Author Topic: Is Windows 10 a trojan? (Read 37862 times)

tomos · « **Reply #25 on:** September 18, 2015, 05:00 PM »

It's not always possible to get a plan without a data cap. And even when it's an option, it's not always an affordable option.

Honestly, I could do with a much lower "top speed" if it came with a much larger (or unlimited) data cap.
-Deozaan (September 18, 2015, 04:43 PM)

I'm always a bit stunned when I hear how bad the internet packages are in the States
Here (.de) it's always flat rate (which is no guarantee of speed though).

Innuendo · « **Reply #26 on:** September 19, 2015, 05:46 PM »

I'm always a bit stunned when I hear how bad the internet packages are in the States
Here (.de) it's always flat rate (which is no guarantee of speed though).
-tomos (September 18, 2015, 05:00 PM)

The problem here in the US is we have such vast areas of land that have a very, very low population density & it just isn't cost-effective for the service providers to build the infrastructure and backbone to access those remote places. The result is a lot of people have to rely on satellite and other horrible methods in order to obtain internet access.

xtabber · « **Reply #27 on:** January 13, 2016, 07:42 AM »

Recent developments in the GWX saga are getting really scary.

It seems that Microsoft is so intent on forcing everyone to “upgrade” to Windows 10 that they have used a KB patch to install undocumented services designed to thwart users running Windows 7 and 8.1 from disabling GWX. Specifically, programs that revert registry patches to allow GWX are installed and the Windows task scheduler is programmed to run these regularly. That's what we know so far.

This is classic malware behavior. What’s next? Installing a GWX rootkit?

You can read more on what is now known about GWX here.

And for a more humorous (but even scarier) take, see this.

dr_andus · « **Reply #28 on:** January 13, 2016, 10:32 AM »

Think about it though. The people who are likely to try to disable GWX 1) have made the conscious decision that they don't want Win10 just yet, and 2) are sophisticated enough to figure out how to do that. What could MS possibly gain from pissing off that particular user base (who could be called opinion leaders, the ones that advise the rest of their family and organisations on which computers to buy)?

It seems they don't understand that "no means no." If they try to shove Win10 down my throat even more aggressively (and I don't even consider myself to be part of the above sophisticated group), it is just pushing me more and more towards considering Linux and other alternatives, when in fact I've been a reasonably happy Windows XP and 7 user so far.

So either they are incompetent in this regard, or they have made the calculated decision for some reason to get rid of the sophisticated users (pretty much giving up on the desktop PC market) and capture as many of the less clued up consumer users as possible, to compete with Apple and Google at the tablet and mobile phone end of the market.

Stoic Joker · « **Reply #29 on:** January 13, 2016, 11:28 AM »

Think about it though. The people who are likely to try to disable GWX 1) have made the conscious decision that they don't want Win10 just yet, and 2) are sophisticated enough to figure out how to do that. What could MS possibly gain from pissing off that particular user base (who could be called opinion leaders, the ones that advise the rest of their family and organisations on which computers to buy)?
-dr_andus (January 13, 2016, 10:32 AM)

Agreed ... I have several virtual 7 & 8 machines that exist solely because I occasionally need to get to/see/use a Windows 7/8 machine. So I've wasted a good bit of time trying to beat the Win10 upgrade to death on them so it stops trying to bork my test machines.

40hz · « **Reply #30 on:** January 13, 2016, 01:56 PM »

This whole Windows 10 thing is yet another classic example of a piece of good software being totally wrecked because of a corporate agenda that goes beyond what is needed - and works at odds against the functionalities required (or even requested) by its userbase. It's just the old "It doesn't matter whether you want this new & improved version - you're going to get it whether you like it or not."

The software world is littered with once fine programs that self-destructed that way.

If Windows 10 weren't an OS that comes pre-installed on 99% of all PCs sold, it would never get away with half the things it's trying to strong-arm it's customers into. When did "Where do you want to go today?" become "Here's where you'll go today."

I mustn't have been copied on that memo... $:-\$

Shades · « **Reply #31 on:** January 13, 2016, 06:59 PM »

@40hz:
Signals transported over the 40hz frequency band can go very far...but are prone to interruptions, so don't expect fast communication

Bad joke, I know.

Renegade · « **Reply #32 on:** January 13, 2016, 10:51 PM »

I had a "moment" today. One of those where nuking Redmond seemed like a good idea.

Windows 10 is beyond Trojan, past malware, and way into devil worshiping, baby eating, demonic darkness.

My loathing for it went up logarithmically today. Again.

40hz · « **Reply #33 on:** January 14, 2016, 12:00 AM »

@40hz:
Signals transported over the 40hz frequency band can go very far...but are prone to interruptions, so don't expect fast communication

Bad joke, I know.

-Shades (January 13, 2016, 06:59 PM)

LOL! And true.

But that's fine by me. Most of my friends hear most of what I say as a very low and faint background note than anything else. Think truck tires crossing a steel decked bridge at 60 MPH.

I can't say I blame them either.

Shades · « **Reply #34 on:** January 14, 2016, 05:16 AM »

Time to install decent routers in any LAN? And adding (a set of) rules to make sure no communication takes place between your Windows computer(s) and "home base"?

Seems to me the best way to beat Microsoft into submission...

Spoiler

I really wanted to say: bitch-slap Microsoft, but that might be too offensive for threads that are not in the Basement.

dr_andus · « **Reply #35 on:** January 14, 2016, 06:58 AM »

As Martin Brinkmann put it:

It appears as if Microsoft designed the Windows 10 upgrade mechanisms in a way that makes it very complicated for users to block the upgrade offer for good on machines running previous versions of Windows.

This persistence is similar to how malware evolves constantly to avoid detection or come back after it has been removed from operating systems.

Microsoft has an interest in getting Windows 10 on as many machines as possible, but the strategies it uses to make that happen are more than annoying to users who don't want to upgrade to the new operating system.

xtabber · « **Reply #36 on:** January 14, 2016, 08:22 AM »

And it gets worse!

In a post on the TechNet blog yesterday, titled Making it Easier for Small Businesses to Upgrade to Windows 10, Microsoft announced that:

We will begin to roll out the “Get Windows 10” app to additional devices
that meet the following criteria, in the US later this month and in
additional markets shortly thereafter:

- Running and licensed for Windows 7 Pro or Windows 8.1 Pro
- Configured to receive updates directly from the Windows Update service
(i.e. updates are not managed by WSUS or System Center Configuration
Manager on those devices)
- Joined to an Active Directory domain

Deozaan · « **Reply #37 on:** January 14, 2016, 10:57 AM »

Microsoft is making it easier for Windows 7/8 devices to opt out of the Windows 10 upgrade forever:

http://arstechnica.c...windows-10-upgrades/

dr_andus · « **Reply #38 on:** January 14, 2016, 11:22 AM »

Microsoft is making it easier for Windows 7/8 devices to opt out of the Windows 10 upgrade forever:
-Deozaan (January 14, 2016, 10:57 AM)

I dunno. I looked at MS's instructions and I didn't find them easy. They involve registry editing, so there is a good change for a non-techie user like me to mess things up:

Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly.

Deozaan · « **Reply #39 on:** January 14, 2016, 11:40 AM »

Microsoft is making it easier for Windows 7/8 devices to opt out of the Windows 10 upgrade forever:
-Deozaan (January 14, 2016, 10:57 AM)

I dunno. I looked at MS's instructions and I didn't find them easy. They involve registry editing, so there is a good change for a non-techie user like me to mess things up:

Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly.
-dr_andus (January 14, 2016, 11:22 AM)

To be somewhat pedantic, easier does not necessarily mean easy.

That said, this option for disabling GWX has nothing to do with the registry, and other than the fact it doesn't say how to get to the Group Policy configuration window, it seems fairly simple to follow:

Computer Configuration
To block the upgrade by using Computer Configuration, follow these steps:

Click Computer Configuration.
Click Policies.
Click Administrative Templates.
Click Windows Components.
Click Windows Update.
Double-click Turn off the upgrade to the latest version of Windows through Windows Update.
Click Enable.
Policy path: Computer Configuration / Administrative Templates / Windows Components / Windows Update Policy
Setting: Turn off the upgrade to the latest version of Windows through Windows Update
-https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3080351

dr_andus · « **Reply #40 on:** January 14, 2016, 12:01 PM »

That said, this option for disabling GWX has nothing to do with the registry, and other than the fact it doesn't say how to get to the Group Policy configuration window, it seems fairly simple to follow:

Computer Configuration
-https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3080351
-Deozaan (January 14, 2016, 11:40 AM)

Deozaan,

Many thanks for spelling that out

I did follow the instructions, let's see if I'll ever see GWX again. For now the icon is still sitting in my system tray, so I presume I'll have to reboot to get rid of that.

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #41 on:** January 14, 2016, 12:44 PM »

You can block windows 10 and the tray prompts by applying this reg file

xtabber · « **Reply #42 on:** January 14, 2016, 01:57 PM »

If you read Microsoft KB 3080351 carefully, you will see that the Group Policy Object allows you to turn off automatic updates to the operating system. It does NOT disable the GWX nagware. To disable the tray icon, you need to apply the registry patch, but note that doing so only hides the icon, it does not remove the nagware itself.

Note also that the language used in the KB specifically says that the GP Object will ensure that the OS is never changed by Windows Update without the user's approval. It does NOT make any such promise with regard to GWX notifications.

As pointed out in the articles I linked to yesterday, Microsoft has been using Windows Update to install a service that periodically checks the registry to see whether the notification is disabled and can re-enable it by modifying the registry.

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #43 on:** January 14, 2016, 02:01 PM »

The registry file I posted above has worked for me. Apply the registry edit, restart and gone. I also disable OS upgrades (not Windows Update).

Renegade · « **Reply #44 on:** January 14, 2016, 10:23 PM »

Today, after weeks of telling Windows to f*** off because I don't want to reboot for updates, it finally told me to go f*** myself and rebooted in the middle of me doing shit.

Windows 10 is <insert the most vile, inhuman, violent, sick, twisted, evil stuff you can possibly imagine here />.

I just have no words for how horrible this entire lunacy is. (I do have the words, but I'll spare you.)

dr_andus · « **Reply #45 on:** January 15, 2016, 04:29 AM »

You can block windows 10 and the tray prompts by applying this reg file
-Carol Haynes (January 14, 2016, 12:44 PM)

Thank you Carol, but how do you do the "applying"? Sorry, I'm not versed in this at all.

dr_andus · « **Reply #46 on:** January 15, 2016, 04:36 AM »

It does NOT disable the GWX nagware. To disable the tray icon, you need to apply the registry patch, but note that doing so only hides the icon, it does not remove the nagware itself.
-xtabber (January 14, 2016, 01:57 PM)

Thanks. That's annoying though.

To add insult to injury, quite often when I boot my Win7 laptop or wake it from sleep or connect a dongle for wireless internet, I'm greeted with the following message:

Is Windows 10 a trojan?

So the way MS is trying to convince me to upgrade to an OS that's supposed to be better is with an error message? This is what the nagware boils down to me, other than the useless icon in the system tray. Does not really inspire confidence in me about Win10.

P.S. And it's quite ironic that the error message is asking me to check for a solution online, to try to fix the nagware for me, so it can nag me better...

tomos · « **Reply #47 on:** January 15, 2016, 05:20 AM »

I also disable OS upgrades (not Windows Update).
-Carol Haynes (January 14, 2016, 02:01 PM)

hi Carol,
anyone know how ^this^ is done?

On this machine I only see 'Windows Update' (no relevant settings), and 'Windows anytime Upgrade' (which has no settings at all).
Note: on this and on my other Windows 7 machine I'm not getting any update to windows 10 messages, (possibly because I mostly only ever install security updates).

Stoic Joker · « **Reply #48 on:** January 15, 2016, 07:09 AM »

Today, after weeks of telling Windows to f*** off because I don't want to reboot for updates, it finally told me to go f*** myself and rebooted in the middle of me doing shit.

Windows 10 is <insert the most vile, inhuman, violent, sick, twisted, evil stuff you can possibly imagine here />.

I just have no words for how horrible this entire lunacy is. (I do have the words, but I'll spare you.)
-Renegade (January 14, 2016, 10:23 PM)

Group Policy: No Auto Reboot For Logged On Users is your friend.

Gpedit.msc:
Computer Configuration
. Administrative Template
... Windows Components
..... Windows Update

^Do on local machine even in a domain environment (werked 4 me!).

For the Home Version there is a registry based equivalent (I haven't tried):

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU]
"NoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers"=dword:00000001

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #49 on:** January 15, 2016, 01:36 PM »

You can block windows 10 and the tray prompts by applying this reg file
-Carol Haynes (January 14, 2016, 12:44 PM)

Thank you Carol, but how do you do the "applying"? Sorry, I'm not versed in this at all.
-dr_andus (January 15, 2016, 04:29 AM)

Download the file - change the extension from .txt to .reg (couldn't upload a reg file) and then double click the file - allow it to make changes and then then restart you computer.

I also disable OS upgrades (not Windows Update).
-Carol Haynes (January 14, 2016, 02:01 PM)
hi Carol,
anyone know how ^this^ is done?

On this machine I only see 'Windows Update' (no relevant settings), and 'Windows anytime Upgrade' (which has no settings at all).
Note: on this and on my other Windows 7 machine I'm not getting any update to windows 10 messages, (possibly because I mostly only ever install security updates).

-tomos (January 15, 2016, 05:20 AM)

It is a registry setting - see the reg file I uploaded up the page

This registry file stops the nagware and the tray icon.