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Re: Microsoft Trying to Re-Enable Windows 10 Upgrade on Windows 7/8.1 Twice a Day

Post by click-click »

1. and 2. is all you need. Make sure never to install KB3035583 and you're good to go. No need for
GWX Control Panel
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Pendraguin
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Re: Microsoft to Discontinue Old Internet Explorer Versions Next Week

Post by Pendraguin »

Come in Internet Explorers, your time is up. Or not. Up to you
Zombie IEs 8, 9 and 10 limp on

12 Jan 2016 at 13:39, Gavin Clarke

A huge chunk of Microsoft users will today be cut off from the computing giant’s security lifeline, for January 12 is the day when Redmond will stop releasing security fixes for a swathe of legacy versions of Internet Explorer.

Extended support has finished for IE8, 9 and 10 on Windows 7 SP1. Only the following are still supported:
  • IE9 on Vista SP2
    IE10 on Windows Server 2012, since IE11 isn’t available for it
    IE9 on Windows Server 2008
The sweet spot for Microsoft is IE11 on Windows 10.

But three-quarters – 74 per cent – of Microsoft’s browser base has missed the date for moving. That’s according to a survey from application migration expert Camwood.

Camwood, which polled 1,000 “internet users”, found 74 per cent will miss the January 12 deadline to upgrade to one of the few supported versions of IE.

Just 26 per cent had made the move in time.

Moreover, according to Camwood, 13 per cent of the total hanging on reckon they’ll made the switch “at some point” in the next six months.

Then again, 61 per cent of IE users claim not to have even considered making the upgrade.

Camwood chief executive Adrian Foxall, in a statement, expressed alarm that the number of high-profile hacking scandals and security breaches in 2015 hadn’t appeared to prompted more to upgrade ahead of this month’s deadline.

“Unfortunately, it appears that the majority of internet users still don’t recognise regular updates as a vital part of basic internet security,” he said.

Ironically, many of those now on IE8 at least in corporate circles made the leap to get clear of IE6 on Windows XP, which also went out of support in April 2014.

The Reg reported last month that Microsoft has begun offering Custom Support Agreements to major organisations who missed the January 12 date. It was a U-turn for Microsoft, which had preferred customers to upgrade and had stayed silent on the topic of CSAs.

The deals mean those paying Microsoft get tailored security patches and fixes.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/01/12 ... _finished/
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Re: Microsoft Trying to Re-Enable Windows 10 Upgrade on Windows 7/8.1 Twice a Day

Post by Pendraguin »

Apparently M$ themselves offer steps on what to do as well.

How to manage Windows 10 notification and upgrade options
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3080351

Several solutions, so you should read the site, but here's an easy one from it:
To block the upgrade to Windows 10 through Windows Update, specify the following registry value:
Subkey: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate
DWORD value: DisableOSUpgrade = 1

For non-Enterprise versions of Windows, the notification icon can be suppressed through the Windows registry. To do this, set the following registry value:
Subkey: HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Gwx
DWORD value: DisableGwx = 1

EDIT: Apparently it's still questionable how well that works, based on some other articles I've read, but interesting to know the site is there.
Removing and blocking KB3035583is still the key, though.
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Re: Microsoft Trying to Re-Enable Windows 10 Upgrade on Windows 7/8.1 Twice a Day

Post by parkd1 »

Microsoft's Get Windows 10 app 'behaves like malware'

We all know that Microsoft wants as many people as possible to upgrade to Windows 10. The new OS is free for users of Windows 7 and 8.1, and the firm has the stated goal of getting it on a billion devices within 2-3 years.

To achieve this aim, Microsoft is pushing its new OS very aggressively, forcing it on to users, even if they have no desire to upgrade and have taken steps to actually prevent it.

In a recent Q&A, Microsoft marketing chief Chris Capossela made no apologies for his company’s approach which, he says, is being done to get users to a "safer place" and explained that there are some people out there who “kick the can down the street" and need a push to get the upgrade done.

READ MORE: Microsoft explains why it's pushing Windows 10 so aggressively (spoiler: it's to keep you safe)

That’s fine. But people who have made the decision not to upgrade -- who aren’t simply procrastinating but actually don’t want the new OS, at all -- should have that decision respected surely?

To get Windows 7/8.1 users to update, Microsoft installs Get Windows 10 (GWX) nagware on their PCs. Or the KB 3035583 patch as it’s known. This encourages users to update, and provides the means to do so. And personally I’m fine with it.

But what I’m not so keen on -- and I’m not alone here -- is it’s very, very hard to block. You can make changes to registry keys, but all you’re really doing is hiding GWX (removing its visibility from the system tray) but not stopping it running in the background.

Josh Mayfield, the creator of GWX Control Panel, a tool designed to block the Windows 10 upgrade, has created a video documenting how Get Windows 10 works on your PC, and its behavior is rather questionable.

Set an AllowOSUpgrade registry key to 0 -- either manually or via the Local Group Policy Editor control panel (gpedit.msc) -- and, in theory, this will prevent the upgrade from occurring, but on many PCs a running scheduled task (refreshgwxconfig-B) which is installed as part of the patch, resets the AllowOSUpgrade setting to 1 every time it runs. Change it back to 0, and it will be reset to 1 later that day.

As Martin Brinkmann at Ghacks says, "It appears as if Microsoft designed the Windows 10 upgrade mechanisms in a way that makes it very complicated for users to block the upgrade offer for good on machines running previous versions of Windows. This persistence is similar to how malware evolves constantly to avoid detection or come back after it has been removed from operating systems".

In a blog post he updated following the upload of the video, Mayfield backtracks slightly, saying:

In the video I discussed a couple of upgrade-related settings that get reset by various KB3035583 background tasks. While I haven't seen any background tasks change the DisableOSUpgrade setting, the registry value is not necessarily permanent, either. The problem is that Microsoft occasionally pushes update patches for Windows Update itself, and these patches sometimes wipe out existing Windows Update settings, including the DisableOSUpgrade value. (Here's an example of one such patch where I and several of my users observed this behavior.) These Windows Update client updates are kind of special, because Microsoft can push them to your computer automatically, even if you have your Windows Update settings configured to "Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them" or "Download updates but let me choose whether to install them". This is because they sometimes include necessary changes in order to communicate properly with Microsoft's update servers.

I don't believe this is a malicious or targeted change on Microsoft's part (it's essentially a re-install/clean slate for Windows Update sometimes), but the fact is that you can't expect your Windows 10-related registry changes to "stick" 100 percent of the time.

Even so, there’s other questionable behavior going on behind the scenes. Simply uninstalling the KB 3035583 patch likely won’t work because Microsoft has rolled out numerous versions of the patch, all with the same name. So if you remove one version, all that happens is you get rolled back to a previous one.

Although it’s hard to know exactly how many versions of KB 3035583 there have been (all modified in some small way before being pushed out), Woody Leonhard over at InfoWorld says by his reckoning there were at least nine rolled out in 2015. Does that not strike you as rather excessive?

READ MORE Microsoft continues to force Windows 10 on people who don’t want it

While it’s understandable that Microsoft doesn’t want users to reject the upgrade without properly considering it, this aggressive push and PUP-like behavior of its upgrade tool really isn’t doing the company any favors. Microsoft does provide a guide which explains how users can manage Windows 10 notification and upgrade options, but blocking the upgrade requires Group Policy and registry changes which are way beyond what the average Windows user will ever do. Microsoft put that program on people's computers, surely it should offer a much simpler way of removing it?

Yes, Microsoft wants to get users to a "safer place" but surely there must be better ways to do it than forcing people to upgrade. The software giant is crowing about Windows 10 being installed on 200 million devices (and rightly so), but then with Get Windows 10 it really is making users an offer they -- literally -- can't refuse.

http://betanews.com/2016/01/14/microsof ... e-malware/
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Re: Microsoft Trying to Re-Enable Windows 10 Upgrade on Windows 7/8.1 Twice a Day

Post by ChrisJ »

Microsoft's Get Windows 10 app 'behaves like malware'
This one simple statement pretty much sums it up. It may benefit consumers to start referring to Microsoft's tactic as malware.
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Microsoft Might Give Up on Windows 7 Cumulative Updates, Full Focus Now on Windows 10

Post by Whatacrock »

Microsoft Might Give Up on Windows 7 Cumulative Updates, Full Focus Now on Windows 10

Windows 7 users have always dreamed about a second service pack for the operating system, but despite rumors, Microsoft has never released it, preferring instead to concentrate on its newer products, such as Windows 8.

Instead, Redmond rolled out what it called convenience rollups, which are nothing more than cumulative updates for Windows 7 which included more than just a single fix into one easy-to-deploy pack. Basically, users were allowed to bring their computers fully up-to-date with just one reboot, which is quite helpful for those who set up a computer for the first time.
“We continue to listen to feedback”

But while the software giant promised to release such a convenience rollup in 2015, it turns out this is no longer the plan, with the focus now on Windows 10 (which, by the way, is getting its own cumulative updates every once in a while).

“There are more than 200 million monthly active devices around the world running Windows 10, with more than 76% of our enterprise customers in active pilots and over 22 million devices running Windows 10 across enterprise and education customers,” a company spokesperson was quoted as saying by ZDNet.

“With the success our customers are experiencing upgrading to Windows 10, we have not released additional updates to Windows 7 SP1 related to the upgrade process. We don't have further details to share, but we'll continue to listen to customer feedback.”

So if you’re still on Windows 7 right now, no other cumulative updates will be released for your PC, but the good thing is that if your computer is already up-to-date, that shouldn’t be a problem.

On the other hand, it’s very clear that Microsoft is pushing hard for the upgrade to Windows 10 and this new decision is living proof that the company wants to move users off Windows 7 by any means.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/microsof ... 8959.shtml
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How Difficult Is It to Block the Windows 10 Upgrade?

Post by Whatacrock »

How Difficult Is It to Block the Windows 10 Upgrade?

Back in June 2015, Microsoft delivered a Windows 7 and 8.1 update that was supposed to help users benefit from the free Windows 10 upgrade offer and move to the new operating system smoothly and automatically.

And while the so-called “Get Windows 10” app that was delivered as part of the update indeed improved the upgrade experience, for those who just wanted to stick with Windows 7 or 8.1, this little tool proved to be quite a nightmare. This is because not only did it take a lot of time to remove, but it also reappeared with every update.

Now that we’re six months away from the moment when the free upgrade offer is scheduled to come to an end, Microsoft is planning to become more aggressive and make more people aware of this promo. But this still doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone wants to switch to Windows 10.

Posts on Microsoft’s Community forums are living proof that some people just want to stick with their current Windows version, but working, playing games, or simply browsing the web is becoming a thing to avoid due to the avalanche of upgrade notifications displayed everywhere across the OS.

“I have removed all references to ‘GWX,’ removed ‘kb3035583,’ run a program called ‘GWXControlPanelSetup,’ changed the registry as noted above. I still get the Win 10 prompt in IE11 on my Win 7 system,” one user explains in a post.
How to remove the Get Windows 10 app and block the upgrade

Basically, the Get Windows 10 app can be removed, and the upgrade to the new OS can be blocked, but this doesn’t guarantee that notifications would no longer show up. But for some users, the methods below did the trick, so they’re worth a try (notice that Microsoft can re-enable notifications with future updates).

Method #1 (Microsoft’s own instructions), efficiency level 50 percent

Microsoft says that you can indeed get rid of the notifications and remove the Get Windows 10 app with some very simple tricks.

First of all, the company explains, you should remove the Windows update called KB3035583. Then, you need to rename GWXUXWorker.exe and GWX.exe to anything you’d like, but make sure you add the .old suffix (the new files should look like GWXUXWorker.exe.old and GWX.exe.old). You can find these files in:

C:\Windows\System32\GWX

Then, you have to tweak the registry. Launch the registry editor by pressing the Windows key + R and typing regedit, navigate to this path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Gwx

Right-click the item, click modify and change value to dword:00000001. Close and you’re good to go.

Method #2 (third-party), efficiency level 90 percent

The second and the more effective solution is a third-party app that takes care of everything automatically and remove all files and executables that could bring notifications on your PC.

It’s called GWX Control Panel and is currently one of the most popular apps for those who want to stick with Windows 7 or 8.1 and, at the same time, get rid of those upgrade notifications that show up everywhere across the operating system.

Keep in mind, however, that new updates can disable all changes made by GWX Control Panel and make notifications reappear. Also, you’re recommended to create a backup before making any changes to your system, just in case something goes wrong.

http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Sys ... pper.shtml

http://news.softpedia.com/news/how-diff ... 9698.shtml
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This Script Blocks All Files That Could Upgrade a Windows 7 PC to Windows 10

Post by Whatacrock »

This Script Blocks All Files That Could Upgrade a Windows 7 PC to Windows 10

Starting early 2016, Microsoft plans to make the push for Windows 10 a little bit more aggressive, so the upgrade will be displayed as a recommended download in Windows Update.

Certainly, this increases the number of PCs that could be accidentally upgraded to Windows 10, despite Redmond’s guarantees that prompts will be displayed before the install process is started.

But if you’re still on Windows 7 and 8.1 and have no plans to upgrade whatsoever, you’ll definitely have a pretty difficult job. And yet, a script that has recently reached the web can lend you a hand with this.

Baptized Aegis, this little script for Windows 7 and 8.1 blocks absolutely everything that might be in any way related to the Windows 10 upgrade, thus reducing the chances of getting the new operating system accidentally. After downloading the archive, you need to run aegis.cmd with administrator privileges and follow the on-screen instructions.
How it works

Basically, what it does is disable and hide the Windows 10 download directory and remove all updates that might try to push the new OS on your PC. There are 31 updates that are more or less related to Windows 10, the creator of the script says, and all of them will be blocked.

At the same time, it disables the Get Windows 10 app, telemetry features, and several other services that could be used by Microsoft to download setup files for the new OS and start the installer. And last but not least, it blocks Microsoft hosts that are being used for Windows 10 deployment and changes Windows Update settings to notify you before every single install.

“This script will not block Windows Update, however it will change your Windows Update settings to check/notify but do not download/install. If you have recently installed updates and have not yet rebooted you may need to run the script again after you reboot,” the script developer explains.

Certainly, if you want to be on the safe side before making any changes to your PC with this script, just create a backup or a restore point, and you’re good to go.

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/Syst ... egis.shtml

http://news.softpedia.com/news/this-scr ... 9496.shtml
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Re: This Script Blocks All Files That Could Upgrade a Windows 7 PC to Windows 10

Post by TheAPGuy »

So I looked into it... it disables more then just the windows 10 crap it seems. Windows Error Reporting, Indexing, some kind of SQL task, and Skydrive to name a few.

Also blocks network activity to more things then windows 10 would use (I think). For example it COMPLETELY cuts you off from MS. You would no longer even be able to go to MS's website. (echo block www.microsoft.com) <-- for example. Also Skype, Outlook, Hotmail, MSNBC, Bing, Just to name a few.
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Re: This Script Blocks All Files That Could Upgrade a Windows 7 PC to Windows 10

Post by Whatacrock »

Better to be left alone then.

USE AT YOUR OWN RISK
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