Microsoft is serious about updating every PC with its latest Windows 10 operating system; whether you like it or not. The OS was first launched in July of 2015 as an upgrade and replacement for the less than popular Windows 8.
Users of older Windows operating systems have complained that the new upgrades were implemented without warning or their approval. Users have been posting complaints for the last few days on Reddit and Twitter after Microsoft’s last Patch Tuesday. Patch Tuesday is the day when Microsoft issues upgrades and patches to its software via the Internet. Users of Windows 7 and 8 were caught by surprise by the unwanted upgrades.
Microsoft’s master plan is to upgrade all PC to the new operating system and has reclassified the new OS to “recommended.” That reclassification began on February 1, and Microsoft has been aggressively pushing auto-upgrades ever since. Many Windows users are familiar with the Windows 7 and 8 operating systems and are not happy with the way Microsoft is forcing Windows 10 on them. Microsoft understands it’s annoying people with its aggressive Windows 10 push, but it doesn’t seem to care and not denying it.
In an interview with the Inquirer a Microsoft spokesperson said; “For individuals who have chosen to receive automatic updates through Windows Update, we help upgradable devices get ready for Windows 10 by downloading the files they’ll need if they decide to upgrade.”
The updates first appear as a notification informing users their PCs are scheduled for the Windows 10 upgrade in the next three or four days. Users are given the option of declining the update by clicking a link to cancel or postpone the update. But Microsoft doesn’t give up that easily. Closing the window only causes the notification to re-appear again one hour before the scheduled update time. If users don’t cancel or postpone within that timeframe, the update will begin automatically. If you still refuse to upgrade you can do so by declining the End User License Agreement. That causes your computer to revert back to the original operating system but that could take some time.
If you have not yet received an upgrade notice you are one of the few. It is possible to avoid installing Windows 10 completely by going to Windows Update in the Control Panel, and unchecking the box under recommended updates, which reads “Give me recommended updates the same way I receive important updates. ”
According to Microsoft Windows 10 is safer more secure operating system with new features that include;
- A new start menu that utilizes tile images of apps and programs.
- Cortana personal digital assistant that responds to voice commands and can perform search functions of the Internet and your hard drive.
- New Microsoft Edge web browser.
- Device Guard blocks zero-day attacks or previously unknown vulnerabilities, by screening applications that try to access Windows 10 machines and/or its network.
- Windows Hello, a biometric technology that uses your face, iris and fingerprint as password alternatives to launching Windows.
- Windows Passport utilizes two-factor authentication (a biometric sensor such as fingerprint scan or facial recognition or PIN) and grants password-free access to applications, websites and networks on specific enrolled devices.
- Windows Store for trusted apps that require a Microsoft or trusted vendor signature.
Now you know.
