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Hi Folks- I wan into this wake timer stuff awhile back when i was using windows and for those of you who are using Norton’s internet security, it was a problem directly associated with NIS- and no matter what you did in your power settings in windows, it would come back on the next boot- I don’t know whether norton’s has fixed the issue yet or not- i would imagine so, but if not, As Norton’s can be very slow sometimes creatign fixes for issues- here is the workaround to disable the norton’s ‘antimalwaremigration’ task which keeps causing the computer to wake up every 1/2 hour: (I hope it’s ok to post a link to outside article?)

https://community.norton.com/en/comment/6566911#comment-6566911

– The NIS problem, along with a host of other windows related problems was the main reason i finally made the switch to linux for my main online operating system- however, I still use windows for windows only programs/games etc- but I don’t allow it online any longer- so there is no need for NIS any longer, and I’ve downloaded windows 7 .ISO from microsoft, reinstalled it, and the wake timer issue is no longer a problem (But i have disabled wake-timers in windows power settings just to be sure- I don’t get updates to windows any longer- and the programs I need updates to I download the updates via linux, and install to windows while offline- so wake timers aren’t really needed on my setup any longer

Note that I beleive the workaround would get reset when I rebooted the machine, if i remember correctly, but i leave my computer on sleep when not using so the workaround would work for me for some time before i rebooted- And liek i said- norton’s may have already fixed this issue- but just wanted folks to be aware incase they haven’t fixed it already- and their computers keep waking even after turning off wake timers in power settings

[[Figure 3. The new Active hours tool prevents inopportune reboots that often accompany OS updates.]]

Updatign manually would avoid ‘inopportune reboots’ too- oh that’s right, we don’t have that choice anymore- (Actually, I do have the choice now- I’ve switched to linux as main os- and only use windows offline for windows only programs- Thanks for pushing me away from windows MS-) (Note, I’m still hopefull that MS will eventually listen to folks and give us back control of the OS and do away with all the spyware in the OS- but until that happens- I’ll use linux as my main online OS where I am in control of all updates- and don’t have to constantly fight with settings that want to spy- Thisp ost isn’t a ‘pro linux post- it’s more a ‘please give us back control of the Ms OS” post)

thanks, I had found another site that did explain the settings too- but it appears that even if we turn off all tracking/reporting/cortana/ etc Microsoft still tracks what we type in our search results from the start menu and phones that info out to Microsoft it appears- and like someone said, even if we were to be able to hack the registry and turn it completely off, there’s no way of knowing if Microsoft will reinstall the settings again with future update

Microsoft is getting very aggressive about forcing reporting and tracking on us it seems- Going the route of google it looks like- which I don’t use for that reason- Seriously looking at Linux for internet use- but it’s a shame I even have to because Linux is a step backwards- can’t believe MS has become so aggressive about windows 10

there’s an article at majorgeeks that discusses a couple of privacy issues with windows 10, but doesn’t give the fixes- not sure if outsuide links are allowed here? If so, if anyone is interested: http://www.majorgeeks.com/news/story/top_five_gripes_about_windows_10.html If links aren’t allowed, please remove- thanks

on the flipside, I have always, as long as I’ve owned my home computers, deferred updates- and have never had security issues as a result- and deferring the updates has saved me hassle when bad updates were discovered and later fixed The chance that a bad update beign put off until MS has time to fix it doesn’t necessarily mean the user will experience the issues associated with not getting the update- ie- they won’t immediately experience an attack on their computer if they choose not to install that one update and decide to wait till a fix is in- and really, many of us have several lines of defense to prevent attacks anyways- As I’ve said- I’ve never had an issue problem crop up from waiting to install a known bad update- and I’ve been computing for many years now

While autoupdates are fine for the average user (UNLESS an update really [messes] their computer), but for the rest of us we should be given the choice to update or not specific updates for the reasons mentioned in my opinion

Good points Ruirib- windows 10 has been a disaster for some users- and very costly despite ‘being free’

Why have they removed the ability to pick and choose WHICH updates we want? I’m not talking about deferring updates, I mean rather the ability for choosing which updates not to install- There have been many instances of certain windows updates causing massive problems with people’s computers- and savvy users would wait until windows updates were out for a bit before downloading them to make sure there were no problems with the updates- but now apparently we’ve been stripped of this ability? Even with the pro version?

For instance, I’m running windows 7- and I got an update which put an ‘upgrade now to windows 10’ Nag screen on my computer- I found out which update did that- uninstalled that update, and hid it so hopefully it will not reinstall in the future

With windows 10- We’ll apparently have no choice over which updates we want- regardless of whether the update [messes] our computers? And the best we can do is pay $100 more just to be able to delay the inevitable forced updates?

not only that but another consideration is, given the unreliability of electronics, cramming ore and more into a vehicle means many times more chances of the car breaking down and not working, or having sensors break down and the car not passing inspection until it’s fixed, the sensors conflicting with vital electronics in the vehicle when they malfunction etc- Them ore layers of complexity you add, them ore potential for something to go wrong

So far, I have not seen any compelling reason to upgrade to Win10 and this article has not shown me anything that I need to do that I cannot do now or cannot live without.

Yes, there are some new features but ask how useful they are to YOU

There are also some things about Win10 that I don’t like, Cortana is one of those. I would very much prefer it if they weren’t even installed and sitting in the background in hopes that I might call on them one day. The same goes for other services that I don’t use that eat up CPU and battery.

Win10 is worse about loading me up with stuff I’m not going to use than any prior version. If they wanted to improve Win10, they should have done the reverse – install a bare bones version and let me choose what I want to add on when and if I choose to do so.

Excellent points- I really really wish they’d stop mucking with things and changing them to something they think we would want- I don’t want change- I’m perfectly happy with the OS 7 as it is- And like you say, I wish they would at the very least, offer a bare bones version that doesn’t deviate from the previous os versions UNTIL we choose to activate the ‘new features’ that they are constantly rolling out-

Like you say, I’m not going to start holding conversations with my computer- (I might take it on a date or two- but speaking to it? That’s just crazy talk)- [Seriously though- I do NOT want to speak to my computer- so I’d never use this function anyways- people might say she can predict what we are asking for- but so can’t yahoo search, as it fills in what I’m typing as I type to give suggestions I na drop down list- good enough for me]

And what happens when cortana feels jilted? Scorned? Cheated on? Lied to? Will she go running to the NSA with wild made up stories about us? Will she install viruses just to get even with us? Will she refuse to speak to us if we say the wrong things? Will she deplete our bank accounts if we don’t bring her roses on her birthday? So many Questions

I want my start menu EXACTLY like it is now with windows 7- I don’t want some gaudy hybrid conglomeration

I want the privacy settings I have now- Don’t want ot have to learn all kinds of new workarounds to shut off ‘phone home’ applications

I don’t want my computer updating without my permission, or being able to choose which updates I want and which ones I don’t-

Just when I get my os working the way I want it- Microsoft comes along and changes everything- How long before we’re forced to upgrade to windows 10? If I knew we could stay with windows 7 from here on out, this wouldn’t even be an issue, as I’d opt to remain with windows 7, but like I said, how long before programs no longer work with windows 7? Before new versions of IE don’t work with 7? etc etc etc

I’m old I’m tired, and I just want things to remain the same, or at very least given the choice for things to remain the same- I don’t want ot have to keep wasting my time trying to find workarounds and bypasses, and tweaks etc to get operating systems to work how I want them to- I just wanna cruise then et, do my photography, check email, etc- I don’t want ot have to keep learning new operating systems just to keep doing thins the way I like to do them-

Thanks for a useful, informative, well-composed article!

[*]Privacy issues – which you already highlighted. I’d be interested to hear what other users think of the tool “ShutUp10” from O&O (http://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10). I think their initiative is brave and bold and a dammned good idea. But it may have some issues … ?

looks good, but it seems like most of those settings could be done manually without such a program? Would be nice if WindowsSecrets could put together a list of settings we could use to secure our computers against sending info- But then we still have the problem of windows updating automatically without our permission as well- which according to forums is already causing headaches and problems- Seems to me that cortana might also pose some kind of privacy issue too- dunno if that could be tamed as well?

IT- don’t know if you saw last weeks article on WS- but it appears that the latest updates in windows 7 install a tracking program (which you can turn off in system config I guess) much like windows 10 has- It’s called “Diagnostic Tracking Service”-

[I’m on my second week with Win10 – the upgrade went well on an HP Pavilion running Win 7 Pro, 64bit, 1TB hard drive with 8GB ram. But the problems started soon after. Windows event viewer shows tons of errors, some critical and random reboots during the night. I’ve twice had the machine wake up about a tenth of the way, moving at glacial speed to open ANY window of any kind including system windows.]

This is exactly why forced updates is a bad bad idea- for people that leave their computers on, a bad update could cause and endless reboot scenario where the computer is going nuts trying to install the bad update- for hours on end

Been running windows 7 for several years now and have never ocne had a blue screen of death- on windows 97 it happened all the time- 98 was a little better, xp was really good, and windows 7 so far has never BSoD’d on me- I think I’ll stick with 7 as I’m not keen on going back to constant BSoDs and troubles with drivers etc- another thing windows 7 got right- I thought BSods were basically a thing of the past- I guess Microsoft was feeling nostalgic or something- so they brought them back

”Contrary to some rumors, there will not be any sort of subscription fee after you upgrade. Microsoft will send free updates for the life of the OS.”

Thanks for the explanations, Susan, but come on, that statement is not on the up and up. Whatever is or is not in the works with Win 10 itself, Microsoft has said time and again that starting with Windows 10, Windows is going to be a service. Service in MS terms, as well as those of just about every other business, means payment for service. Annual paid subscription has been Microsoft’s service format (e.g., Windows 365). So the “rumors” are not rumors, but anticipation, anxiety and caution based on fact and Microsoft’s not being forthcoming about what they intend by Windows as a service.

You are probably right- I believe they watched Adobe force people into a cloud based ‘service’ with a monthly subscription fee, noted that the outrage was ‘manageable’ (IE:P they just ignored the outrage, and people quit complaining after awhile because it was obvious Adobe could care less what people thought), and decided to go a similar route- but slowly- offering 10 for free for a year, getting lots of fish on the hook, then wham- forced cloud based subscription fee at some point knowing people are not going to want to uninstall and clean install their previous OS- Don’t pay the monthly fee? OS will fail to operate properly – forcing people into paying monthly fee just to keep their os working right- What’s to stop them? Certainly NOT public outrage- as we’ve seen in the case of Adobe Creative Suite-

IF they do go to subscription fee on a monthly basis- will MSW also force people to keep paying or be unable to alter work done when the os was ‘active- like Adobe does? (Photos you work on are ‘locked’ until you begin paying the extortion/errrr- montly fee again because now, apparently, the cloud service does something to the photos making them uneditable in other programs? or something like that (I never did go with their cloud service= stopped buying CS after version 5 because of their lousy cloud service!

Changed start menus? Gee thanks MS- That’s just what I wanted- you mucking with something I was perfectly happy with! Changing it to suit YOUR obsessive need to change things instead of leaving well enough alone! Desktop aps? Didn’t want them! But apparently now we’ll not have a choice? Menu apps? Also don’t want them- apparently we can turn them off- but menu system still looks awful now- no control panel fly out menu now? Gee thanks MS- because the fly out control panel menu was just too convenient- thank you for saving me from convenience! Wouldn’t want life being too convenient now would we? Now I’m going to have to drill down through a crappy gui ‘app’ to get to what I want? Golly- can’t wait!

You watch- windows 7 will be quickly outdated- not working well on websites- causing conflicts etc- and then those of us not willing to upgrade to 10 will be forced to buy a crappier version of windows-

Would it hurt MS to offer a ‘keep windows 7 settings’ option as a choice? (Like the ‘use classic look’ option AVAILABLE to windows users prior to windows 10)

LEAVE my start menu alone, and please stop trying to force tiles on me- I want the ability to CHOOSE to keep the look I now have- minimalist- folders, scroll menus- full screen programs- I don’t want ugly tiles all over my desktop- nor do I want apps constantly connected to the internet updating info on my desktop- While Cortina sounds like it will be useful- I want the chance to choose not to use it and disable it- I want to update MS when I want to- there was talk we will no longer be allowed to do manual updates?

I worked hard finding workarounds to windows 7 to get it looking and acting the way I want- now I will lose all this- When I upgrade a vehicle, I don’t want to find that they have moved the gas pedal to the back seat floor- or to the glove compartment, or find that the blinker lever is now hidden under the floor mats- or the radio is now in the trunk- whatever- you get the point- I want key features to be left alone- to be where I expect them to be- to be as functional as I expect them to be- I want my start menu and desktop icons left alone- I want my folders to look a certain way- please stop mucking with my operating system and forcing changes on me just to adopt change- The start menu worked perfectly fine in windows 98, xp, windows 7- there was no need to change it- please stop deciding for me that it should be changed MS- by incorporating both windows 8 and windows 7 features into the new start menu and claim it’s “The best of both worlds” translates into “1/2 as good as you’re used to”- forcing you into changing what you’re used to-

I suspect they are going to a ‘rent’ process like adobe photoshop is now- Yup- either pay monthly extortion fee/ err I mean rental price, or leave, seems to be the direction companies are now going in- it used to be that the customer came first- now we’ve moved into a ‘company first customer an afterthought it seems- I hope this is not hte3 intention of Microsoft too-

Martin- I too hate the new style of start menu- I just want text based links in the menu like windows 98-7 have- and I certainly don’t want tiles floating all over my desktop- just want the shortcut icons like before- small, quick, convenient – Everytime windows updates, it takes me forever hacking it to get the look I want- I don’t want some programmer deciding what I for me- constantly changing things on me, forcing me to have to relearn the program over and over again-

One other concern, are all the aps going to be ‘phoning home’ to Redmond to inform them whether they are up to date or not? Used to be you could turn off this phone home behavior, but seems like companies are implementing phone home processes now that can’t be turned off/disabled- I don’t want to be moving to a cloud based system either (another major reason I didn’t upgrade to adobe CC)- is that the direction MS is moving? I certainly hope not

alright- a few concerns about the new OS- one, I want my current start menu- don’t like all the new fangled start menus- mine looks like windows 98 now- and would like to keep it that way- with control panel fly out menu- I want a truly classical view for start menu, folders, IE etc- also, I understand there are ‘phone home’ things in the new OS? No?

you said “And because much of Windows 10 is, in fact, made up of Windows apps, the OS itself could change rapidly.”

See- I don’t want my OS changing constantly on me- I don’t want to have to keep relearning everything because someone decides for me that a service or program would ‘work better’ if this that or the other thing were changed- I finally got used to windows 98- knew how to navigate through various menus etc- then it gets changed , have to relearn where everything is- then it gets changed again to windows 7- had to relearn where everything was- look up hacks to change certain features back to how I liked it- etc- now we’re talking about a new OS that is going to keep changing things at whim on us?

I dunno- I like things the way I like them-

[[The Start menu retains its now-familiar layout (Figure 1), with a Win7-like list of programs on the left and fancy live tiles on the right.]]

I understand that there will be no way to add control panel with a fly out sub menu like windows 7- and although I know you can delete live tiles, I would much prefer menu based second column like in windows 7 – will that be available?

From another article [[Continum is an on-the-fly mode for 2 in 1 devices that can automatically change mode if it detects there is suddenly no keyboard attached.]] http://www.techradar.com/us/news/software/operating-systems/10-great-new-features-in-windows-10-1267365

Which is important, because just the other day, I was typing away, took a little beak, looked down and my keyboard was gone- vanished- then it reappeared sdconds later- I sure wish I had contium to save the day

[[Desktop interface overhaul]]

Really? Who said I wanted an overhaul? I like my uncluttered minimalist desktop with tiny icons now- I don’t want apps running all over the place- floating all over the desktop-

Please Microsoft- leave the desktop alone, and the menus and the classic look- At least give us an option to keep windows 7 look completely- without mucking with menus etc- I don’t like your ‘new and improved’ versions- I like my current minimalist look and menu driven start menus and basic plain vanilla windows, browsers etc

And just one other note- there is talk that windows 10 might be the ‘last major upgrade’ apparently meaning it’s the last os you’ll have to buy- but certainly microsoft is going ot have to keep making money- so how are they going to be doing this? By doing what adobe did and forcing everyone into ‘renting’ their software by the month?