It seems that Microsoft is hellbent on forcing users on Windows 7 and 8.1 to upgrade to Windows 10.
As pointed out on Reddit, Microsoft has employed yet another deceptive tactic to get users to make the shift. As of late, the upgrade notice has been included as part of Microsoft’s Recommended Updates, taking advantage of the potential that Windows users on older systems may accidentally get themselves signed up for the new upgrade.
What’s tricky about the recommended update is that it only gives users the option of upgrading immediately or downloading the upgrade for installation later on.
They’ve since changed the layout of the prompt, offering similar options, but with an added tiny link allowing upgrade date changes or full cancellation if required.
Photo: LumpymayoBNI/redditNot so bad, right?
Wrong!
If users decide to cancel the notification by clicking the X button to the top, it pretty much acts as an acceptance button, setting up the machine for an upgrade within 15 minutes. Luckily it’s still not the end of the world as users can still edit the upgrade schedule after or cancel it entirely.
However, if you were unable to change the date in time and entered the upgrade cycle, the process can be canceled by simply declining the EULA agreement.
Ok, so you wasted some time but things were still salvageable.
No where in that notice does it say clicking on the X constitutes consent to upgrade and defies the many years of what users have come to know the X button function for, i.e. canceling and closing windows.
How to restrict Windows 10 updates
There’s a popular tool called GWX Control Panel which can be used to disable those pesky Windows 10 upgrade prompts. It won’t prevent the actual updates from being downloaded to your PC, but it will definitely help you avoid accidentally finding yourself upgrading to Windows 10.
Oddly enough, I can’t really say I hate Windows 10, but Microsoft is engaging in the same nonsense tactics that spammers and phishers use to trap unsuspecting readers into clicking bad links. Streamlining users onto a single platform makes sense when it comes to trying to deliver the same user experience to everyone, but tricking users into upgrading to a new platform just does not make sense. HaTTiP
