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Microsoft no longer allows admins to block Windows Store access in Win10 Pro

zdnet.com

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Re: Microsoft no longer allows admins to block Windows Store access in Win10 Pro

#81

Post by godzillabrennus »

FuriouslyAdrift wrote: post #18

We are tied to Microsoft due to a multi-million dollar ERP. I have frozen at Win 8.1 (software assurance contract). I love server and maybe once Server 2016 is out this Fall/Winter, I can circle back around but the 2 Win10 machines we have (one is mine) tripped every security protocol we have (we do some stuff for foreign and local defense contractors). Thi sis the enterprise edition. In the end, I block a few thousa…

The only way I have ever found to run Windows in production is in a virtual machine. I take regular snapshots so that I can restore it when something happens.

Re: Microsoft no longer allows admins to block Windows Store access in Win10 Pro

#82

Post by unprepare »

794CD01 wrote: post #66
hackuser wrote: post #15

I want devices that I, the owner, control, whether I'm a small business or enterprise or individual. This is important for many reasons, from security to freedom-to-tinker to using the device I own in the way I want. It was once an accepted standard in IT. Now, can anyone name a current handheld or desktop system that provides end-user control? If you don't think security, including privacy, is important, consider wh…

Most things that were "once an accepted standard in IT" are horribly insecure. The end user wanting a system he/she controls is very much one of them. Microsoft taking away control from users, especially when it came to forcing them to take updates, is probably the biggest change they could possibly have made to improve the overall security of the internet.

are you under the impression that automatic security updates is what people dislike about windows 10?

Its mostly the:

telemetry

openended ToS

poor upgrade/reinstall behavior resulting in lost licenses

overly complicated licensing structure (with articles like this showing the professional license feature set degrading over time)

forced integration of unrelated products (cortana, bing)

integration of advertising into the OS (lockscreen and wallpapers)

lessening control enterprises have over their systems

Re: Microsoft no longer allows admins to block Windows Store access in Win10 Pro

#83

Post by o_s_m »

FuriouslyAdrift wrote: post #18

We are tied to Microsoft due to a multi-million dollar ERP. I have frozen at Win 8.1 (software assurance contract). I love server and maybe once Server 2016 is out this Fall/Winter, I can circle back around but the 2 Win10 machines we have (one is mine) tripped every security protocol we have (we do some stuff for foreign and local defense contractors). Thi sis the enterprise edition. In the end, I block a few thousa…

Is DragonflyBSD a good desktop environment for someone coming from Debian and other Linux OSs?

Re: Microsoft no longer allows admins to block Windows Store access in Win10 Pro

#84

Post by wvenable »

chris_wot wrote: post #76
wvenable wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Being able to install software on your own machine is pretty fundamental. If it's not your machine, it shouldn't be running Windows Professional.

Being able to prevent the installation of software is also pretty fundamental. Given that Professional has Group Policy, it's intended to be used within a Windows Domain, and to get a Windows Domain you need a server version of Windows. Which really only businesses purchase.

Yes, professional allows you to attach your own computer to a domain. I guess Microsoft is pretty confident that store apps are sufficiently sandboxed.

Re: Microsoft no longer allows admins to block Windows Store access in Win10 Pro

#85

Post by jessaustin »

chris_wot wrote: post #65
levemi wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Microsoft is a huge organization with tens of thousands of employees. We have no idea what was communicated between this commenter and the sales person. At some point you have to kind of step back and realize that you're responsible for your outcomes and not blame everything bad that happens to you on others. Searching Google with "startup microsoft" or "startup pricing microsoft" would have been enough effort to fig…

It's irrelevant if Microsoft are a huge organization with tens of thousands of employees. Sales aren't made via excuses. Putting the responsibility on the customer to find the right set of keywords - in Google no less! - to purchase copies of enterprise software is bizarre.

Hahaha, "we only sell to Bing users!" Now that's a strategy tax!

Re: Microsoft no longer allows admins to block Windows Store access in Win10 Pro

#86

Post by CyberDildonics »

FuriouslyAdrift wrote: post #18

We are tied to Microsoft due to a multi-million dollar ERP. I have frozen at Win 8.1 (software assurance contract). I love server and maybe once Server 2016 is out this Fall/Winter, I can circle back around but the 2 Win10 machines we have (one is mine) tripped every security protocol we have (we do some stuff for foreign and local defense contractors). Thi sis the enterprise edition. In the end, I block a few thousa…

You should put something out saying what you've blocked, I'm sure many other people want to do the same thing.

I don't know when I'll be able to get off of windows, but I do know that my next computer won't run it on the bare metal. I plan on getting a CPU with good virtualization (non 'k') and only ever running windows inside a VM. Things had already gone too far about 5 revelations ago.

Re: Microsoft no longer allows admins to block Windows Store access in Win10 Pro

#87

Post by keithpeter »

seanp2k2 wrote: post #59
GigabyteCoin wrote: post #31

And this particular sysadmin-for-my-family will no longer allow windows to be installed on any of our computers whenever they are in need of a reinstall. Windows is becoming more and more like Facebook. Too many users changed a setting you don't agree with? Just block access to that setting or call it something else to confuse enough people to the point that the numbers are "good enough" for management. Almost every…

Yeah, at a time when their market share is declining and real solid alternatives exist for gamers, productivity, browsing, entertainment, etc you'd think they'd do everything in their power to make their platform more inviting, flexible, affordable, etc. Burning people with stuff like this will only eat up any remaining goodwill they had with consumers, and they'll be left with corporate customers and a dumbed-down p…

At work I use Windows 10 for Education and it runs nicely on hardware (Atom dual core with basic integrated graphics and 2G of RAM with spinning rust + some virtualised applications) that Windows 7 found problematic.

I'm just wondering: why the hassle? Just release a 'stand alone' win10 client without all the gunge. The clue is in the name - it is a client to services currently based on Microsoft software.

Re: Microsoft no longer allows admins to block Windows Store access in Win10 Pro

#88

Post by pdkl95 »

794CD01 wrote: post #66
hackuser wrote: post #15

I want devices that I, the owner, control, whether I'm a small business or enterprise or individual. This is important for many reasons, from security to freedom-to-tinker to using the device I own in the way I want. It was once an accepted standard in IT. Now, can anyone name a current handheld or desktop system that provides end-user control? If you don't think security, including privacy, is important, consider wh…

Most things that were "once an accepted standard in IT" are horribly insecure. The end user wanting a system he/she controls is very much one of them. Microsoft taking away control from users, especially when it came to forcing them to take updates, is probably the biggest change they could possibly have made to improve the overall security of the internet.

> taking away control from users

If you don't control something, you de facto don't own it. You're advocating for a future without personal property. If you doubt this, see John Deere.

> improve the overall security of the internet

When someone else has remote control over your system, your system is - by definition - insecure. The recent drama involving the FBI and an iphone is a perfect example: the phone is insecure if the OS can be forcibly updated by the manufacturer.

Remote control of the OS may improve the security of the internet, but it happens at the expense of user security.

> The end user wanting a system he/she controls [is insecure]

This attitude is incredibly insulting. Instead of providing more secure products that people cant successfully maintain, or spending the time and effort to properly educate users, you're claiming they cannot be trusted with complicated tools.

> taking away control

"Freedom" necessarily includes the freedom to make bad decisions. You want to take away that choice. You might want to consider the long-term effects of advocating against freedom.

Re: Microsoft no longer allows admins to block Windows Store access in Win10 Pro

#89

Post by plandis »

levemi wrote: post #29
Someone1234 wrote: post #2

If Microsoft wants SMBs to use Enterprise then make the Enterprise edition more easily available to SMBs, don't try to force them to move to it by making petty little changes to make their life more difficult. I can go on the Google Apps website right now and buy myself seats with a few clicks and a few minutes. If I want to buy Windows Enterprise licenses it will take weeks, cost an unclear amount (at the onset), an…

> I worked for a startup, under 20 machines, I tried to buy then Windows 7 Enterprise. Microsoft's partners were super unhelpful, disinterested in a small account, refused to provide clear pricing, and I was getting upsold even before we got the basics squared away ("I'll just add on 20 CALs, a Windows Server license, and let's talk exchange!"). Ultimately we just gave up, and used Windows 7 Home(!) for three years.…

The fact that it's apparently not obvious who to talk to seems to be a problem for Microsoft to solve if they care about the "little guys" (maybe they don't? I'm not sure)

Re: Microsoft no longer allows admins to block Windows Store access in Win10 Pro

#90

Post by cm2187 »

GigabyteCoin wrote: post #31

And this particular sysadmin-for-my-family will no longer allow windows to be installed on any of our computers whenever they are in need of a reinstall. Windows is becoming more and more like Facebook. Too many users changed a setting you don't agree with? Just block access to that setting or call it something else to confuse enough people to the point that the numbers are "good enough" for management. Almost every…

One thing that windows 10 absolutely hates users changing is firewall rules. I regularly see my custom rules disappearing. This is unacceptable.
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