Don't tell people to turn off Windows Update
troyhunt.com
Don't tell people to turn off Windows Update
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Re: Don't tell people to turn off Windows Update
#2I was on a internal Slack call with team the other day, I ended up having to restart to Windows to do a screenshare and switch to Skype.
I ended up having to delay my working day by about 45 minutes while Windows decided to do a mandatory update without any granularity of choice on when is convenient for me. That's what is frustrating. I ended up being unproductive for a whole hour because Windows forced an update on me.
Windows definitely have to make it better as Troy suggests. The frequency is also costly.
Re: Don't tell people to turn off Windows Update
#3Well, this would be so much easier if:
1) Windows update installed just security updates instead of potentially disruptive crap "features". The epitome of that, is of course forced update to Windows 10. Ads in Explorer is a close second. This would reduce the frequency of updates significantly as well, which would also help.
2) Windows update would use a sane default of not rebooting you while you are in the middle of something.
There's a setting that you can do where windows installs update in the background, with no user intervention, but IFF it doesn't require a reboot, and asks otherwise. But this setting requires Group Policy (or being part of a domain), so it's not available to non-Pro Windows customers (and it's a very esoteric option users won't know about anyway).
You can also reduce the frequency of updates with "install updates for windows only", but you can't really restrict yourself to only security updates (unless you run Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB edition, which you don't).
Actually the best thing for Windows, both usability and security wise would be to make Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB edition the version of Windows people use.
Re: Don't tell people to turn off Windows Update
#4I love the way he's compared the people who tell you to turn off auto-updates with anti-vaxxers; it's quite an apt analogy.
Microsoft shares part of the blame here for pushing features that the user clearly doesn't want through updates (especially to the major OS version). Look at the recent ads in Windows file explorer for one example. A lot of the advice to turn Windows Update off is a misguided response to Microsoft's own bone-headed moves in recent years to install bullshit that the user doesn't want.
I still sort of regret installing Windows 10 to this day because of the obnoxious Cortana bar it foisted upon my start menu that I can't get rid of. And yet not installing Windows 10 would've left me less secure with an OS hitting EOL for security updates much sooner.
Microsoft definitely shares some of the blame for this precisely because they have automatically "opted in" their users to stuff they don't want during past updates. Stop the bullshit, Microsoft.
Re: Don't tell people to turn off Windows Update
#5It would be easier to sell automated Windows updates if Microsoft wouldn't use them to randomly shove a whole new OS down your throat.
Oh, and if Microsoft actually had a QA department to make sure they don't brick machines.
Re: Don't tell people to turn off Windows Update
#6I spent the weekend doing a clean reinstall of windows 10, because windows update had stopped working about a year ago (due to a broken windows insider build). I must admit it was really nice to be able to leave my computer on for months at a time without it restarting for updates.
Few people really mind updates. What Microsoft really needs to do is minimize the number of forced restarts required, like Linux which only really needs a reboot if you update the kernel itself (and even then, there are ways around that).
Re: Don't tell people to turn off Windows Update
#7I've noticed that there is a certain level of competency a person can attain in a subject where they think they have an advanced knowledge and hand out advice with a certain authority.
But in reality they are spreading dangerous misinformed information.
Windows's auto updates though can be annoying, ensures that the average computer is up to date. Like in the example of this article:
"If you had any version of Windows since Vista running the default Windows Update, you would have had the critical Microsoft Security Bulletin known as "MS17-010" pushed down to your PC and automatically installed. Without doing a thing, when WannaCry came along almost 2 months later"
The average user cares that their holiday photos, documents or credentials don't get stolen or ransomed.
Re: Don't tell people to turn off Windows Update
#8I was on a internal Slack call with team the other day, I ended up having to restart to Windows to do a screenshare and switch to Skype. I ended up having to delay my working day by about 45 minutes while Windows decided to do a mandatory update without any granularity of choice on when is convenient for me. That's what is frustrating. I ended up being unproductive for a whole hour because Windows forced an update on…
The article points out that you can set hours when Windows will update.
Re: Don't tell people to turn off Windows Update
#9And the reason why people were suggesting to turn off Windows Update was precisely because of malware payloads directly from Microsoft.
"Do you want to upgrade to Windows 10? Press the hidden button to cancel, otherwise upgrade commences." This is how malware works.... But published and pushed by MS's own channels. And his jab at people who say that turning off WU is similar to anti-vaxxers is completely inane and false - we know the damage Microsoft has done to user's computers.
In reality, I'd rather they upgrade to Linux. Those machines wouldn't get bit by this, unless you run the executable with WINE. But I blame MS for being spammy and spyware-y and malware-y, which encouraged users to turn off harassing and onerous updates.
Re: Don't tell people to turn off Windows Update
#10I love the way he's compared the people who tell you to turn off auto-updates with anti-vaxxers; it's quite an apt analogy. Microsoft shares part of the blame here for pushing features that the user clearly doesn't want through updates (especially to the major OS version). Look at the recent ads in Windows file explorer for one example. A lot of the advice to turn Windows Update off is a misguided response to Microso…
You can remove the Cortana bar.