Banishing 'Get Windows 10' Nagware Isn't As Easy As You Think

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By now we all know that getting rid of the 'Get Windows 10' nagware isn't as easy as we thought. In fact, the only surefire way I know of to permanently get rid of the nagware is to upgrade to Windows 10. ;)

Both approaches temporarily block the immediate threat of "Get Windows 10" by removing the GWX icon in the Win7 and Win8.1 system tray and by derailing some of the Windows 10 update programs that are currently installed. Neither approach, however, will remove background tasks that bring GWX back, reclaim the 3GB to 6GB of hidden installation files Microsoft may have surreptitiously stored in the $Windows.~BT folder, nor will they keep your system protected if future Microsoft-initiated GWX attacks similar to the old ones occur again.
 
this-windows-10-joke-just-won-the-internet-491641-3.jpg
 
you want updates turned off? because this is how you get updated turned off
 
Basically two things need to happen.

1: Lawsuit against Microsoft for their predatory practices with this.

2: AV Vendors need to classify GWX and it's components as the malware that they are.
 
Soooo... I haven't been nagged by GWX in forever.
I just hid the "update" back in... August or September?
I have gotten ZERO "Get Windows 10" nags since then.
 
Ive done a few win7 installs since summer (probably 5 or so) and I just blocked KB3035583, and haven't had the icon on any of the machines.
 
I keep hding the update, it keeps coming back. its on a machine I'm not going to upgrade so I wish it'd just get lost.
 
Destroy Windows Spying: http://dws.wzor.net/

Works on Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10. It removes the update for GWX on Windows 7 among other worthless updates.

My recommendation: Get the latest updates on Windows 7 including all optional updates. Then, run Destroy Windows Spying. Hide all updates that show up on the normal and optional update list. Enjoy.
 
earnolmartin said:
Destroy Windows Spying: http://dws.wzor.net/

Works on Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10. It removes the update for GWX on Windows 7 among other worthless updates.

My recommendation: Get the latest updates on Windows 7 including all optional updates. Then, run Destroy Windows Spying. Hide all updates that show up on the normal and optional update list. Enjoy.
Click to expand...

This better than the Spybot Anti-Beacon? About to do a couple Win10 installs for myself, so trying to figure out all this crap, not to concerned really, I have nothing to hide, just don't like the snooping fucks in my shit!
 
jojo69 said:
you want updates turned off? because this is how you get updated turned off
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I have done on my Windows 7 HTPC.
Since I don't browse the web or read emails on it, Microsoft update is the only malware it's exposed to.
 
it's simple, you don't need any 3rd party programs or mess with any registry settings...just don't install KB3035583...easy...and make sure to watch for any new KB3035583 updates MS releases in the future...I've done multiple clean installs of Windows 7 and don't install that update and I've never seen a Windows 10 nag screen
 
Chas said:
Basically two things need to happen.

1: Lawsuit against Microsoft for their predatory practices with this.

2: AV Vendors need to classify GWX and it's components as the malware that they are.
Click to expand...

Or http://ultimateoutsider.com/downloads/
GWX Control Panel
This is a free tool that can remove and disable the 'Get Windows 10' notification area icon on Windows 7 and Windows 8. Recent versions can also disable 'Upgrade to Windows 10' behavior in the Windows Update control panel and do much more.
 
I have the Windows 7 evaluation version from subscribing to Technet and while I have the Win10 offer, I have had zero nags or popups or anything. I wonder if that's why?
 
Seriously, Microsoft just needs to stop! I know they desperately want Windows 10 to succeed, but pushing nagware onto older operating systems is scummy business practices.

If you want people to adopt your "new" OS, try release something that they desire to have. Design an OS with a well built/symmetrical UI that's polished and easy to use. Give people a reason to "want" to upgrade. Stop trying to push your crap/vision down our throats.

I've lost a lot of respect for Microsoft over the years. It seems that no one is in charge of this ship anymore and that it's slowly drifting out to sea...
 
Windows 10 unwanted upgrade shenanigans:

wEz4t85.png


Uninstall/block that crap every update Tuesday.
 
OregonLAN said:
If you want people to adopt your "new" OS, try release something that they desire to have. Design an OS with a well built/symmetrical UI that's polished and easy to use. Give people a reason to "want" to upgrade. Stop trying to push your crap/vision down our throats.
Click to expand...

A lot of folks here say that Windows 7 is the bomb, but many XP users never upgraded existing hardware. How is the average user supposed to understand your concept of a better OS or try it because anonymous people on the Internet give it their seal of approval or complete disdain of it?

The best way to figure out if one likes something it to try it first hand. The facility to roll back to the prior OS is there. I've never tried it, I've heard mixed things about that process online as I have Windows 10. Personally at this point the issues I'm having and have seen first hand with others are few.

I agree that for those that don't want the upgrade there should be an easier way to do ignore it for good. But there's going to be those that will want this upgrade and STILL wonder why they haven't gotten it. This is the first time that Microsoft has done something like this with Windows. For desktop computers it is unprecedented in the scale to upgrade existing hardware. Many people will like the upgrade and features and won't mind the privacy situation if they understand what's there without a ton of FUD from people who never used this stuff and think Facebook is the devil.
 
heatlesssun said:
A lot of folks here say that Windows 7 is the bomb, but many XP users never upgraded existing hardware. How is the average user supposed to understand your concept of a better OS or try it because anonymous people on the Internet give it their seal of approval or complete disdain of it?

The best way to figure out if one likes something it to try it first hand. The facility to roll back to the prior OS is there. I've never tried it, I've heard mixed things about that process online as I have Windows 10. Personally at this point the issues I'm having and have seen first hand with others are few.



I agree that for those that don't want the upgrade there should be an easier way to do ignore it for good. But there's going to be those that will want this upgrade and STILL wonder why they haven't gotten it.



This is the first time that Microsoft has done something like this with Windows. For desktop computers it is unprecedented in the scale to upgrade existing hardware. Many people will like the upgrade and features and won't mind the privacy situation if they understand what's there without a ton of FUD from people who never used this stuff and think Facebook is the devil.
Click to expand...
Not necessarily. You can rely on feedback from folk that you respect to get a perspective of what's being offered, and based on said feedback make your decision.
From what I've seen, this is simply not the case. Folk have said that the popup kept coming up so finally they clicked on it and now have a NEW OS that they don't like.
Many people won't like the upgrade as well. Don't know what Facebook has to do with this, but as I don't have a Facebook account that might be on me.
 
OregonLAN said:
Seriously, Microsoft just needs to stop! I know they desperately want Windows 10 to succeed, but pushing nagware onto older operating systems is scummy business practices.

If you want people to adopt your "new" OS, try release something that they desire to have. Design an OS with a well built/symmetrical UI that's polished and easy to use. Give people a reason to "want" to upgrade. Stop trying to push your crap/vision down our throats.

I've lost a lot of respect for Microsoft over the years. It seems that no one is in charge of this ship anymore and that it's slowly drifting out to sea...
Click to expand...

It's industry standard practice now. Apple started it with iOS, rolled it out to Mac OS later. Google does it with Android. Now Microsoft moves to a rolling version update process and people scream. It's strange how many double standards people have that only apply to Microsoft. This is genuinely what the average consumer wants now and Microsoft is just listening to them.
 
heatlesssun said:
A lot of folks here say that Windows 7 is the bomb, but many XP users never upgraded existing hardware. How is the average user supposed to understand your concept of a better OS or try it because anonymous people on the Internet give it their seal of approval or complete disdain of it?

The best way to figure out if one likes something it to try it first hand. The facility to roll back to the prior OS is there. I've never tried it, I've heard mixed things about that process online as I have Windows 10. Personally at this point the issues I'm having and have seen first hand with others are few.

I agree that for those that don't want the upgrade there should be an easier way to do ignore it for good. But there's going to be those that will want this upgrade and STILL wonder why they haven't gotten it. This is the first time that Microsoft has done something like this with Windows. For desktop computers it is unprecedented in the scale to upgrade existing hardware. Many people will like the upgrade and features and won't mind the privacy situation if they understand what's there without a ton of FUD from people who never used this stuff and think Facebook is the devil.
Click to expand...

So, you think it's OK to nag the users to "try" a new OS? My version of Photoshop nags me to upgrade every now and then; it bugs the crap out of me. Should I be OK with it?

If Microsoft released a refined/polished OS with significant improvements over the previous, techs would review it favorably. With a little advertisement and marketing, it would have a successful adoption rate. That's how marketing works. Instead, Microsoft is trying to keep up with the Jones' by releasing a new/fancy Windows every ~2 years. Now, they are giving it away for free and nagging people to upgrade in hopes that Windows 7 will not become another Windows XP incident.
 
"The only surefire way to avoid it is to upgrade to LINUX" There, fixed it for ya!
 
Quix said:
Google does it with Android.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I remember when people thought there wouldn't be an Android 5.0 because of the Jelly Bean/KitKat releases, but they were wrong. The major update 5.0 was followed by a 5.1 point release, then another major update in 6.0. lol You seem to have the same misconception about iOS and OS X, both of which also still have major discrete update releases and are not simply marketing patches like MS is doing.

You might be confused about the concept of modular updates, which allow portions of the OS to be updated without reinstalling a whole new system image as had been done with mobile OSs in the past. Briefly, that allows relatively minor changes to be applied in much smaller patches than a whole >600MB OS update. It has nothing to do with regular major updates Android, iOS and OS X still have on schedule.

Modular patching within a release is different from the concept of OS as a Service, which is what MS is doing. As MS said, Windows 10 is the "last" OS version it is making. Worthless crap will be bolted on in forced updates as MS now controls the PC OS on every device with W10 installed.
 
mnewxcv said:
Ive done a few win7 installs since summer (probably 5 or so) and I just blocked KB3035583, and haven't had the icon on any of the machines.
Click to expand...

same here!
My new campaign is "F 10"
Still waiting for holograms they promised.
 
gimp said:
Soooo... I haven't been nagged by GWX in forever.
I just hid the "update" back in... August or September?
I have gotten ZERO "Get Windows 10" nags since then.
Click to expand...

It seems to be more prevalent with new installations of Windows 7. A goddamn popup asking you to choose between "upgrade now" and "download now, upgrade later" a few times a week.

On machines with installations pre-dating W10, it doesn't nag as much.
 
Jim Kim said:
Or http://ultimateoutsider.com/downloads/
GWX Control Panel
This is a free tool that can remove and disable the 'Get Windows 10' notification area icon on Windows 7 and Windows 8. Recent versions can also disable 'Upgrade to Windows 10' behavior in the Windows Update control panel and do much more.
Click to expand...

No. Because this is relying on the end-user to band-aid the real problem.

Microsoft pushing malware and spyrware into their own products.
 
Windows 10 isn't even all that bad, but the simply fact they're pulling out all stops to get people to upgrade, including these shady nagware tricks, makes them look sinister. More than anything it's just frustrating. I've already almost upgraded accidentally a couple times now.and my father has already had clients who did the same and lost massive amounts of data during the upgrade.

If that's the kind of direction Microsoft is going, then I'm majorly disappointed. Ever since Windows 8 it seems like they've lost their stability business aspect and sacrificed it for this uptempo hipster culture.
 
Liger88 said:
I've already almost upgraded accidentally a couple times now.and my father has already had clients who did the same and lost massive amounts of data during the upgrade.
Click to expand...

How did that happen? And if it did you were a hard drive failure or malware infection away from it happening anyway.
 
lol kb2952664 is back again today. This is about the 4th time I've hidden it.
 
Liger88 said:
I've already almost upgraded accidentally a couple times now.and my father has already had clients who did the same and lost massive amounts of data during the upgrade.
Click to expand...

Same thing happened to a customer of mine . He lost an entire semester of school work. The whole upgrade process and ability to roll back is a sham.


At least now he backs up his data.
 
Jim Kim said:
Same thing happened to a customer of mine . He lost an entire semester of school work. The whole upgrade process and ability to roll back is a sham.


At least now he backs up his data.
Click to expand...

Would someone please tell me how this happens? I've updated, helped update or heard about in the neighborhood of 30 updates from 7 and 8.1 and I've not yet heard about anyone losing data. I've not really even heard mention of it in the typical Windows bashing places. Uninstalled programs (which technically are really not reinstalled programs), privacy settings, stuff like that, but never data loss being an issue.
 
I can't wait until the day comes when it is discovered that heatlesssun is a Microsoft executive.
 
Or, more logically I'm genuinely curious how something this catastrophic happens on any kind of routine basis when I've personally heard little and never seen it. Including the times I've updated Insider Builds I've done this process a lot. It's not perfect but not once have I experienced in data loss.
 
earnolmartin said:
Destroy Windows Spying: http://dws.wzor.net/

Works on Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10. It removes the update for GWX on Windows 7 among other worthless updates.

My recommendation: Get the latest updates on Windows 7 including all optional updates. Then, run Destroy Windows Spying. Hide all updates that show up on the normal and optional update list. Enjoy.
Click to expand...

i second this. this is now as important in my personal flash drive i carry with me as ccleaner
 
heatlesssun said:
Or, more logically I'm genuinely curious how something this catastrophic happens on any kind of routine basis when I've personally heard little and never seen it. Including the times I've updated Insider Builds I've done this process a lot. It's not perfect but not once have I experienced in data loss.
Click to expand...

"Welp it didn't happen to me so I don't know WTF everyone else is talking about. "
 
DPI said:
"Welp it didn't happen to me so I don't know WTF everyone else is talking about. "
Click to expand...

And again, how would anyone know what others are talking about if they've no experience with the issue? Some details would be nice. Did the upgrade work and the data files just disappeared? Did the upgrade fail, the machine, and everything was lost? Was data really lost? Could the drive been installed in another PC and files recovered?

All legitimate and honest questions. Just because you and I may not agree on something like Windows 10 doesn't mean that reasonable questions shouldn't be asked on both sides of the issue. Can't really learn otherwise.
 
DPI said:
"Welp it didn't happen to me so I don't know WTF everyone else is talking about. "
Click to expand...

"Welp, it didn't happen to me but it happened to one of my father's clients but I don't know how"
"Welp it didn't happen to me but it happened to a customer of mine but I don't know how"

Where's the first hand accounts and explanations of how it happens?
 
Stiletto said:
The most common and useless quote on tech message boards since the turn of the century.
Click to expand...

A lot less useless than someone saying they have a problem and can't provide a single detail as to what was really going on. Anyone that's worked enough with end users and tech know this well.
 
I have no reason to banish Windows 10 from my computers because it works really well. DPI, I guess the truth hurts, huh?
 
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