Hope you didn't like Win7 or 8...

[bwframe]

Where's Leadeye?

Follow The Money

 

[2A_Tom]

I'm keeping my Windows 7 machine running. Just applying security patches. Once that machine is done, I'll be off Microsoft entirely.

If you want to protect your Windows 7/8/8.1 machine, you should download and run the following utility which will protect you from Win10 upgrades.

GWX Control Panel

THANK YOU! Yes I shouted that.

 

[bwframe]

THANK YOU! Yes I shouted that.

Ditto. I knew Pudly would come through for us.

 

[jkaetz]

The data collections are not conspiracy theories, they've been documented. M$ is in fact stealing the passwords for any encrypted storage you have, along with activity data.

Very well, not conspiracy, maybe paranoia or xenophobia would fit better. Stealing passwords is a bold statement, I'd like to read about how Microsoft is stealing passwords for encrypted storage. Do you have a link? Everything I've read says it is uploaded to the customer's one drive account to be used if the customer forgets their password, but they will remove it if you ask.

 

[pudly]

Ditto. I knew Pudly would come through for us.

Thanks to everyone for the positive reaction to GWX Control Panel. I've been using that software for several weeks and it does a good job. Be sure to turn on Monitor Mode if you want it to run continuously as a service.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

After all these years I should know to keep links, but I still never do I know I've seen it, though. Now, "paranoia" is kind of a sliding scale, you've got the rurals that can't imagine why you'd even have a lock on your door calling the people down in the hood paranoid for bars on the windows. The things they've been doing with 10 have been documented, and new ones keep being found, but the bottom line for me is that none of my stuff is any of their business, so I refuse to participate. The fact they're making it harder to refuse doesn't wear me down.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Thanks to everyone for the positive reaction to GWX Control Panel. I've been using that software for several weeks and it does a good job. Be sure to turn on Monitor Mode if you want it to run continuously as a service.

THIS! If Microsoft changes midstream and adds yet another method of updating the software beyond what we know about today, running it as a service will alert you that M$ has changed it again to sneak it by the first attempt to block.

Its pretty sad that we basically have to have "antivirus" of sorts to protect against things that a "reputable" software giant does to us behind our backs.

 

[2A_Tom]

Just the fact that I don't get the stinkin' pop up is great.

 

[Jludo]

I work within an IT department with 10's of thousands of computers and HIPAA compliance to worry about, I can't see us getting away from windows in the near future, hell we are just now getting some computers up to 7 from XP...
Though I do keep a few linux images on my flash drive if I need to do anything important.

 

[Lebowski]

Been running Linux @ home for the last ten years or so and haven't looked back.

Debian master race.

 

[Leadeye]

Where's Leadeye?

Follow The Money

Bad weather has kept me off the internet.

 

[IndyDave1776]

Been running Linux @ home for the last ten years or so and haven't looked back.

Debian master race.

Systemist! I'm telling Al Sharpton on you!

 

[RobbyMaQ]

My windows xp doesn't have this problem

 

[edporch]

I have Windows 7 64bit Professional
I've never used Automatic Updates on Windows.
I just have it inform me they're available, then I just install the updates I choose.

 

[atvdave]

I'm keeping my Windows 7 machine running. Just applying security patches. Once that machine is done, I'll be off Microsoft entirely.

If you want to protect your Windows 7/8/8.1 machine, you should download and run the following utility which will protect you from Win10 upgrades.

GWX Control Panel

Thanks for the link.

 

[ajeandy]

It's not fear of change. Windows 8, 8.1 and 10 do not run reliably on all devices. I work in the IT industry and have 7 on most everything because 8/10 just takes forever to reboot on some machines.

 

[CountryBoy19]

They are "power users".

For the most part it comes down to refusal to change and fear of some TOS language that has been twisted by conspiracy theorists convincing them that magical data is getting collected by Microsoft and is somehow more terrible than the information collected facebook, google, apple, NSA, FBI, etc... There are some concrete reasons but the average person will not run into them.

For reference I haven't had a windows OS since ME that didn't "work". XP had some issues with drivers and hardware, but everything beyond XP does in fact "work". If you have software or hardware that doesn't work with later version of windows, then you need to place the blame at the hardware or software vendor, not Microsoft. With the exception of the Surface line of products, Microsoft is a software vendor. They give third party hardware and software vendors the tools to make their stuff work with Windows. If the do a poor job, then things won't work well. Most of the issues get blamed on Microsoft but it is the third party that has dropped the ball. Now if an OS change or other software change breaks a Surface product then you can 100% lay the blame on Microsoft as they are both the hardware and software vendor.

Of course all of that is moot when you can't use your computer the way you want to.

I'm not computer savvy enough to understand all your lingo but let me ask you this.

Is it a software/hardware vendor's responsibility to support OS compatibility changes for a product indefinitely? IE, I have SuperMegaSpecial version 8.7 on my WIN 7 machine. Version 8.7 isn't compatible with WIN 10 because they have a new version, version 9.0, out that is compatible. However, version 9.0 will not function with my hardware so I'm stuck with unsupported version 8.7 or I have to upgrade my software AND hardware. This isn't a problem as long as I can continue running WIN 7, but M$ forces me to upgrade to 10, I now have no choice.

Are you saying it's the hardware vendor's responsibility to continue supporting older products with compatibility patches for new all the new OS's just because M$ wants to force their new OS onto people?

This isn't a huge issue if the hardware/software upgrade costs $100, but what if the hardware/software upgrade costs $250,000? Should I be forced to spend a quarter-million dollars because M$ wants to forcibly upgrade me to WIN 10? How is that not the fault of M$?

 

[pudly]

It has become fairly common practice for major software vendors to provide a timeline for support of their products. For example, IBM has long had a 5+3 support policy. Five years with full support including feature updates and three additional years of limited support with only security patches. That allows companies to better plan major IT investments. Microsoft does the same with Windows and other products.

 

[pudly]

@jkaetz- It is analysis like this that has some of us wanting to stay away from Windows 10.

Even With Telemetry Disabled, Windows 10 Talks To Dozens of Microsoft Servers - Slashdot

Even Windows 10 Enterprise, which you are supposed to be able to control in a large corporate environment is calling directly out to Microsoft and not just to your network control servers (Active Directory, etc).

Microsoft has decided that since they write the software, they can put "features" in there that they do not clearly inform you about. In other words, you are paying for software that serves their interests over yours.

 

[Shadow8088]

@jkaetz- It is analysis like this that has some of us wanting to stay away from Windows 10.

Even With Telemetry Disabled, Windows 10 Talks To Dozens of Microsoft Servers - Slashdot

Even Windows 10 Enterprise, which you are supposed to be able to control in a large corporate environment is calling directly out to Microsoft and not just to your network control servers (Active Directory, etc).

Microsoft has decided that since they write the software, they can put "features" in there that they do not clearly inform you about. In other words, you are paying for software that serves their interests over yours.

You should probably read the EULA... you don't own the software... they can do whatever they want. Basically, if you're using their OS, you've already signed away your rights to them. It sucks, but its how things are....