What exactly does KB2952664 do?

langware,

I feel your pain. I have "uninstalled" KB2952664 five times and it keeps re-installing (even when I am disconnected from any network), so it appears MS leaves the files in some hidden location that keeps regurgitating them at reboot.

I have successfully hidden:

KB3035583    Published 27 Mar 2014

KB2990214    Published 06 Apr 2015

KB3068708    Published 02 Jun 2015

but they keep reappearing and have escalated from "Recommended" to "Important" presumably to terrorize me into installing them - fat chance that.

I have reconfigured all of the servers and workstations that I manage to "Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them" because I simply cannot bring myself to trust Microsoft any more. I have significantly increased my workload, but I feel I have little choice given all of the evidence that has slowly come to light concerning these updates.

I was part of a BETA test of Windows 10 and after two weeks I tried to uninstall it from my computer. The fact that I needed to have a Microsoft account just to logon to the OS and couldn't even play Solitaire without visiting the Microsoft store sent my paranoia meter right off the scale. I think someone at MS has been spending way too much time with the Apple fanboys.

I said I tried to uninstall it because I couldn't. The damned thing wouldn't let me. I finally booted the drive in a Linux shell and ripped the damnable thing out by the roots. I had it set up in dual boot mode so I could switch back and forth between Win 7 Pro and Win 10 and my Win 7 stills works like a champ (after editing the boot.ini). Hell will look like Winterfell before Windows 10 ever gets near any of my computers. Big Brother is alive and well and his name its Microsoft.

The saddest part is that I have been a Microsoft booster for nearly 25 years, installing their systems, maintaining same, recommending MS products, and, yes, even reporting piracy when I stumbled upon it. So this heavy-handed treatment of people who have trusted MS for so many years truly saddens me.

Former MS Disciple

Maryland, USA

I decided, after reading some threads on other fora, that I would disable this Diagnostic Tracking Service.  I will look after the next reboot to see if that Service is still disabled.

--Barry Finkel

I just mistakenly installed this patch: KB3068708.

That patch appears to be a follow-on/replacement to KB3022345.

KB3068708 appears to be yet another attempt by Microsoft to get telemetry data. Here's an excerpt from Microsoft's description:

"This update introduces the Diagnostics and Telemetry tracking service to existing devices. ....

[...]

The diagnostics tracking service collects diagnostics about functional issues on Windows systems that participate in the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP).  ...

[...]

This update contains the following two manifests that are occasionally updated by the Diagnostic Tracking Service:

• telemetry.ASM-WindowsDefault.json
• utc.app.json

The two files are marked as static files in the update. When an advanced user runs the System File Checker Tool (sfc.exe), the files are unintentionally flagged as corrupted. There is no impact or actual corruption on a device that is running this update, and this issue will be fixed in a later service update."

I interpret the above ("the files are unintentionally flagged as corrupted") to mean that KB3068708 has the same bug as its predecessor (KB3022345 ... which has the same warning in its description).

Here's more information on KB3068708:

http://www.infoworld.com/article/2930713/microsoft-windows/microsoft-re-re-releases-kb-2952664-kb-2976978-and-kb-2977759.html

I only discovered the above information after I had installed KB3068708.

I had three choices:

1. Do nothing; leave KB3068708 installed. Microsoft has not earned enough trust for me to select this option.
2. Uninstall KB3068708. Microsoft's track record (buggy patches) makes me worry that uninstalling KB3068708 might leave something behind (that would later cause problems). Again, my lack of trust in Microsoft.
3. Disable the Diagnostic Tracking Service. I chose this option since it is easy to do and easy to undo (if necessary). ... and disabling the service should stop the telemetry data from being sent without my permission.

I see lots of reasons to ignore some patches, and the possibility that Microsoft is using one to spy on its customers without their knowledge or consent is a pretty good one.

To each his own, I guess.

I am not at my computer at 3AM, so I cannot easily start a Wireshark trace to see what is being sent to MS via the new task that runs then.  And I assume that the packets would be encrypted, so a trace would be useless, except to get the IP address of the destination IP server.

If you wanted to get more information on the MS Compatibility Appraiser task (without having to get up at 3am), you could change the time of day (in Scheduler) when the task runs.

Not only do I never intend to upgrade my current computers to Windows 10 (or 8.1), but I have lost trust in Microsoft ... so I have hidden all windows "nagware" patches/upgrades (such as KB2952664, KB2990214, KB3035503).

If Microsoft wants its customers to install Windows 10, then rather than using "nagware" to trick/nag people into installing it, they should create an Operating System that is so good, and so compelling, that people will be lined up waiting to install it. Unfortunately, it appears that Microsoft has forgotten how to create such an Operating System.