Microsoft has been accused of injecting ads and sponsored apps into Windows for quite a while and now they’re taking more direct steps to prevent users disabling them through Group Policies. Several Group Policies will be deactivated with the Anniversary Update, making it harder for IT-pros and system admins to prevent unwanted content.
When the Anniversary Update rolls out to current November Update users, there will no longer be a way to block the obnoxious ads that automatically pin themselves to your PCs start menu when you start it for the first time. In a network with all PCs connected to each other, there is a universal Group Policy that applies to every PC on the network, which means adding a new machine to the family will automatically adjust it; such as disabling the ads and sponsored apps on all new PCs, however, this change will prevent that. By disabling the Policies that take care of the advertising, system admins will have to manually remove the ads from every new PC they get.
Yeah, and as long as you can get sheeple to "agree" to a business contract, there's apparently nothing anyone can do.
With build 14393 I have already caught ApplicationFrameHost.exe trying to download stuff from msdl.microsoft.com.
In my case, trying and failing owing to my use of 3rd party firewall software and having my own DNS server (not to mention a sophisticated hosts file generation process) to blacklist bunches of sites.
But THAT's even after having tweaked EVERY SETTING to the "most private, least cloud-integrated" choices, not to mention tweaking all I've been able to find so far through registry, file, and permissions modifications. It's just ridiculous to have to work so hard to try to protect oneself from this onslaught.
We need to face the fact that Windows 10 has become a cloud-integrated adware/malware delivery tool with a permanent foot in the door, and there is apparently nothing anyone is going to be able to do about it. There are simply no good alternatives other than to continue to use pre-malware Windows versions. That will only keep for a while.
We can only tread water in such a violent storm for so long.
The SHOCKING fact is that so many people will just choose to agree to throw their privacy and control away. The social engineering that has led to it being "reasonable" and even "normal" to present people with a contract that says "our way or the fucking highway, asshole" - and have them agree - is what's startling.
We all have to shun the new tech until the tech makers realize they just can't go that far!
But even that isn't an easy decision.
Example: I use Skype every day for business purposes. Now Microsoft is saying, quite boldly "To continue to use Skype [even on your old Windows system] you MUST agree to our Services Agreement. In fact, if you continue to use Skype you have agreed to it." I actually got an overt eMail saying exactly that just yesterday. And you can be sure an old pre-Microsoft version of Skype will no longer work at all.
Trouble is, shunning Skype would leave me without a workable alternative... So what do I do?
Just stop collaborating via Skype? Online collaboration is a cornerstone of my business.
Just use the phone again? It doesn't actually work as well.
Abandon Windows entirely and go with Apple (who are no less invasive of privacy)? Alphabet? Linux? LOL
Write my own operating system along with a suite of non-evil applications?
Just give in and let Microsoft have my life and assets?
There's a reason Microsoft spends huge sums of cash to buy technologies they can then use to rope people in. Now they're using them in every way possible.
When will we see lawsuits by Microsoft against users who choose to reconfigure and augment their systems so as to avoid the privacy intrusion they have "agreed" to? That seems unthinkable now, but... So much of what's "normal" now was unthinkable 10 or 20 years ago.
Post by Bayer A.User on Aug 3, 2016 16:49:02 GMT -6
I have the Pro version of 10586.494 running now,Mike. As soon as i get my update i will let everyone Know what exactly has changed with my GroupPolicy rules. One thing i noticed, DoSvc(DeliveryOptimization) or "multiple source updates" defaults to ON even though i have it disabled in services. No surprise, i went through the same thing in the TechPreview days.
By the way, if you tire of waiting for Windows Update to deliver, you can get the update on your own terms using the Media Creation Tool. Just sayin'....
-Noel
Author of the "How to Configure the 'To Work' Options" series of Windows books. Not feeling enough love to do one for Windows 10.
By the way, if you tire of waiting for Windows Update to deliver, you can get the update on your own terms using the Media Creation Tool. Just sayin'....
-Noel
I already have the Windows10Upgrade9252.exe upgrader warming up in the bullpen. But,i'm in no hurry to run it. Plenty of disappointed people i respect gave the redstone update a big ol'thumbs down. Including yourself, Noel. DebianDoug has gotten the same "your device is up to date" run around via WU. So, i'll just keep my firewall UP and my options open for the time being.
Besides, I only recently got Cortana to grow a brain.Why mess that up ?
"Besides, I only recently got Cortana to grow a brain.Why mess that up ?"
say it isnt so, Bayer, I cant imagine that bitch even pondering actually having a brain. The tin-man had more of a thought process than the 'bitch of MSFT"
Plenty of disappointed people i respect gave the redstone update a big ol'thumbs down. Including yourself, Noel.
I guess I didn't give it a thumbs-up because nothing new has appeared for the desktop, but if someone's into whatever "advances" they might have made in Metro/Modern/UWP, Cortana, OneDrive, etc. I wouldn't really know anything about it, so... Thumbs sideways?
-Noel
Author of the "How to Configure the 'To Work' Options" series of Windows books. Not feeling enough love to do one for Windows 10.
Trouble is, shunning Skype would leave me without a workable alternative... So what do I do?
Just stop collaborating via Skype? Online collaboration is a cornerstone of my business.
Noel: Ever thought about trying Google Hangouts? Free to use, at least 16 people can conference at same time. Also, I understand from my last job (retired Civil Servant) that the Google collaboration tools are excellent.
<Rick> Good video. It's almost hard to believe that at one time Windows 98 was the resource hog, but even then, it still ran circles around what Windows 10 can do on today's modern hardware and look a heck of alot better doing it.
May 25, 2021 22:55:12 GMT -6
<Rick> As stated elsewhere, So much for the launch of Windows 11, "The Great Crash." Myself, I had a hard time getting into the site listed above, when I did get in, the video was partly done and then it crashed. There has been many other reports of crashing.
Jun 24, 2021 9:52:33 GMT -6
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<Rick> I see Microsoft has been very quick to pull down reports of site crashing regarding the Launch of Windows 11 on the Microsoft Insiders forum.
Jun 24, 2021 9:57:31 GMT -6
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<Rick> The rebroadcast is working okay.
Jun 24, 2021 11:00:25 GMT -6
<Rick> With reports of people being able to install the dev-edition of Windows 11 on machines not meeting spec, I thought I would give it a what-the-heck try. Lucky me, I'm caught in the downloading, doesn't meet spec, clearing, re-downloading loop on my machine!
Jul 2, 2021 7:08:46 GMT -6
<Rick> I've recently purchased a license for ArcaOS from www.arcanoae.com/ to play with. First impressions, it's still OS/2, but it now has a Linux twist to it.
Jul 2, 2021 7:32:53 GMT -6
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<dozrguy> laptop shit out and am stuck buying a new one. os win11 as fucked as win10 was?
Oct 2, 2021 12:56:10 GMT -6
<Rick> Let's see ..., my impression of Windows 11 is that it is a spruced up version of Windows 10 requiring a 64-bit processor plus a piece of security hardware that is less than 4 years old in order for it to run.
Oct 4, 2021 18:25:49 GMT -6
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<Rick> On the plus side, Microsoft is supposed to be supporting Windows 10 for some time to come for those of us still using systems with I7 or older processors.
Oct 4, 2021 18:44:35 GMT -6
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<dozrguy> i tried installing win10 om the 'shitout' pc this morning usung media creation. EPIC FAIL! went into an endless bootloop. win7 reinstalled just fine
Oct 21, 2021 11:23:38 GMT -6
<dozrguy> STILL so much bullshit and so little time for the kiddie ideas from the hill. My new laptop (MSI GE 11-UH461) would be an awesome "10" machine but because of Winblows I can only give it a "2"......wasted $3500
Oct 27, 2021 9:36:47 GMT -6
<Rick> Hello. Just checking in.
Mar 17, 2022 10:46:54 GMT -6
<isidroco> Each new w10 update adds >100000 useless files to \Windows\Servicing\LCU\Package_for_RollupFix... folders. Even in a SSD takes time to delete that stuff. In each version they manage to worsen stuff.
Mar 27, 2022 16:14:51 GMT -6
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<dozerguy> still traffic here?
Oct 9, 2022 17:32:44 GMT -6
<Rick> No, there does not seem to be very much traffic these days. I still check in from time to time.
Oct 9, 2022 20:08:58 GMT -6