Windows 10: What You Need to Know

[DragonRider]

Originally Posted by DragonRider

That's cool.
Just as I was about to uninstall Windows 10 I decided to look into the problem for one last go.
And what do you know its now sorted.

Problem solved for Gigabyte error code D4 and Asus error code 04.
Once you have Windows 10 or 8.1 fully installed restart your system and go into the Boot menu and disable the fast boot option.
Also after loading Windows 10 or 8.1 go to the power options and select choose what the power buttons do.
Click the change settings that are currently available/unavailable and then un-tick the fast start up option.
This should solve the problem

It seems that on the newer Gigabyte Boards you also have to disable the wake by LAN settings found in the bios settings
as well or windows will just keep turning back on with the above settings activated.

[Skybird]

More good news for W10 users.

http://www.ghacks.net/2015/11/19/mic...and-telemetry/

MS seems to frequently reset settings made by the user (to lock out sniffing "services" from MS) back to default (=totally vulnerable system), and has dodged criticism of its Diagnostic Tracking by - renaming it, to avoid users being aware of it, and so to bypass their guard. A company's war of attrition against customers who impertinently refuse to obey its demands.

Last market numbers from this week show that W7 still claims over half of the market, and that W10 still is just fourth - still behind XP, and W8.

I wonder whether one should ask Anonymous to hack Microsft and erase their Windows, cloud and developement servers. Sounds like a jolly good idea to me. People will never forget that again, because most will be feeling the pain from that. And MS hopefully would seize to exist as a living company after suffering such a blow.

[Rockin Robbins]

Does Microsoft wish to be hated?. Can they actually believe that they can insult their customers and suffer no consequences? Or have they been infiltrated by Apple management who want to kill Microsoft? Or do they not care about the good will of Informed customers and only want those stupid enough to be easily fooled?

It is really difficult to imagine any plausible motivation for Microsoft's baffling behavior.

[Skybird]

They simply think they will get away with it, while keeping the prey of their stunt.

And by the reaction of the majority, they probably are right with that. In the longer run.

The willingness of so many people to still spend endless time (or not to care at all) to fiddle with their Microsoft installations, is absolutely discouraging for me. And this although the endless flood of ever more patches and repairs every month only shows one thing: how wrecked and insufficient and broken this OS from all beginning on is.

Heck, not even the immense security holes in Flash and Java make the majority of people think. Why then wondering about them still wishing that Windows will succeed?

[Rockin Robbins]

Well, it shows the way forward for Ask Toolbar and Conduit homepage hijack and ad server. They just need to change their names to Goggle and Affirmative Security Friend.

[Rockin Robbins]

Latest Microsloth news: the Windows 10 v1511 ISO disk image has been pulled from Microsoft's website. If you are installing Win 10 you must first download the entire obsolete version from July and then download the equally huge 1511 November update via Windows Update whenever it decides to offer it to you. Not satisfied with our default service scorn, they work extra hard to EARN it.
http://www.computerworld.com/article...load-site.html

Apple couldn't have a more effective advertising campaign. But Linux is your real solution.

[Rockin Robbins]

Do you have Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 and do not want to downgrade to Windows 10? Do you want to make SURE that you aren't forced into voluntarily downloading Windows 10?

Improved GWX Control Panel does an even better job at keeping Windows 10 off your PC

Microsoft plans to make the Windows 10 upgrade recommended in Windows Update a recommended and therefore automatically installed update for most people. GWX Control Panel can shut that plan down.

Put Microsoft on a level with Sony, Congress, used car salesmen and the TV weather babe on your trust list.

[aanker]

Thank you again RR. Please continue to post these 'updates' related to Win 10, KB numbers, helpful solutions, etc.

In the future I won't take up space in this topic by thanking you publicly each time you post, but want you to know that I am grateful for the information that you provide. I know I'm not alone : )

So, Thank You for this, and any future info.

Regards,
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
GWX Control Panel ver 1.6:

[STEED]

Thanks for the update news RR.

I got two differences with the GWX image above..

Are Windows Update OS upgrades enabled (NO)

And

Enable Operating System Upgrades In Windows Update (Disabled)


I think it would be better to branch off with a new thread to deal with MS's KB updates on all the Windows below Win10 and leave this one solely for Win10.

[Onkel Neal]

From Forbes: Microsoft Makes Windows 10 Automatic Spying Worse

Earlier this month Microsoft finally went on record admitting that automatic spying within Windows 10 cannot be stopped. This sparked a lot of outrage and with ‘Threshold 2’ it appeared Microsoft had done a sharp U-turn because the background service at the heart tracking (the ‘Diagnostics Tracking Service’ aka ‘DiagTrack’) appeared to have been removed. Critics celebrated and it was another well deserved pat on the back for Microsoft.

Except it turns out Microsoft had just been very sneaky. What Tweakhound discovered and was subsequently confirmed by BetaNews, is Microsoft simply renamed DiagTrack. It is now called the ‘Connected User Experiences and Telemetry Service’ – which is both a) deliberately vague, and b) misleading (don’t ‘Connected User Experiences’ sound great).

.
Windows 10 November update was pulled for forgetting privacy settings; it’s now back

The mystery behind the removal of the Windows 10 November Update, version 1511, has been revealed. Last week Microsoft received reports that, when upgrading from the Windows 10 July release to the November update, four privacy-related settings were getting reset to their default values. Concerned that there might be a significant problem, Microsoft removed the November Update from Windows Update for existing Windows 10 users and also removed the updated Media Creation Tool used to create install media.

When upgrading from the initial Windows 10 release to the new version, four settings (whether to allow apps to use a unique advertiser ID, which apps are allowed to run in the background, whether Smartscreen Web filtering is enabled, and whether settings sync between devices) were reverted to their defaults, as if a fresh Windows installation had been performed. While for most users this made no difference, for those who'd disabled those features previously, the upgrade would silently revert those choices.

Oddly, upgrading from Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 10 wasn't affected, and the November Update was still being rolled out over Windows Update to people upgrading from those operating systems. Only those already on Windows 10 were affected.

Microsoft has now fixed the upgrade/installation process to properly preserve these settings, and the November Update has once more been made available to Windows 10 users through Windows Update. The updated Media Creation Tool has also been restored, re-enabling clean installs of version 1511. The company has also published a knowledge-base article describing the issue and which settings are affected, so any Windows 10 users who have already installed the November Update can double-check their settings and re-establish their preference if necessary.

[Catfish]

You cannot stop Win 10 spying, unless you have the Enterprise version.

Nice business model.

[Onkel Neal]

"inadvertently"

[Rockin Robbins]

Neal, I think STEED seems on first glance to have a good idea in separating the Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 preservation material from the Wndows 10 material. But on further thought that is the wrong thing to do. I personally think that the thing you need to know about Windows 10 IS to keep Windows 7 or move to Linux, but maybe I'm wrong an STEED is right.

My position is that Windows 10 is not a fixable thing. Fixing Windows 10 is trying to turn a puppy into a kitten. I think Microsoft has shown enough bad faith to disqualify them as the vendor of a new operating system.

So, moving the Windows 7 preservation posts to a new thread removes "What you need to know about Windows 10" from the thread of that name. Moving the posts about moving to Linux is the same thing.

Every strategy we can come up with to defang Win 10 will be answered. Suppose we use our routers to shut down Microsoft's telemetry servers. They can't use Windows to defeat that, can they? Of course they can, by moving telemetry to the update server so that if you shut it down you lose essential security upgrades.

If a company is intent on doing evil, and Microsoft is, your only wise choice is to avoid their products. Staying with Windows 7 is essentially avoiding their products and shutting down their income stream. Our only power to restrain them is the power of the purse. Loudly retain your cash and jingle it loudly. Want that money? Do what we want. Microsoft's job is to serve us, not to prey upon us. One gets them life. The other gets them death. Hope they choose wisely.

We are the Customers. Our name is spelled with a Captial C. We demand respect for our privacy. We demand that your product serve us. We refuse to purchase products which prey upon us. Every penny you make is because of the service that you provide the Customer. When that service is not rendered you die. Others will gladly take your position and we will not miss you.

[Rockin Robbins]

Originally Posted by Catfish

You cannot stop Win 10 spying, unless you have the Enterprise version.

Nice business model.

Actually, that is not true. It is possible to have a comprehensive fix that keeps Microsoft from ALL spying. My goto guy here is Barnacles Nerdgasm on You Tube. A former 15 year Microsoft employee in the Windows test division (his ENTIRE division was axed--tells you something, doesn't it?), he is a systems programmer who definitely knows more than I do.

This video is 35 minutes long but there is at least 90 minutes worth of good solid information here. Replay value is immense. My scariest takeaway is that he showed how to use your hosts file to block the Bing search engine completely. But Edge actually ignores your privacy settings and bypasses the hosts file to access Bing directly. "Customer preference be damned!"

A close second place scary revelation was that updates routinely change your privacy settings. You don't know when the update happens and Microsoft has no respect for your choices.

The good news is that by following this video, you can shut off ALL the Microsoft Windows 10 privacy invasions and return your desktop operating system to the job of helping you. I would take the process just one step further.

After you're done, use Notepad to load up the Hosts file. Look in the section of changes made by Anti-Beacon and copy all the sites turned off in the hosts file. Now take it for granted that Microsoft's next move will be to screw you, you have no right to make choices.

Simply deny access to those sites through your router blacklist. That takes access out of the ability of Microsoft to restore. It's the only change I'd make to Barnacles' recommendations.

[Rockin Robbins]

Originally Posted by Catfish

You cannot stop Win 10 spying, unless you have the Enterprise version.

Nice business model.

Actually, that is not true. It is possible to have a comprehensive fix that keeps Microsoft from ALL spying. My goto guy here is Barnacles Nerdgasm on You Tube. A former 15 year Microsoft employee in the Windows OS test division (his ENTIRE department was axed--tells you something, doesn't it?), he is a systems programmer who definitely knows more than I do.

This video is 35 minutes long but there is at least 90 minutes worth of good solid information here. Replay value is immense. My scariest takeaway is that he showed how to use your hosts file to block the Bing search engine completely. But Edge actually ignores your privacy settings and bypasses the hosts file to access Bing directly. "Customer preference be damned!"

A close second place scary revelation was that updates routinely change your privacy settings. You don't know when the update happens and Microsoft has no respect for your choices.

The good news is that by following this video, you can shut off ALL the Microsoft Windows 10 privacy invasions and return your desktop operating system to the job of helping you. I would take the process just one step further.

After you're done, use Notepad to load up the Hosts file. Look in the section of changes made by Anti-Beacon and copy all the sites turned off in the hosts file. Now take it for granted that Microsoft's next move will be to screw you, you have no right to make choices.

Simply deny access to those sites through your router blacklist. That takes access out of the ability of Microsoft to restore. It's the only change I'd make to Barnacles' recommendations.