KB3035583 Installing Windows 10 using Windows Update?

Thank you for appreciating my perspective.  It is not often that we get that kind of feedback in this forum.

If you will visit my website, you will find a page named Prevent Windows 10 under the techies heading:

http://www.canadiantech.info/for-techies/prevent-windows-10/

I can not promise that the list published there is accurate or complete.  I do my best to keep on top of it and will update this page when I learn something different.

It is exciting to hear Kaspersky is building protection from this kind of malware.  I hope that the others will do the same.  The fact is that the Windows 10 installation thing meets every definition I ever heard of malware.

Please understand that the list is not just about preventing Windows 10, but also to prevent Microsoft spyware that feeds them information about how you use YOUR computer.  The bulk of the updates listed are specifically for that purpose.  You may also want to opt out of CEIP settings.  Customer Experience Improvement Program.  I really doubt Microsoft would use your data about how you use Windows 7 to improve Windows 7.  There is one CEIP setting in Windows -- just type customer in the text box above the start globe.  There is another buried deep into Microsoft Office.

Canadiantech, beautiful answer! I fully agree: Once the stuff is on your hard drive, you never know when Microsoft won’t be able to resist the tempation to install it all. – Today I got a (German) press release from Kaspersky: they now protect against "operating system changes" too. I promptly asked them, if they also protect against Win 7 to Win 10, and I’m curious how they will reply; I’lll let you know. – On my Thinkpad X61S here (With SSD!) I just switched to "never look for updates", sorrily, and will run Win 7 as my daughter runs XP: without updates, frozen. What a pity! From time to time I’ll look for what I miss, avoid the "updates" you list, and install the others. Naturally as simple user I don’t know what an individual updates does (and I don’t really want to know). I’ll have to look which "bad" ones had slipped through, and it’s all going to be annoying work for nothing, just for the love of Win 7. If ever I have to re-install a Win 7, further problems may arise, as Microsoft will try to kill it by shotgun before it sees the light of the world. – Might you be so generous as to put your list somewhere stable into the net, please.

Previously, there was a list on Askwoody.  It is not there any longer and I do not think he intends to do that.  I mostly agree with you.  Two comments:

1. If you use the "check for updates and let me choose whether to download and install them" setting, you may be in for a surprise.  I was using that on a client computer on my desk.  Windows updates were downloaded even though that was not the setting.  They were not installed at that time.  When I shut the computer down for the day, all the updates that Microsoft had downloaded and classified as "Important", were installed as part of the shut down process.  I use the Never setting on all of my clients' computers.  If you talk to Windows old timers you will find that is standard practice for them.
2. Here is my current list that I remove and prevent on all my 150 or so client computers:

KB3035583

KB2952664

KB2977759

KB3075249

KB3080149

KB3083710

KB3083324

KB3090045

SFC : KB3022345

SFC: KB3068708

These last 2 are labeled SFC because they essentially make the SFC command unusable, in addition to being mere spyware.

I must add that in the past many years, I have always regarded installation of these updates immediately as a prime method of keeping computer safe.  Unfortunately, Microsoft now offers a greater threat than the hackers/virus creators.  So, waiting for analysis of what is safe to install becomes a wise strategy.   I have all these clients who I have taught to do these updates immediately and now I have to tell them to ignore that previous advice.  Not nice!

Fitz:

>I set to »load ’em down, but let me install them manually«. Will that suffice?

With the setting you use, all updates are downloaded to your PC (whether you want/need them or not). That is a waste of network resources and hard drive space.

I recommend using either the setting "check for updates but let me choose" or the setting "never check". Then, wait several weeks after the monthly updates are released (for the bugs to be fixed and bad updates identified) ... and manually install just the updates you want/need.

>Also: at »Woody’s« I didn’t find a conscise list of **** updates. Could someone please directly point me to a regularily updated list of good and bad updates, ideally with comments.

I think each person needs to decide what updates that want and which they do not want. Making a list of updates that works for everyone would be very difficult.

Microsoft usually releases monthly updates on the second Tuesday of each month (the next monthly updates are due to be released on November 10). Usually a few days before the new monthly updates are to be released (approximately November 9), the "askwoody" site reviews the previous month's updates (October) and identifies which can be trusted and which cannot.

So, I recommend that you not install any of the October updates at this time. Check the "askwoody" site around November 9 and then select the October updates that you wish to install. Then continue with that pattern: just before a new month's updates are to be released, determine which updates from the previous month are appropriate for you and install them.

Hi,

You do have the option of "Never Update", it is the fourth option "Never check for updates (not recommended)" = "Nie nach Updates suchen (nicht empfohlen)".

I have mine set to "download, but let me choose to install."