Newsletter Archives

• “Get Windows 10” nagware patch, KB 3035583, coming again to Windows 7

  Posted on May 3, 2016 at 14:02 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  You’d think they would’ve learn from the KCCI experience, but noooooooo…

  InfoWorld Woody on Windows

  Windows Patches/Security Get Windows 10, KB 3035583, KCCI

• Your system administrator has blocked upgrades on this PC

  Posted on March 9, 2016 at 10:08 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  I still don’t know how the Get Windows 10 icon got stuck on domain-joined computers, but it’s there.

  Admins I know are, rightfully, livid. Microsoft’s doing an end run.

  InfoWorld Woody on Windows

  UPDATE: Looks like there was a kinda-sorta advance warning, back on January 13.

  http://blogs.technet.com/b/windowsitpro/archive/2016/01/13/making-it-easier-for-small-businesses-to-upgrade-to-windows-10.aspx
  The TechNet article says it’s only aimed at machines “Configured to receive updates directly from the Windows Update service (i.e. updates are not managed by WSUS or System Center Configuration Manager on those devices)” which conflicts with several reports.
  There’s also no mention in the TechNet article about the name-and-shame message, “Your system administrator has blocked upgrades on this PC,” which is threatening to some, insulting to others.
  Windows Patches/Security Get Windows 10, Your system administrator has blocked upgrades on this PC

• IE patch KB 3139929: When a security update is not a security update

  Posted on March 9, 2016 at 07:06 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  This is a new low, even for Microsoft’s much-maligned “Get Windows 10” campaign.

  InfoWorld Woody on Windows

  Can any of you get the blue banner to trigger on “new” tabs in Internet Explorer? I’ve been trying and trying, and can’t get it to work. Shoot me email, please: woody@askwoody.com.

  UPDATE: Annemarie, who’s quoted in the article, has dropped me a  note to give the correct attribution. The original discovery (in Dutch) came from Bobo. Thanks, Bobo!

  Windows Patches/Security Get Windows 10, KB 3139929, KB 3146449, Security patches

• Windows 10 is now a “recommended” upgrade

  Posted on February 1, 2016 at 17:41 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  About half an hour ago, Microsoft started pushing Win10 as a “recommended” update for Win7 and 8.1.

  http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-starts-pushing-windows-10-as-a-recommended-update/
  For people with Windows Update set to “stun” – er, to install updates automatically – and with “Give me recommended updates the same way I receive important updates” checked, Win10 should start installing either tonight or tomorrow morning.
  UPDATE: Full article coming shortly. I can’t find anybody who’s seen the recommended update – and that leaves all sorts of unanswered questions.
  Windows Patches/Security Get Windows 10

• Microsoft warns ‘Get Windows 10’ nagware is coming to domain-joined Win7 and 8.1 PCs

  Posted on January 14, 2016 at 07:36 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  If you’re on a domain, or you run a domain, it’s time to double-check that you’re blocked.

  InfoWorld Woody on Windows

  Windows Patches/Security domain, Get Windows 10

• How ‘Get Windows 10’ sets its hooks in Windows 7 and 8.1

  Posted on January 11, 2016 at 15:00 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Still no sign of the promised Off switch.

  InfoWorld Woody on Windows

  Windows Patches/Security Get Windows 10, GWX

• GWX Control Panel update

  Posted on November 2, 2015 at 08:42 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  A better blocker available to shield you from coerced “Get Windows 10” updates.

  InfoWorld Woody on Windows

  Windows Patches/Security Get Windows 10, GWX Control Panel

• What people really think about Microsoft’s “Get Windows 10” campaign

  Posted on October 22, 2015 at 05:10 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  I just received an email from reader BW, and it expresses my frustration wonderfully…

  I have my Windows updates shut off right now because I can see that the computer has tried to either activate the Windows 10 or do something I am not understanding, and I don’t want it to be activated. I don’t like to have my updates turned off, but I don’t know what else to do. I don’t have extra money to take my computer to somewhere like Staples and hope that they can figure out how to get the Windows 10 out of my computer.

  I hope you can help me find a solution to this strange thing. I think it is wrong of Microsoft to put this into the computers of people who do not want it. It almost feels to me like an invasion of my privacy. I am a vegetarian and to me it is as if someone opened my front door, and threw in a huge piece of meat etc. with out asking if I wanted it. I bought Windows 7, but never even upgraded to Windows 8 or 8.1 so why would they force Windows 10 on me? I know they said in the articles it was because they assumed that everyone would eventually get it and it would save time, but that is not giving us a choice as to when or if we want it and on what machine we want it etc.

  That’s what the coerced march to Windows 10 looks like, from the consumer’s point of view.

  Windows Patches/Security Get Windows 10
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