What exactly does KB2952664 do?

I have about half of those hidden and will check the rest.  I also have KB3080149 hidden to stop sending telemetry.  With all this stuff going on, they don't get approval for that.

I used to generally glance at the brief descriptions and take almost everything.  Now I don't even apply changes on a timely basis because I first have to evaluate all of them to see which ones I can trust.

So far I have not had any offers to "upgrade" to WIN10.  My plan is to never do that to an existing PC although I suspect I'll have it on my new one.

The biggest reason?  NO CONTROL OVER UPDATES.  They have been proven now to not be trustworthy for that, so in their push to get Win10 everywhere they have discouraged at least me from getting it!

Upgrading ones PC from Windows 7 to Windows 8.x is optional. I think we can agree on that.

I see nothing wrong or unusual in Microsoft coming out with an update (KB2952664) that makes it easier for a user to choose the option to upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 8.x.

What does seem strange to me is that apart from the optional choice to upgrade from Windows 7 to 8.x (which a given user might never do, or might not do for months or years), Microsoft decides to designate KB2952664 as "important" .... thus resulting in this update getting installed by all users who have set their Windows Update to "automatic", and by many others who manually install all "important" updates.

Microsoft could just as easily make KB2952664 a prerequisite that would not need to be installed now, but rather have to be installed at the point in time one chooses to upgrade their PC from Windows 7 to Windows 8.x. If the only thing that KB2952664 does is make the upgrade easier, then why would Microsoft go to the trouble of marking it "important" to get it installed way before users even choose to upgrade from Windows 7 to 8.x?

So, in the absence of any detailed information from Microsoft about what KB2952664 actually does (I agree with you ... such information is not likely to be forthcoming from Microsoft), what we are left with is Microsoft saying that the update (KB2952664 ) is "important" and should be installed now, even though the sole purpose of that update is to make easier an event (upgrading to Windows 8.x) that might never happen on ones PC, or might not happen for months or years.

Doesn't that seem somewhat strange to you?

Of course, Microsoft could issue an official statement explaining exactly what KB2952664 does, or they could change its designation in Windows Update to "optional", or they could state officially that there are no consequences if the user postpones KB2952664 until such time that they make a decision to upgrade to Windows 8.x. All of these would be the customer friendly thing to do. The likelihood of Microsoft doing any of the above: zero.

Since it is not likely that Microsoft will shed any light on this issue, a paranoid person might just think that the update could do something to Windows 7 to make the user think they "need" to upgrade to Windows 8.

I do agree with you:  Microsoft does not hide things any more (or less) than other IT companies ... but that does not make me feel any better about the strangeness of this update. Just because they all hide things does not make it right.

I guess I'll just quit whining about it and just hide the update.

Hiding might NOT help! It is recommended to STOP Windows Updates - see latest Canadian Tech's resume on page 34 of 

KB3035583 Installing Windows 10 using Windows Update?

Page 34

If you intend to neither of the above [upgrade Windows 7 to a flavor of Windows 8], it is quite safe to hide the update and forget about it. There will be no ill effects.

Microsoft see it as important because it IS if the user intends to upgrade to Windows 8.1 at some point in the future, and Microsoft assumes that users will do this. There is nothing more that can be said.. :-)

Thank you Mike, that was what I was looking for.

I understand that Microsoft may assume users will "upgrade" from Windows 7 to Windows 8, but I just do not think this is going to happen on a large scale. People may buy new computers with Win 8 (because that's what their new computer comes with), but I have my doubts that huge numbers of people running Win 7 will choose to upgrade their computer to Win 8. And I don't think (after the poor market acceptance of Win 8) that Microsoft is naive enough to think otherwise.

Thus, I wonder why in Windows Update, KB2952664 is listed as "important" rather than "optional" (since upgrading from Win 7 to Win 8 is itself optional). Given that we are not a party of every change that KB2952664 will make, and Microsoft is not sharing the details, what makes you confident that ignoring the update will result in no ill effects? Is there something about this update being designated "important" that we don't know?

I mean no disrespect to you  .... I'm just asking.

"...I'm just asking."

And you can keep on asking. Microsoft will never admit that the update's main purpose is to get you downloading Windows 10. Forget all this stuff about W8 or W8.1, If that were all it could do, it would definitely be optional. It is "important" only because Microsoft want you to do it.

Check the several websites which turn up when you search "How do I get rid of those Windows 10 reminders?"

Three updates are involved. They are: kb2952664, kb3035583, and kb2976978. The *2664 update is the one that gets the process rolling.

Check the several websites which turn up when you search "How do I get rid of those Windows 10 reminders?"

Three updates are involved. They are: kb2952664, kb3035583, and kb2976978. The *2664 update is the one that gets the process rolling. 

Skepticaluser12,

I agree with you. Microsoft has been issuing many updates designed to coerce users into installing Windows 10.

To help prevent Microsoft from nagging me about Windows 10, and to prevent Microsoft from installing Windows 10 without my permission, I use the free tool called GWX Control Panel. A Users Guide and download can be found here ...

http://blog.ultimateoutsider.com/2015/08/using-gwx-stopper-to-permanently-remove.html

Also, I recommend regularly reviewing Woody Leonard's site for information about protecting oneself from Microsoft ...

http://www.askwoody.com/

Microsoft's efforts to coerce people to install Windows 10 is not just limited to Windows Updates. Last week, Microsoft announced that computers with newer CPU architectures ... starting with Intel's current (sixth generation) processors (known as Skylake) ... will require Windows 10 (i.e., Windows 7 and 8 will not be supported on computers with newer processors). Although a specific set of Skylake processors will be supported to run Windows 7 and 8.1, but only until July 17, 2017 ... a date much earlier than the end of life dates for Windows 7 (Jan 14, 2020) and Windows 8.1 (Jan 10, 2023).

This article has more details ...

http://www.infoworld.com/article/3025399/microsoft-windows/microsoft-wont-support-most-skylake-pcs-without-windows-10.html

And here's the Microsoft announcement ...

https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2016/01/15/windows-10-embracing-silicon-innovation/

Many customers feel that Microsoft's tactics designed to coerce users into installing Windows 10 are deplorable. However, if Microsoft does achieve its objective of having Windows 10 installed on a billion computers ... then what Microsoft does after that may make their current tactics seem tame .... Windows as a Service ... and those services (whatever they might be) will not likely be free nor optional.

To use a popular quote ...

"I have a bad feeling about this."