To Be, Or Not To Be... (a Windows 10 User)

I posted on this subject back in December, but there's lots more needs to be said, so...

More and more, I see folks, on social media and in emails from my clients, saying they got a free gift from Microsoft, in the form of a drive-by installation of Windows 10. And so far, none of them have been expressing their gratitude and pleasure at receiving the gift.

Don't get me wrong here... Windows 10 is a vast improvement over Windows 8.1... if you currently use Win 8, you should get a full disk image backup of your computer, then upgrade to Windows 10.

But if you have Windows 7, Windows 10 isn't an improvement. The learning curve is considerable, and there's no commensurate improvement in speed or usability to make it worth the trouble. Here's step-by-step instructions on how to avoid having Windows 10 inflicted on you.

• From the Win 7 desktop, click on Start => All Programs => Windows Update (in the list of programs ABOVE the first folder).
• In the Windows Update window, near the top of the left pane, click on Change Settings.
• In the Change Settings window, make sure all boxes are checked, then use the drop-down arrow under Important Updates to change the setting to Never Check For Updates. Click OK.
  (If you're running WinPatrol, you'll get a dialog within a couple minutes, asking if you want to accept the new setting; click Accept.)
• Back in the Windows Update window, near the bottom of the left pane, click on Installed Updates. Wait for the progress indicator in the Location box to sweep all the way to the right, then disappear... then click the Name heading in the list to sort by name and number.
• Scroll down past the Office Updates, the Hotfixes, and the Security Updates, to the plain old Updates for Microsoft Windows. They should be in numerical order.

There are three updates you need to find and uninstall. You might not have all of them. They are...

• KB3035583
• KB3123862
• KB3150513

For each of these updates you find on your list, highlight the listed item, then click Uninstall => Yes. Wait for the uninstall to complete. If you get asked about rebooting, click Restart Later; if you just get an Uninstall Complete message, click OK. Scroll down and look for the next update on the list above.

When you've found and removed all three suspect updates, or verified they aren't there to be removed, reboot the computer. After the reboot, come back to Windows Update, and click on Check for Updates. Wait... When the update check completes, look at the list to see if any of the updates listed above are there; if so, remove its check mark, then right-click and select Hide Update. When you're done, click OK. No need to install updates right now... after the next step, it will happen, eventually.

Finally, click on Change Settings again, change the setting to Check For Updates But Let Me Choose Whether To Install... (Again, if WinPatrol asks, accept the change.) Every now and then Windows will offer you updates. Accept all Security Updates, but look down the list of plain old updates and make sure you're not getting one of the three listed above.

One last thing: If you're running Advanced SystemCare, un-check the box next to Vulnerability Fix before you scan. IOBit Tech Support insists they're not restoring the hidden updates, but I'm not sure I believe them.

And, as always, if you have questions, just click this link to send me a trouble report.

Till next time...

Dale