Be careful out there: Windows changed the behavior of its update to 10 program

[Abby Normal]

http://www.pcworld.com/article/3073457/windows/how-microsofts-nasty-new-windows-10-pop-up-tricks-you-into-upgrading.html

Run this (no install needed): https://www.grc.com/never10.htm

Or get GWX Control Panel here: http://ultimateoutsider.com/downloads/

[JohnH]

Thanks. I had clicked the "x" in the upper right-hand box this morning (as always) without looking carefully at the screen.  Sure enough, when I checked the status, it told me Win 10 was scheduled to be installed this upcoming Thursday.  So I went through the extra steps to cancel the upgrade.  Now I think I'll run one of the above blockers.

 

Talk about sneaky - this is unforgivable behavior by Microsoft.  They really are accountable to no one. 

[FDNY]

Shouldn't the FTC be doing something about this?  I think it would qualify as an unfair business practice. 

[NECPA in NEBRASKA]

1 hour ago, JohnH said:

Thanks. I had clicked the "x" in the upper right-hand box this morning (as always) without looking carefully at the screen.  Sure enough, when I checked the status, it told me Win 10 was scheduled to be installed this upcoming Thursday.  So I went through the extra steps to cancel the upgrade.  Now I think I'll run one of the above blockers.

 

Talk about sneaky - this is unforgivable behavior by Microsoft.  They really are accountable to no one. 

Take it from someone that is still dealing with the unwanted upgrade to 10, it sucks! I am still so mad. ATX fixed my databases and backups, but ALL of my preferences, print packets, complete or incomplete checkboxes, etc. were gone from all years. 

[Jack from Ohio]

Some of us sounded the warnings 3 years ago...

[MsTabbyKats]

Being tech stupid....I have windows 7.  Do I just click the green tab that says "download now" (next to File Stats for Never 10)?

And do I need to do anything after that?

 

Thanks.

[Abby Normal]

1 hour ago, MsTabbyKats said:

Being tech stupid....I have windows 7.  Do I just click the green tab that says "download now" (next to File Stats for Never 10)?

And do I need to do anything after that?

Yes, that's the right place to click. Then if you have the option to run the file, do that. If the run option is not available, save the file somewhere you can find it, then double click on the file to run it.

If it comes up with the green message that Windows 10 OS Upgrade is DISABLED, you're all set. Just exit the program. If you get the red message, click the disable button. It only takes a split second.

[JohnH]

I turn off my computer every evening.  When I came in this morning and started it up, it was nice not to have to deal with the annoying Win 10 popup, since I ran the Never10 utility.  Thanks very much for that link.

[jklcpa]

Abby, thanks for the info. I'd followed your earlier suggestions and avoided the updates for Win10, turned off notifications, and have had my Win update set to manual ever since your posts at the beginning of this year.  I thought my machine was safe from the upgrade, I never saw the popups, but when I ran the Never 10, it said the upgrade was enabled!  That is some stealth from Microsoft!

I noticed that the Never 10 also has the option to remove Win 10 files from the system. I didn't do that.  Have you read anything about using that function to remove the files, or is it best to leave them alone.

[Abby Normal]

You're welcome!

You probably haven't downloaded the windows 10 install files to your computer, but it is perfectly safe to remove them if you have. It's just a matter of deleting a folder. It's a hidden folder in your Windows folder called $Windows.~BT.

When I ran Never10 the button to remove win10 files didn't show. That's probably because they're not on my computer.

 

[jklcpa]

13 minutes ago, Abby Normal said:

It's a hidden folder in your Windows folder called $Windows.~BT.

Ugh, yes, I have it, created last Sept. File properties show 5.68 MB and Never10 is reporting ~ 6.1MB in 20K+ files and folders. 

 

 

[MsTabbyKats]

Thank you....it did take about less than 1 second!

[Abby Normal]

Steve Gibson has been providing invaluable free services for computer users for a very long time.

[mcb39]

Just talked to my IT person and he said to go for it.  He has used Steve Gibson utilities in the past and this advice from Abby Normal may help him to solve a lot of problems.   So, thank you.

[jklcpa]

I went back to the Never10 and also used it to delete the Win 10 files it found and I haven't encountered any problems yet.

[Abby Normal]

I noticed when I upgraded to windows 8 that 'My Computer' was changed to 'This PC'. I think Microsoft believes they own our computers now. And who knows, I've never read the EULA. We probably agreed to let Microsoft upgrade our OS.

[Eric]

A family friend (lawyer) came to me with a laptop a couple weeks ago.  She has all Macs in her office, except for one Windows laptop that she uses for a specific piece of software.  

After refusing Windows 10 updates for ages, it finally decided it was time to upgrade itself, and it went badly.  It got stuck in a boot loop with the Windows 10 update only half baked, and I couldn't find any information about reverting to the previous system without actually being able to boot into Windows 10.

I worked on that stupid laptop for hours trying half a dozen of the least destructive solutions first, but finally I had no choice but to put the laptop back to factory settings.  Thankfully her software vendor had excellent support and was able to tell me exactly what needed to be backed up before wiping the system.

I don't see how Microsoft can, in good conscience, be so heavy handed about an OS upgrade, especially without some method to revert to the previous system if the upgrade goes badly which is not an uncommon occurrence. 

[Lynn EA USTCP in Louisiana]

Just  now I ran the never 10 tool (again !) and noticed 20,000+ files/folders with Win 10 .  I took advantage of their secondary tool to remove all of those files/folders !!! Yeah !!!!  Win 10 is disabled and nothing of Win 10 resides on my computer (or at least I hope that's true)

[Lion EA]

Thank you, to the most Normal guy I know.  I clicked.  It told me the update was Enabled even though I thought I'd done everything all of you recommended.  I clicked to Disable.  I guess all is good.  I did NOT get anything saying I have Win10 files.  Thanx for sharing.  Going to go do this on my laptop now.

[Abby Normal]

You're welcome! Never10 mostly changes a Group Policy (I bet you didn't even know you had Group Policies!) to enable 'turn off upgrade to latest version. It also makes the same change in your Registry (AllowOsUpgrade = 1 (off)). Those are things most of us might be uncomfortable doing.

If you want to see your Group Policies, open up Run (Winkey+R) and type gpedit.msc. Just don't change anything!

[JohnH]

Today is Friday May 27.  This morning when I came into work, I turned on my computer and began a normal day.  But then as I visited this forum it occurred to me this could have been a very stressful & aggravating Friday.  As I noted in my reply to your post on Monday of this week, since I had clicked the "x" on the Win10 installation window,  the sneaky Win10 install had been scheduled for Thursday night without my knowledge.  I only discovered this after running the utility you graciously provided the link for.

Since I switch my computer off in the evening, I suspect that when I turned the computer on this morning the Win10 install would have been sitting there waiting to pounce.  By the time I made coffee and started trying to work, I would have been bogged down in a frustrating cycle of "what's going on and why?"

So again I just want to say "thanks" for the heads up you gave on Monday.  Many thanks.

[Abby Normal]

Hey, we have each others backs in this forum! I've learned a lot hangin' with all of you.

[mcb39]

On ‎5‎/‎27‎/‎2016 at 4:19 PM, Abby Normal said:

Hey, we have each others backs in this forum! I've learned a lot hangin' with all of you.

I just ran the utility on my third computer and all went well.  My IT guy and I thank you again.

[Latka_123]

Too late for me.  Happen on Friday, May 27th AM to my computer.   And guess what, ATX support was closed on Friday, so I am waiting until Tuesday for the fix to the ATX software.  Who knows how long the line is going to be for support.   

[joanmcq]

Because of this forum, I ran Never 10 on my laptop and stopped the upgrade. I clicked the close box because I opened the laptop to set up a client POA, and was just closing annoying windows so I could open ATX. Yay forum!