Old Posted News

[Whatacrock]

Microsoft Again Updates KB3035583 That Pushes Windows 10 on Windows 7 PCs

KB3035583 is the one update that many users removed in mid-2015 in order to get rid of the infamous “Get Windows 10” app that pushes the Windows 10 upgrade on Windows 7 computers, but every once in a while, Microsoft brings it back through silent updates.

The last such update occurred on February 24, so Microsoft has revised the patch once against last week and re-issued it to computers running Windows 7 and Windows 8.1.

We’ve received comments from our readers telling that the “Get Windows 10” app has reappeared on their computers even after specifically removing the update and blocking this tool completely, so it looks like Microsoft has actually pushed KB3035583 once again to all these PCs.
"Version 10 alive and kicking"

At the moment, the update is at version 10 and is very likely to continue receiving improvements until July 2016, when Microsoft will end the free Windows 10 upgrade promo.

Removing this update and hiding it completely does help to block the “Get Windows 10” app and prevent any accidental upgrade to the new OS, but Microsoft can easily re-enable it when KB3035583 is issued and shipped via Windows Update. So at this point, it looks like turning to third-party apps such as GWX Control Panel is the best choice if you just want to stick with Windows 7 or 8.1.

Windows 10 is offered as a free upgrade for users running Windows 7 or 8.1 on their PCs, and the KB3035583 update is responsible for bringing the “Get Windows 10” app on these computers. As Microsoft says, this app scans your computer for compatibility issues and help perform a smooth transition to Windows 10, but in the case of users who refuse the upgrade, it turns into a nightmare.

Notifications, upgrade messages, and popups that show up every once in a while try to persuade users to upgrade to Windows 10, so it’s no surprise why so many people look into ways to block the update.


http://news.softpedia.com/news/microsof ... 1377.shtml

[TheAPGuy]

Can we please get a Anti-Virus company to declare this shit Malware and quarantine it on finding it?

[older-than-dirt]

Can we please get a Anti-Virus company to declare this shit Malware and quarantine it on finding it?

Already done:

GWX Control Panel:
http://ultimateoutsider.com/downloads/

It seems to work, but I have only done limited testing.

Maybe consider including it in AP?

[TheAPGuy]

I installed that the other day. Seems to have worked.

[click-click]

It's very simple to avoid this: Simply do not install KB3035583 and hide it. No need for any extra tools. Of course WU needs to be set to "Check for Updates but let me choose ....", otherwise WU will automatically install the update. If KB3035583 is already installed, just uninstall it. Anytime KB3035583 reappears as an offer from WU, hide it again. You should no longer be bothered about getting Win10. Also, if KB3036683 is not installed, it is possible that the normal WU icon in the taskbar will no longer appear. You can fix this by setting the following reg entry:

Code: Select all

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate]

"DisableOSUpgrade"=dword:00000001

[Whatacrock]

Microsoft Hides Windows 10 Upgrade Banners in Browser Security Patch

Microsoft’s trying a new tactic to bring more users running Windows 7 and 8.1 on Windows 10 and this involves hiding upgrade banners in an Internet Explorer security patch that’s being delivered as a critical update.

Specifically, the software giant released a new security update for Internet Explorer labeled as MS16-023 (also identifiable as KB3139929) which is supposed to correct flaws in the browser that would allow an attacker to get the same rights as the logged-in user when a compromised website is loaded.

“This security update resolves several reported vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer. The most severe of these vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted webpage in Internet Explorer,” Microsoft explains.

But as Woody Leonhard of InfoWorld noted, installing KB3139929 also deploys another patch called KB3146449 that has a completely different purpose.

“This update adds functionality to Internet Explorer 11 on some computers that lets users learn about Windows 10 or start an upgrade to Windows 10,” the official KB page states.

So basically, once you install this critical security update, Microsoft also deploys and enables a new Windows 10 upgrade notification system on your computer, trying to move you to its new operating system.
"How the new upgrade notification system works"

The way it works is quite simple. Once you install the security update, when opening a new tab in Internet Explorer, you also get a blue banner telling that “Microsoft recommends upgrading to Windows 10.” There is no way to block this behavior and disable the upgrade notification and what’s worse, you can’t even uninstall the update causing it.

KB3146449 does not show up in the installed updates list and you can’t remove it separately because it’s bundled in the original Internet Explorer security patch KB3139929. This means that if you want to get rid of it, you have no other option but to remove the full security update, and thus remain completely vulnerable to attacks.

Certainly, this kind of tactic does more harm than good, especially because it fuels criticism aimed at Microsoft’s aggressive push for Windows 10, so we’ve reached out to Microsoft for more information and will update the article when we have an answer.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/microsof ... 1559.shtml

[Whatacrock]

So the dirty tricks keep on coming from MS, luckily I don't use Internet Explorer (piece of crap).

They worry about the IS when they should be more concerned with Cyber Terrorism, IMHO this fall under that same category.

[TheAPGuy]

Wow M$, wow.

[Whatacrock]

The story gets worse, now even targeting PC's on a domain. Starting to read like a HORROR story, but this way more scary

Microsoft Now Pushing Windows 10 Nag Ads on Domain PCs

Microsoft has a goal of bringing Windows 10 on 1 billion devices by 2017 and the company is obviously trying everything to make sure that it successfully completes this mission.

Most recently, the company has started displaying Windows 10 upgrade ads on computers that are part of domains, telling users that IT admins are the ones that block the install of the new OS.

“Your system administrator has blocked upgrades on this PC Check with your system administrator about upgrading this PC to Windows 10. Are you a system administrator? You can customize this app to get your organization upgraded to Windows 10. Find out how,” one such ad displayed on a domain-attached PC reads.

In other words, yes, you can have Windows 10 running on your computer, but no, your administrator does not allow you to. So Microsoft’s more or less trying to make users ask their IT admins to install Windows 10, which in the end should be a win-win situation.
"The GWX app was always there, but never active"

InfoWorld adds that some IT admins have already confirmed that the changes were spotted this week, so most likely, Microsoft updated the infamous KB3035583 patch to show upgrade prompts on domain computers too.

The Get Windows 10 app was already on domain-attached computers, the source writes, but it never displayed upgrade notifications and the Windows 10 icon in the system tray was never displayed. But starting with this week, not only that upgrade prompts show up every once in a while, but the icon is also there and the GWX folder in system32 is also back.

Also this week, Microsoft introduced a new Windows 10 upgrade prompt tactic, introducing some new banners in an Internet Explorer security patch. After installing this security update and launching Internet Explorer, an upgrade prompt is displayed when opening new tabs, with Microsoft clearly trying to entice more people into moving to Windows 10 even if they specifically blocked the Get Windows 10.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/microsof ... 1573.shtml

[Whatacrock]

Microsoft Releases Mysterious Windows Update with No Details About What It Does

KB3103709 is one of the updates released by Microsoft as part of this month’s Patch Tuesday rollout, but as compared to the typical Windows patch, this one comes with zero information about its content or purpose. So while users are being offered this update, nobody can tell for sure what it does.

Specifically, KB3103709 is only offered to computers running Windows 8.1 and is listed as optional, so users need to manually select it when installing updates via Windows Update. But if they do, it’s nearly impossible to say what it changes, although Woody Leonhard of InfoWorld says that at least one user claimed that a Windows 10 upgrade popup was spotted after installing the update.

Windows 10 is offered as a free upgrade to Windows 7 and 8.1 PCs and Microsoft uses patches shipped via Windows Update to let users know about their promo, to prepare computers for the upgrade, but also to “nag” them every once in a while to make the move.

On the other hand, there are some posts that KB3103709 is actually related to Microsoft’s Active Directory Services given some of the files included in the archive, but with a confirmation from Microsoft, it’s nearly impossible to tell this for sure.
"The Windows 10 upgrade push"

It wouldn’t be the first time when Microsoft rolls out a patch that’s supposed to bring more upgrade notifications on computers running an older version of Windows.

Previously, the company has implemented a popup notification system in an Internet Explorer security patch offered as recommended, with users of the browser getting a message to upgrade to Windows 10 whenever they opened a new tab.

But for the moment, it’s not clear if this update is related in any way to the Windows 10 upgrade push, so we’ve reached out to Microsoft to ask for an answer and will update the article should an answer be provided.


http://news.softpedia.com/news/microsof ... 2067.shtml