss the alternatives too easily. I haven't used Windows for about 10 years now and I can't say that I miss the malware and high maintenance experience.

    --
    Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
  13. Re:What are the alternatives for Windows users? by LichtSpektren · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What level of cognitive dissonance is required to simultaneously assert that GNOME 3 and systemd were "forced" on Linux distros and then immediately talk about why one wouldn't want to use Linux distros that have voluntarily opted to not use systemd?

  14. Re:What are the alternatives for Windows users? by unrtst · · Score: 3, Informative

    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.

  15. Re:What are the alternatives for Windows users? by LichtSpektren · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The problem goes far beyond systemd and GNOME. Linux is great for servers, not so much for the desktop. When Linux Torvalds first created Linux it wasn't designed to be a mass-market operating system. It was designed by geeks for geeks. A bunch of fucktarded neckbeards who don't give two shits about usability, only blind adherence to an Orwellian mindset of "the only way to be free is to do exactly what I say."

    Yes, when it was first designed, it was a school hobby project by a kernel hacker. But that was over 20 years ago. And assuredly you're not going to say that anything that begun as a hobby must be a toy for its entire lifespan?

    But you don't need to list all the ways that Linux sucks and is horrendously inferior on the desktop. Just one simple fact says it all. When you put everything on a level playing field -- Linux is free and so is a pirated copy of Windows -- people always choose Windows.

    Really? I didn't choose Windows. Nor did the millions of people that use desktop Linux.
    People only use (and pirate) Windows because billions of dollars of legacy x86 apps that were written when Microsoft had a monopoly on the OS market due to their lucky deal with IBM. Don't believe me?--how much money has Microsoft written off for Windows Mobile and Windows RT, again?

    Even when Windows isn't free (i.e., businesses who need to keep things legal so they don't get shaken down by the BSA Mafia) they still choose Windows. 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.

    Instead of verifying that you don't know what you're talking about and/or are lying, why don't you do some simple research? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

  16. Nice Try, Assholes by ewhac · · Score: 3, Informative

    I'm still not installing KB3035583.

  17. In response to customer feedback? by QuietLagoon · · Score: 2

    ...Microsoft officials said they are making the change "in response to customer feedback."...

    Oh please. If Microsoft had cared in the slightest bit about customer feedback, they would not have been on the losing side of a lawsuit in the first place.

    .
    Instead, Microsoft lowered itself to using some of the sleaziest tactics a vendor could use. Changing Windows UI guidelines to trick the customer into doing something the customer explicitly did not want to do? It is beyond belief that any vendor, much less a reputable vendor, would resort to such low-life trickery of their customer base.

    imo, Microsoft knew all along exactly what they were doing and the effect it would have. I would be surprised if Microsoft's legal department were not involved at every step of deception.

    In my view, Microsoft blew their reputation. Big time. Blown right out of the water.

    It may take years for Microsoft to regain the confidence and trust of its customers once again. But by then, I have to wonder how many of those customers have moved on to Linux or MacOS. I know I am testing Linux on my notebook now. It is doing all that I need it to do, so much so that I have wondered why I even bothered with Windows in the first place.

  18. Re:What are the alternatives for Windows users? by macs4all · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Yes, when it was first designed, it was a school hobby project by a kernel hacker. But that was over 20 years ago. And assuredly you're not going to say that anything that begun as a hobby must be a toy for its entire lifespan?

    No. With well over a hundred different Distros and more petty squabbling and "religious-war" infighting than the U.S. Republican Party, "Linux" is doing a fine job of that all on its own...

  19. I know..... feeding the trolls.... by gosand · · Score: 3, Informative

    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.

    --

    My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.

  20. Re:If you didn't know about Microsoft a long time by LVSlushdat · · Score: 2

    I did the "Wireshark" thing a few months ago. Put a remote packet capture daemon on my router, and pointed a copy of Wireshark at it, and watched what a "castrated" install of 10 talked to, and then, as a control, an UNcastrated, default-install of 10, provided by friends.. Bottom line, there was hardly any difference between the two captures... Which tells me one VERY important thing.. All of the cutesy-tootsie toggle switches that make you *think* you're disabling the spyware aspects of 10 are just a smoke-screen... Sooooooooooo very glad I gave up the Windows addiction when I retired in 2010....

    --
    THANK YOU, Edward Snowden!! Americans owe you a debt of gratitude (whether they know it or not..)
  21. Re:Argh, FU MS by macs4all · · Score: 2

    At work I'm transitioning to a FreeNAS based file server

    Genuinely curious. How does FreeNAS work with OS X? Have you tried it yet?

  22. Re:"Customer feedback"? by plover · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "We are making the change in response to customer feedback"

    s/customer/litigious bastards/

    Funny how there's only one kind of feedback that they actually respond to.

    --
    John
  23. Microsoft Marketing 101 by emaname · · Score: 2

    Axiom #10: It's easier to ask for forgiveness that it is for permission.

    --
    An effective "democracy" creates the illusion the people have a say in their government.
  24. Re:What are the alternatives for Windows users? by TangoMargarine · · Score: 2

    When Linux Torvalds first created Linux it wasn't designed to be a mass-market operating system. It was designed by geeks for geeks. A bunch of fucktarded neckbeards who don't give two shits about usability

    Don't confuse "Linux Torvalds" with the GNOME devs. He does and has given various arrogant developers both barrels when they do something stupid. In fact he specifically called out GNOME3 for that exact thing.

    A bunch of fucktarded neckbeards who don't give two shits about usability, only blind adherence to an Orwellian mindset of "the only way to be free is to do exactly what I say."

    Or a more accurate way to say it, "if you don't like how I do it, fork it and do it your own way." I'd like to hear about how you think proprietary software is any more free than that.

    When you put everything on a level playing field -- Linux is free and so is a pirated copy of Windows -- people always choose Windows.

    Like the other replier said, not true. You kids and your silly absolute statements.

    --
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