NEWS
NEWS
NEWS
Microsoft steps up Windows 10 upgrade harassment “by mistake”
Microsoft has stepped up its efforts to get people to install Windows 10 to the point where some are claiming they’re being forced to upgrade even after trying to opt out.
According to ZDNet, users are reporting being presented with a dialog box that gives just two options: Install the update now, or reschedule it for later. In other words, there’s no way of saying “No” to Windows 10. In addition, ZDNet says some users claim the Windows Update screen only offers them the option of beginning the update process, while other system updates are hidden away.
Even worse, ZDNet says there doesn’t appear to be any kind of fix to resolve this problem, except for initiating a System Restore, which would only work if you’ve actually manually set a restore point in the past.
Similar reports have emerged from The Register, which says numerous readers have complained the forced updates have changed users’ personal settings, pushing previous updates from Microsoft they’d already removed or chosen not to receive. It also states that the Windows Update now automatically ticks the “upgrade to Windows 10 Home” box, even though it’s listed as an “optional” update.
Ars Technica also confirmed that it too, saw the Windows 10 upgrade being checked by default, even though that’s not supposed to happen. When questioned on the issue, Microsoft issued a statement saying “this was a mistake” and that it would be fixing it to ensure no one else sees the option checked. It would certainly seem to be a somewhat ‘fortunate’ mistake for a company that’s staked it’s reputation on getting one billion downloads within two years, we might add.
The good news is that in the case of the ticked optional upgrade problem, there does seem to be a fix. Users can download the GWX Control Panel or BlockWindows, a set of .bat and .vbs scripts available on GitHub that allows users to disable the updates by themselves.
Microsoft’s apparent forced updates are, at best, an extremely serious error that could have serious repercussions for thousands of organizations if they accidentally find themselves having installed Windows 10 without being prepared.
image credit: pablohaddadou via pixabay.com
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