Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Admits Mistake, Pulls Problematic Windows 10 Driver (betanews.com)
Wayne Williams, writing for BetaNews: Microsoft pushed out a mysterious driver to Windows users on Wednesday that caused big problems for some. The driver, listed as "Microsoft -- WPD -- 2/22/2016 12:00:00 AM -- 5.2.5326.4762," wasn't accompanied by any details, although we knew from the name that it related to Windows Portable Devices and affected users who had phones and tablets connected to the OS. Microsoft today admitted the problem with the driver, saying on the Answers Forum: "An incorrect device driver was released for Windows 10, on March 8, 2017, that affected a small group of users with connected phones or portable devices. After installation, these devices are not detected properly by Windows 10, but are affected in no other way. We removed the driver from Windows Update the same day, but if the driver had already installed, you may still be having this issue." As Williams adds, even though it was an optional update for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users, it was pushed to those on Windows 10.
No more updates unless you want them, and turn the service back on. Not quite as elegant as the old controls we had over Windows Updates in previous versions, but better than getting hit by random faulty updates.
William George
And see where it gets us. BTW, it's VERY hard to disable the automatic updates (which are sometimes disruptive or take far longer than many anticipate) but it is possible: In Home edition you have to set the connection to "metered" mode:
https://www.cnet.com/au/how-to...
http://www.thewindowsclub.com/...
Note; the new "surface" edition keeps you from stopping it this way.
It appears that MS doesn't want a potential lawsuit for running up Internet overages so they have this safeguard against litigation.
In Win 10 professional they give the standard "turn off automatic updates" they had in ALL previous versions of Windows. (funny how you are getting less in Windows 10).
This trying to force automatic updates in home edition is in my opinion quite dangerous and this isn't the first update to have serious issue pushed on on suspecting people.
Best thing to do in my opinion is to give MS the "finger" by switching to Linux: Linux Mint, ElementaryOS, or Debian are my top choices.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge" - Einstein
I don't get why Microsoft has to be such a pain in the ass about updates.
Apple has always let the user decide when they want to install updates. You get an update notification, then install the updates either right away or tell it to install them over night. There is never a forced install; the user is always in control. This is IRONIC especially since Apple tends to be a control freak company in most other ways!
Apple will VERY OCCASIONALLY automatically push an extremely critical update to fix glaring security problems, but has done this very rarely.
It seems MS could do a lot more to give the user control of updates, including the ability to easily roll back updates that cause problems.. The current system is just asking for trouble.
The problem is this is an all-or-nothing approach, and you won't get updates at all, or update notifications, leaving your PC to eventually become insecure.
It needs to be a middle ground. Notify the user about updates, give them control over updates, and ONLY automatically push updates for *glaring, immediate* security problems.
Every time I plug my (android) phone into the USB on my PC now, it says its drawing too much current from the USB socket and gives me the option to either retry or cancel (which disables the USB socket).
It didn't ever do this before said update.