Now we have Microsoft users hypnotically chanting "protect us from your enemies, oh Mi Cro Soft!" I will not cede my ownership rights to a corporation for the purpose of receiving an operating system. They have no right to convert my property to their use without due compensation. I'm willing to negotiate, but my price will be very high. A one-time agreement for one machine will run them about $10,000. That's fair.

I only wish that could be true.
_______________

Just a heads-up for those people like me who stubbornly do not trust Microsoft do decide in their place what'S good for them. Since yesterday, the automatic update for W7 and W8 to get W10 installed by reclassifying it as a "recommended update", is in the wild. It is a phased release, so do not consider yourself to be safe just because it still has not happened.

It means, if you still do not know, that if you have your Windows 7 update options to accepting recommended updates and treating them like security updates, W10 will automatically be landed and installed on your HD. Nice surprise next morning.

As usual my recommendation is to switch off Windows 7 Updates alltogether and deactivate all known background tasks you can find that frequently contact Microsoft servers - and then to never care for Windows Updates again anymore, never.

On a sidenote, it can be read that the Surfacegate with recent firmware updates for Microsoft machines named Surface, still continues. The last upgrades seem to have been the same desasters, like the ones before that. My condolences to everybody who in good faith has wasted his money on this crap and short time later had a hard crash-landing on the concrete surface of reality, if you pardon the pun.

Rumor says the next generation of Microsoft computers is named "Nemesis".

Confirm that yesterday, Windows began rolling out the change of Windows 10 update from optional to recommended. When that changes, and it will be on a different date this quarter for each computer, if you are set to automatically install updates, your computer will do at least a partial install of Windows 10 without any input from you. That means that if they have not already done so, your computer will first download about 5 GB of the entire Windows 10 update.

See how helpful they are being? Remember that last October they "accidentally" changed the setting and many who declined the EULA found themselves with crippled computers, unable to go back to Windows 7, 8 or 8.1. Their computers were left riddled with Windows 10 downloaded items (over 5 GB worth!). Their only path forward was a reinstallation from scratch of their old operating system if they did not religiously keep an image backup, as I do.

Your defense is to set Windows Update to "Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them." And if you haven't already done so, download and run GWX Control Panel to innoculate your computer against download and install of Windows 10.

More gory details can be found on Woody Leanhard's Woody on Windows blog on Infoworld.com.

Never was invasion of privacy and oppression of valuable customers done with such smiling and cheerfulness. If they were Nazis they would be putting smiley faces on blindfolds for executions. And their apologists would be praising their efforts to make executions such a positive experience. "We updated the execution experience today to help our customers! Thanks to our continuing committment your execution can be a positive experience!:up:"

Update: the auto install is out. Here's how it works. Remeber, it is set as a recommended update. When Windows Update runs, the update is checked and will install automatically.

The next time you reboot you will be confronted by a smiling EULA agreement. This is your only option to bail out and it's not clearly stated. Accept the agreement and Windows 10 completes the install with no safe way to stop it. Decline and you stay with your old operating system. But although there is a slyly hidden choice there which most people will ignore because they are accustomed to automatically checking yes on EULA screens, of course Microsoft has a twist in the knife.

From then on, every time your computer reboots the EULA screen pops up. Windows 10 install routines (5 GB of them!) are not deleted and remain fully active. Suppose your teenage son has a power failure and your machine reboots. What are the odds he hits that okay:up: button. I say it's about 110%.

And there is still the October/November problem. Rollbacks didn't work. Computers were left in a shambles, whether they refused the EULA or chose subsequently to return to their previous operating system.

Here's the bad news and it deserves a very thorough reading. Ask questions if necessary.

Should have set your updates to never check and un-tick those boxes months and months ago.

Thank you RR & Skybird
 

Thanks again RRobbins, Skybird, Steed, et all. Very helpful info!

Edit:
(No Win10 found)

Many did and Microsoft, in their eagerness to be our friend, have our backs and protect us, reset the options. The latest version of the GWX update resets your settings once per hour to ensure that your settings will always be to adopt the Windows 10 update if it is marked important. It is. Connecting the dots we can predict a train wreck involving people who unchecked those boxes months ago assuming that Microsoft had any respect at all for its customers. They don't. Merry Christmas everybody!:D

I'm running the latest GWX no Win10 found on my PC.

BTW:

GWX Control Panel
Version: 1.7.2.0
Date: January 24, 2016

http://ultimateoutsider.com/downloads/

KB3123862 looks like Win10 plumbing!

http://www.infoworld.com/article/303...b-3123862.html

Patch Tuesday for February has landed!

(((RED ALERT)))

Could this be the hit that Microsoft said to kick people like me up the arse and move me on to Win10! :hmmm:

For my Win8.1 I can rule out two straight away.
KB 3134814 (IE11 don't use it)
KB3135782 (Flash Player don't use it)

Below as normal will be put on hold so people like Woody can find the good from the bad.

Important
KB3122651
KB3127222
KB3122654
KB3127226
KB3115858
KB3123294
KB3124280
KB3126041
KB3126434
KB3126446
KB3126587
KB3126593
KB3134214
KB890830 Malicious Removal Tool

Optional
KB3135449
KB3132080

I'm continuing my collection of reasons it's just an insane idea to "upgrade" to Windows 10.

I'm working on a computer right now that won't boot. No post codes, no error messages. At first I thought the monitor was bad. Plugged it into another computer--works great.

Removed the disk drive and connected it to a non-UEFI (that stands for "don't you dare try installing anything but Windows 8, 8.1 or 10 here!") Got an error OxOOOO102, file:\WINDOWS\system32\winload.exe. Easy peasy!

Not so fast. UEFI makes it necessary to boot windows in order to boot from an optical drive. You can't do it by pressing F12 for boot options and choosing the optical drive. AND in order to use windows repair from an installation disk you must boot windows on the native machine first. Can anyone see a potential problem here?

Looking for answers but I feel like giving the machine back and telling her she's the victim of her own greed. "Free" operating system......NOT!

With UEFI you can't press delete or any other key to enter BIOS. There is no BIOS. You can't get boot options with F12. With Windows 8 and 8.1 you can revert to using BIOS instead of UEFI. DO IT NOW!!! Not doing it may leave you using a boat anchor instead of a computer.

Update on Tor 5.5 browser install post #609 01/31/16

After latest round of Windows updates - still there and working

After running Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool - still there and working

Will continue to keep an eye on it

Thank you. Sometimes malicious rumors succeed because we want them to be true, and this one seems like a false malicious rumor so far. Has anyone who tried installing Tor had it removed by Microsoft?

We have nobody yet who has had Tor removed by Windows. Thanks for all who are reporting on this!

I too installed TOR and it's still there. Ten days so far.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonke.../#42e688af7aa9

Windows 10 Worst Secret Spins Out Of Control

I think this explains why my data usage has quadrupled since I started using Win 10. :nope: Even with a 3rd party app, MS keeps transmitting.