Complaints: Can’t get to the Microsoft Store when switching Surface Go out of S Mode

Thx to Barb Bowman. This from the MS Answers forum:

I recently purchased a Microsoft Surface Go for travel, and although I’m enjoying it thus far there is a need to switch out of S Mode to install one or two additional programs. I’ve followed all of the steps to reach the “Switch Out of S Mode” screen in the Microsoft Store, however, the page never loads. Instead, it shows a blank store screen. Is there any other method to reach this area of the store?

Additionally, I’ve tried prior to updating Windows and after updating Windows with no luck.

There are several additional reports.

Where do we stand with Feature Update deferrals in Win 10 Pro v1903?

What has happened to Feature Update deferrals in Win10 Pro v1903?

Everyone has been lauding the “Pause update” feature added to Windows Update in v1903 Home Edition since Microsoft sacked SAC Targeted (pun intended). But there has been no documentation (that I am aware of) about the changes to Win10 Pro v1903.

I have upgraded one of my v1809 Pro to v1903 Pro in the last few days (by the hardest). The full adventure is in these four posts: #1889088, #1891639, #1896176, and #1896177.
Under Windows Update, the Advanced options screen has changed. There is no longer the SAC/SAC(Targeted) pulldown (MS did away with the “Targeted”). The Feature Deferral pulldown, which was set to 365 days in v1809 prior to the upgrade, has also disappeared. I have posted more detailed observations about some of the changes on the Lounge, but here are the points these changes have raised:

How much telemetry is going out with this month’s “Security-only” Win7 patch?

Interesting question from Susan Bradley:

Anyone run wire shark to see if telemetry really is being sent or if they are patching some security bug

— Susan Bradley (@SBSDiva) July 31, 2019

Faucet drip level – or firehose? Anybody want to take it on?

First report of a Win10 Home 1803-to-1903 pushed upgrade over a metered connection

There are many, many reasons why I hesitate to report on update behavior that appears to be one-off.

But this one seems particularly ominous.

@NorD reports that his Win10 1803 Home computer with an Ethernet “metered” connection got pushed to 1903.

Has anybody else seen that?

Yes, Win10 1803 is three and a half months away from being let out to pasture (Nov. 12).

Where we stand with the July 2019 patches: Welcome to the Upside Down

Win7 basks in telemetry

The Win10 1903 RST upgrade block casts an unintentionally wide net

Visual Studio patches go to the wrong machines

…and yet another fervent call to block the BlueKeep hole, which looms like a demogorgon

Much more.

Computerworld Woody on Windows.

Patch Lady – wow Windows 10 is four years old

Just reading “how to geeks” birthday list of all the changes we’ve seen.

So, what’s your favorite change you’ve seen?  What’s the biggest change you don’t like?

Apple’s revelations about keeping/scanning Siri recordings demand a response

Excellent article out this morning from Johnny Evans in Computerworld.

You may have heard on Friday the Guardian assertion:

Apple contractors regularly hear confidential medical information, drug deals, and recordings of couples having sex, as part of their job providing quality control, or “grading”, the company’s Siri voice assistant

For a company that touts its privacy superiority, that’s clearly way over the line. Even I was shocked – and I’ve been jaded by years of Microsoft’s snooping.

This morning, Johnny Evans published a clear plan for fixing the wrongs:

• Apple should introduce much clearer and easier to understand privacy warnings around use of Siri on its devices.
• When setting up Siri on a new device you as a user should be given the chance to explicitly reject use of your voice for any purpose other than the original request.
• Apple should bring this [contracted human snooping] work in-house, become completely accountable for what its voice workers and management do with these recordings, and ensure customers have some way in which to punish any infraction of their data privacy.
• In the event Siri is invoked but no specific request is made, the system should be smart enough to ignore the interaction and delete any recording made as a result of that interaction.
• Only in those instances in which different voice recognition systems can’t find a way to agree on what is said should human ears be necessary.

It’s an excellent article. Windows users take note.

Even though there’s a BlueKeep exploit for sale, it doesn’t work very well – doesn’t propagate, for example

Catalin Cimpanu wrote in ZDNet on Friday that there’s a “weaponized” BlueKeep exploit available if you have the cash.

(More BlueKeep info here.)

There are several reasons why I didn’t raise the alarm, among them one comment from the folks selling the “pen test” exploit:

our version is not self-propagating (a worm)

It’s ostensibly only used to test your system to see if it’s vulnerable to BlueKeep-style exploits.

A couple of hours ago, Kevin Beaumont (who invented the name “BlueKeep” and is following it intently) reinforced my reticence:

https://twitter.com/GossiTheDog/status/1155808509499514880

Still nothing to worry about. But for heavens sake, if you run a Win7, Vista, XP or related server, and you haven’t installed any patches since May, you need to get patched NOW.