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Here We Go Again: Microsoft's Popping Up Ads From the Windows 10 Toolbar (pcworld.com)

Posted by msmash on from the being-Microsoft dept.

Mark Hachman, reporting for PCWorld: When Microsoft's Windows 10 deadline passed, many heaved a sigh of relief, thinking that Microsoft's obnoxious popup reminders had finally been laid to rest. Surprise! Microsoft's at it again, reminding users to sign up for Bing Rewards by using Edge, Windows 10's built-in browser. My colleague Brad Chacos was hit by the ad after hours, reported it, and immediately erased Edge from his toolbar. Here's what we know: The popup doesn't seem to appear if you use Edge frequently (Brad does not). Personally, I've never experienced a similar ad, though I use Edge as well as Bing Rewards, meaning there's no need for such an ad to appear. A notification here, a suggestion there: Microsoft's gently slipped in promotions for Office as well as its third-party apps off and on since Windows 10 was launched, and then sneakily reset those options once the Anniversary Update launched last summer. But here's the problem. Brad turned off his ad settings; the Anniversary Update reinstated them. Brad says he turned off the ad settings again -- and once again, Microsoft reinstated them.

7 of 322 comments (clear)

  1. Here we go again by Grishnakh · · Score: 5, Funny

    [eats popcorn]

    This just keeps getting better and better. Go Satya!!

    Hopefully, they'll next force full-screen advertising on startup, and periodically during use.

  2. Re: Simple by Stuarticus · · Score: 5, Funny

    I don't have any real problem with these ads as they are non-intrusive and are often very timely, just the other day I was talking to my wife about anti-virus and an ad for one popped up at just the same time, talk about handy. Now I don't need o search, I just talk about things in range of the microphone and wait for the ad to pop up! -definitelynotshilling

    --
    If you think someone isn't free to have a different definition of "freedom" you may be a tyrant.
  3. Screwed either way by wickerprints · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I've got money burning a hole in my pocket, but between this and the piece of shit MacBook Pro that was announced recently, I don't know what to do. Buy a Razer laptop and install Linux? The Surface Studio looked amazing but I refuse to use Windows on my personal computer.

    Like this election cycle, it seems that personal computing seems to be on the same race to the bottom, in terms of which company can screw over their most loyal users the most.

  4. Re:Simple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    But here's the problem. Brad turned off his ad settings; the Anniversary Update reinstated them. Brad says he turned off the ad settings again -- and once again, Microsoft reinstated them.

    See? The computer suffers from malware called "Brad" that turns off repeatedly the advertisements on Microsoft's system. Microsoft fixes the symptoms without charge, but if the attack persists, I am pretty sure that the EULA will have a passage somewhere allowing them to deal with the problem posed by Brad more thoroughly before it impacts their ad revenue.

  5. Trust by penguinoid · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you can't trust your operating system, you can't trust anything on your computer. Linux might not be user-friendly, but at least it's not actively user-hostile. Resetting user settings is hostile. Showing ads is hostile. And automated updates means they can run any code they want on your machine, which requires trust or at least naivete. And to be honest, user-hostile is much harder to debug than any Linux problems you might have.

    --
    Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
  6. Windows is for playing games. by number6x · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This used to be true, but Windows 8 and 10 have changed that. The difference between Windows 7 and Windows 10 is much greater than the difference between Windows 7 and Linux Mint Cinnamon (or Mate). The move to Office 365, a subscriber service model, is also leaving many users cold. They are not moving from office 2000 or 2007 to 365. When Microsoft tries to force the choice and end support for the old versions, then Libre Office may start looking very good to many, formerly, loyal Windows fans.

    I've been using Linux as my main desktop and laptop OS since 1997. Windows does not have support for the software I use. I used to be a pretty good hack at Windows back in the 3.0/3.1 days. Windows 95 was a nice upgrade. However, the cost of compilers, powerful databases, source control tools and other programming related software had me starting to use Linux more and more. I knew a lot of people back then who used to just pirate the tools they needed on Windows, but I didn't believe in stealing what I needed to work. After using Linux for a while, I knew I was done with the Windows environment. Linux is so far superior for my needs, there really is no comparison. (YRMV)

    If you're happy with the Windows ecosystem, that's nice for you. I've gotten rid of a lot of aggravation in my work life by abandoning that platform decades ago.

  7. Re:You don't own your computer anymore by Somebody+Is+Using+My · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Except these days most people /are/ paying for Windows 10, either by purchasing it from retail (a tiny minority) or as a hidden cost included in the price of their new PCs (everybody else). While OEMs usually receive a large discount from Microsoft, Microsoft isn't giving Windows10 away for free to them either. I read that only about 30% of Windows 10 users are those who received the free upgrade; the larger majority purchased the new OS when they bought a new computer.

    So it's ingenuous to claim that adverts are acceptable because Windows10 is free, because for most people it was not.