CNET Editor Rails Against Non-Consensual Windows Updates (cnet.com)

schwit1 shares this angry commentary from a CNET senior editor: Maybe you're delivering a presentation to a huge audience. Maybe you're taking an online test. Maybe you just need to get some work done on a tight deadline. Windows doesn't care. Windows will take control of your computer, force-feed it updates, and flip the reset switch automatically — and there's not a damn thing you can do about it, once it gets started.

If you haven't saved your work, it's gone. Your browser tabs are toast. And don't expect to use your computer again soon; depending on the speed of your drive and the size of the update, it could be anywhere from 10 minutes to well over an hour before your PC is ready for work. As far as I'm concerned, it's the single worst thing about Windows. It's only gotten worse in Windows 10. And when I poked around Microsoft, the overarching message I received was that Microsoft has no interest in fixing it.
The editor recalls rebooting his Windows laptop while listening to a speech by Steve Jobs in 2010. (The reboot locked his computer for 20 minutes while updates were installed, "the first of three occasions that a forced Windows update would totally destroy my workflow at a critical moment.") He shares stories from other frustrated Windows users, urges readers to send him more anecdotes, and argues that Microsoft has even begun "actively getting rid of ways to keep users from disabling automatic updates."

Comments

Using a computer has become a minefield.

[Anonymous Coward]

Every day, all day, I do nothing but dodge the sophisticated attempts by countless software and hardware vendors to harass me in every way imaginable. Using a computer has become such a privacy, security and usability nightmare that I no longer feel the slightest joy in doing so. And nobody cares. At least nobody that matters in the least.

Re:Using a computer has become a minefield.

[Daemonik]

Can't remember the last time I picked up a phone or a tablet and wasn't greeted by a system update screen, or a notification that 30 apps need to be updated minutes after walking away from a wifi hotspot.

The real problem is that software developers exist in permanent beta, adding and removing features whenever they please. I kind of miss the pre-network days when software was delivered complete and didn't significantly change between versions.

Re:Using a computer has become a minefield.

[Anonymous Coward]

I found my first 6502 computer in my parent's attic last year. Dusted it off. Then dusted it off again. Worked exactly like brand new (after finding a free TV on craigslist). It was the most fun I had with a computer in over a decade. Spent $200 on ebay buying all the nifty things I could never afford as a kid, like a floppy drive, rs232 expansion port, printer and joystick.

Re:Using a computer has become a minefield.

[dwywit]

Obviously, it isn't connected to the Internet.

That's not obvious at all. It has a very small attack surface (not many VOS instances around), running on highly specialised hardware. Can't run up one of those in a VM to test vulnerability. Lots of easier targets for the taking.

Also, my Win 7 systems (6 desktops/laptops) and one XP machine run no anti-malware with the exception of noscript in their browsers, all run behind a consumer-grade ADSL2+ modem/router with a consumer-grade firewall, and guess what? WE DON'T GET MALWARE INFECTIONS, because we're smart enough to follow basic security practices.

Some people need their hands held, and some don't. You can't lump us all in with the first category.

Re:Using a computer has become a minefield.

[quonset]

How do you expect users to install application software?

Create a separate administrator account for when something needs to be installed or they need to tweak system settings. You log into it only when needed. All other times you run as a local user without admin privileges.

how do you expect them to tell a legitimate site from a malicious one?

First, install uMatrix in Firefox which will, under certain conditions, disallow a web page to load if it determines there is something malicious or off about the page. It is not foolproof, but it's a good line of defense.

Second, by having uMatrix installed you can control to a very granular degree, what scripts and so forth are allowed to run on a page, thus reducing potential drive-bys.

Third, and this might take a bit of effort, don't go to places like Bob's House of Free Software.

Granted, the last one is nothing more than common sense, but if people really want to lessen their chances of infections or ransomware getting on their machines, they might put in some effort to acquire some.

Re:Using a computer has become a minefield.

[Anonymous Brave Guy]

It's also reasonable to ask why so many updates need to reboot the whole device these days.

99% of the time, that in itself reflects a weakness in the underlying OS and software architecture.

Can't say you weren't warned.

[marked]

From an article 10 months ago.

https://tech.slashdot.org/stor...

by marked on 07:47 PM May 4th, 2016 (#52047825) Attached to: Windows 10 Updates Are Now Ruining Pro-Gaming Streams
As a somewhat hardened veteran of software installation, and the unbounded stupidity that arises from boneheaded mistakes that occur, I would like to point out the following:

Windows 10 Update installation does not follow the guidelines for updating as explicitly laid out in your software, that is "we will update when you are not using the computer". To help matters further, we will specifically exclude during the following hours "8am to 5:30pm".

So WHY THE FUCK WAS THERE AN UNCONTROLLED INSTALLATION OF AN OS UPDATE AT 4PM TODAY DURING THE TIME I WAS ACTIVELY USING THE SYSTEM? And when I say uncontrolled, it was not "oh click later to install, it was "we are rebooting now to install, OK". No deferral, no postponement, just instant notice.

Not to mention that the reboot occurred during a very intense multiplayer fight that I was the host of, which effectively drop-kicked several players out into the ether without me being able to contact them to let them know what was going on.

Did you mean 8am - to 5:30pm my local time, or that of the Microsoft HQ, in sunny whereever? It is bad enough that games developers can't actually remember how many days there are in April, yet to fuck up simple time management for updating has to be some fairly serious mismanagement on the part of senior design leads.

Or could it be that it completely ignores it like the boneheaded mechanism that only allows 10hour "active" windows slot, because there is no possible reason why people at home could not be using it from 7 in the morning until midnight? or am I completely in the dark about usability that requires a 14 hour window to update on a daily basis?

Of course to further the boneheaded-ness it completely fucked the graphics drivers, where it greenscreened just at idle on the desktop - to the point I had to continuously reboot until I could get to the stage where I could get a CMD prompt up and manage to type "shutdown /o /r /t 1" to get a relatively swift reboot into a mode where I say yes, I want to run a troubleshooting step, and reboot, and then select safe mode, and then reboot into it.

Not to mention that it has been a known problem with the graphics drivers since the last update, and putting it down to "it is the responsibility of the driver manufacturers (Microsoft Engineer)" is disingenuous at best, as MS is supposed to have WHQL'd the drivers, which means that MS should have caught this problem much earlier in testing during the automated build and test phase.

To top that then off, I can't run Microsoft EDGE because the "built in administrator account can't run it".... I can't run explorer because you've managed to switch of the command searching in the cortana interface, which means that I can't run taskmanager, command, etc. What stupidity of a design decision managed to get authorised to create this situation?

The insider fast ring is supposed to be a way to bring light problems that exist in interaction with components. Fucking with AMD graphics drivers in this way isn't an acceptable manner of implementing software best practices.

Now I have to spend an hour fucking around with Device driver uninstaller, because in the infinite wisdom, you've managed to disable any ability of the driver software to recognise that there is an installed device, so of course the programs bomb out with a "no recognised device" so we won't do anything remotely sensible like uninstall the graphics drivers. Then I have to spend an hour waiting whilst I roll back the installation, then reinstall drivers, then reboot, reset up profiles, and ... then reboot again. That is a considerable amount of unnecessary reboots as you rush to get untested, useless additions out into the population.

Yours,

Entirely Hacked Off

I still use Windows...

[Njorthbiatr]

Because games run on it. If the games I wanted to play worked on Linux, I would be using it exclusively.

I had a forced restart and I promptly did registry edits and installed Ubuntu. Now I do all my work in Linux, and the only thing Windows could possibly do is kick me out of some online game. It's like they want people who like their platform to switch.

Options

[fyngyrz]

Lots of us are forced to use software not available on Linux or even OS X.

Forced outside of work? That's... interesting. I wonder who is forcing you? Perhaps you should call the authorities.

This may help:

1: Parallels or VWWare or some other similar solution

2: Once Windows is installed in the VM, turn off the VM's network access, or use a firewall to prevent it from getting to Microsoft unless you say "ok". One such product (for the Mac, at least) is "Little Snitch"; when (whatever) tries to get to (wherever) you can catch it in a dialog and say yes or no or allow till reboot or forever, etc., while choosing "all connections" or "only this connection". It's very useful to control wayward software. Like Windows.

And if you want to let Windows out of its cage, you can, and you can still do real work on the Mac, as it's not crippled by whatever Windows malfuckery is going on in the VM.

you smug dink

Well, if it makes you feel any better, the reason I'm smug is because I have this all handled. I never let Windows out of its little sandbox, since it isn't housebroken. :)

Re: They're noticing this NOW?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, jackoff, it's my fault I had to leave Mathematica running for a day or two on a non-trivial problem.

This tells me that all of your work IS trivial.

Re:They're noticing this NOW?

[Anonymous Coward]

I am a graphics artist. I often have to leave my computer running for hours or days on end when I am rendering something.

What "workflow" would you suggest I take up to make things more convenient for my operating system? You know, because I am at the beck and call of my computer instead of the other way around.