121–130 of 567 posts
I'm currently on Windows 7 and don't want to accidentally install Windows 10. Turning off updates seems to be the only reliable way to do this.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Personally, I run a single Win10 desktop (all of my laptops are Linux-only) that I update roughly annually, by allocating an entire day for going through the updates one by one and getting rid of any Microsoft malware along the way. I am far more concerned about Microsoft's own malware than any ransomware floating around the Internet. Of course, I've also had SMBv1 disabled for many years (there's no reason to retain…
Really? You're more concerned about the software being provided to you by Microsoft, who is at least presumably trying to keep you as a satisfied customer and provide a secure operating system then you are for faceless hackers connected to the Internet who's whole objective is to either out right steal people's money, disrupt people's lives, or else subvert your computer in order to launch attacks on other users?
I 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…
> I 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. No, it isn't. Anti-vaxxers think that vaccines are harmful (or useless). Most users think security updates are important, they just don't want to be interrupted.
Vaccines are harmful; it's just that the positive effects vastly shadow the negative effects in the general case.
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> 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. Vaccinations are awesome, but M…
If we look in the past we also have snake oil which is said to be a major cause for mistrust for doctors and medicine. Government had to step in and issue regulations in order for the public to regain trust and vaccinations is one of the very few remaining trust issues between the public and medicine. If we want people to regain trust in auto-update there need to be something that prevent abuse. If that is regulation…
You are far too confident in current medical practice.
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That only happens if you put the updates off of they've been there for a couple of days and you have something running that makes it assume that the machine is still active. People seeding torrents overnight seems to be the only place I see that not happen. See update notifications? At the end of the day, restart and install the updates. It's not rocket science. It doesn't just hit patch Tuesday and then reboot immed…
Some people run complex simulations that take days or weeks to run, and a forced reboot in the middle ruins progress. If someone needs to skip an update on their own machine and their own network that is their right.
I 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…
Personally, I run a single Win10 desktop (all of my laptops are Linux-only) that I update roughly annually, by allocating an entire day for going through the updates one by one and getting rid of any Microsoft malware along the way. I am far more concerned about Microsoft's own malware than any ransomware floating around the Internet. Of course, I've also had SMBv1 disabled for many years (there's no reason to retain…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Some people run complex simulations that take days or weeks to run, and a forced reboot in the middle ruins progress. If someone needs to skip an update on their own machine and their own network that is their right.
This is an edge case for a very small percentage of users. Use GPMC to turn it off entirely or change the key at: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsUpdate\UX\Settings Set DWORD IsActiveHoursEnabled to 0.
I'm nearly resigned to the fact that I may have to segregate engineering workstations to their own network and whitelist their traffic.
IsActiveHoursEnabled is ignored.
The NSA should be focused on protecting US interests by helping these things get patched ASAP, not sitting on a treasure trove of 0-days and then they get leaked and everyone has them whilst chaos ensues.
Microsoft should be focusing on providing less controversial updates, clearly categorizing essential security updates apart from new, often controversial features. What a mess Windows 10 roll out was.
They have billions of dollars and can throw legions of software engineers at this problem fairly easily with their resources, this isn't some minor company that can't handle this issue.
I 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.
I 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…
Microsoft lost every single ounce of credibility with the way they force-loaded Windows 10. Turning off Windows Update isn't enough anymore. The only solution is to dump Windows. Install Linux, or buy Apple hardware. It's unfortunate, but Microsoft will never recoup the trust it lost with the push of Windows 10. Microsoft cannot be trusted.