If Windows Update is vaccine administration, what is NSA?
I fear the answer is "the NSA".
Don't tell people to turn off Windows Update
71–80 of 567 posts
Re: Don't tell people to turn off Windows Update
#72I don't know why people complain about updates and restarting, particularly in this thread. You fill your car up with fuel regularly because it has been warning you it's nearly empty for a while much like updates remind you regularly. People seem to complain and say "it updated right when I was in the middle of X" but they've been putting it off for ages. Do you break down in the middle of the motorway when you run o…
> You fill your car up with fuel regularly because it has been warning you it's nearly empty for a while
I like this analogy! A car that runs out of fuel when its manufacturer tells it to!
> Windows only updates when you're doing something because you're putting everyone else at risk
Are you sure it's me putting people at risk, and not Microsoft?
Re: Don't tell people to turn off Windows Update
#73I'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 Window…
> Windows's auto updates though can be annoying, ensures that the average computer is up to date.
> The average user cares that their holiday photos, documents or credentials don't get stolen or ransomed.
Are both true. However, windows updates also occasionally cause restarts in the least opportune moments (e.g. when you have unsaved work and left for the day), or make a restart take 40 minutes when you need your computer right now (in the middle of an important phone call). Both of these have happened to virtually every Windows user I know, prompting some of them to disable Windows Updates.
Other issues with windows updates are bandwidth abuse (getting Win10 downloaded automatically on metered mobile connection), breaking some software/drivers/configuration, or installing unwelcome telemetry spyware. Each of these only happened to one or two persons I know.
The average user now keeps all their holiday photos on their mobile phone / cloud, but they do care about documents and credentials.
You are not wrong, but the way Microsoft Update behaves, you have to choose the lesser of evils (potentially get ransomwared, vs potentially avoid things listed above). It is not patently clear that Windows Update is universally the better option.
And it wouldn't be a choice between evils in the first place, if microsoft didn't try to advance their agenda by stopping the practice of "security updates" vs "other updates". Microsoft deserves all of the blame for the disdain to Windows Update, and therefore a big chunk of the sorry state of its users.
Re: Don't tell people to turn off Windows Update
#74> Don't tell people to turn off Windows Update, just don't
Do tell people to turn off Windows.
FTFY.
Re: Don't tell people to turn off Windows Update
#75Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's an interesting problem. Live updates without requiring a restart is going to be a complex task, how do you reload a library in use by a program without crashing it? Especially when Windows has a decade+ of software compatibility. Their current solution is scheduling updates to periods when the computer is not in use. I think recently they added an option for you to define a set of hours where updates take place.…
Linux (and other Unixes) have been doing live updates to the entire system since .. basically forever; Except for the kernel, there is very rarely a need to restart. And they let you restart the kernel on your own schedule. Windows Kernel developers chose a different set of file system semantics, and that is what makes it hard on Windows. In fact, if you can't afford the restart even when you schedule it, there's ksp…
That's actually not entirely true. Updates to a shared lib require restarting all running programs that use that lib. Not a full reboot, but probably a service restart or you're not protected by the update.
Re: Don't tell people to turn off Windows Update
#76I wish I could disable updates. Dumb ass win10 thinks it's ok to download 2 GIGABYTES of data. How is it reasonable to have gigabytes of updates ? For security ? I have gigabytes of binaries here ? And then 15 days later, 1.5GB of updates. (note: my win10 laptop is usually used with mobile internet)
Win10 is a shame.
They could have at least separated security updates from random crap updates. A button would be nice as well.
If anyone knows how to disable updates on non-professional win10, please let me know.
edit: I do know about security and the importance of updates. You few downvoting me can go shove it up your arse. It's crap behavior from win10, period.
Re: Don't tell people to turn off Windows Update
#77I 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…
The cleverest move was to integrate Cortana with local file and application search, which many users likely use as a universal command line/shortcut (hit windows key and just start typing). I find that when I disable Cortana, local search becomes severely degraded. If anyone has any tips on how to fix this, I'd appreciate them.
Search Everything is super fast to search on Windows : https://www.voidtools.com/
I never use the "Windows Search" anymore, i hate it. It's slow and useless. I always disable the service. Then again, searching with standard windows search is probably my biggest annoyance on Windows
Re: Don't tell people to turn off Windows Update
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
software: can upgrade binaries and libraries without affecting already running programs services: they are specifically designed to be updated and restarted kernel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ksplice
> services: they are specifically designed to be updated and restarted I write plenty of daemons (you call them "services"). What exactly do I write specifically for them to be able to continue to run when a library is upgraded?
Nothing. They just keep using the old version of the lib and thus potentially vulnerable.
Re: Don't tell people to turn off Windows Update
#79That article would be more believable if Microsoft (as well as other companies) hadn't slipped all kinds of stuff in earlier updates which are not on the interest of the consumer at all. (Starting with annoying UX changes and A/B tests, to telemetry, to advertising, to removal of user software and DRM) Oftentimes it looks suspiciously as if the (rightful) need for security and quick responses is used as an excuse for…
> What happened to the old practice of clearly distinguishing between "security" and "feature" updates? What happened to actually educating the users?
"Fuck you, I want some sweet data and money" is what happened.
Re: Don't tell people to turn off Windows Update
#80And 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 fa…
Less egregious but still awful: updates that then have ngen randomly consuming half your cpu for hours because ms is too cheap to make native .net binaries remotely.