# Microsoft Has To Pay Woman $10,000 For Sneaky Windows 10 Upgrade **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 29, 2016, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-has-to-pay-woman-10-000-for-sneaky-windows-10-upgrade/758666 "2016-06-29T02:22:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-has-to-pay-woman-10-000-for-sneaky-windows-10-upgrade/758666/1 "2016-06-29T02:22:20Z")
[https://www.yahoo.com/tech/microsoft-pay-woman-10-000-121026826.html?nhp=1](https://www.yahoo.com/tech/microsoft-pay-woman-10-000-121026826.html?nhp=1) > [@](#): > > Even though there may be some good reasons to upgrade (unless you like to pirate games), at least one user whose system updated without her direct consent is getting redress via the court system. As Seattle Times reports, California resident Teri Goldstein sued Microsoft when their tech support would not fix issues with her travel agency business computer, which became unusable for days after automatically installing Windows 10. > > She was suing for lost wages and the cost of a new computer, and she won $10,000. Microsoft has dropped their appeal of the case, to — in their words — “avoid the expense of further litigation,” although they haven’t admitted any wrongdoing. Yep, no wrongdoing at all. Because rendering a workplace computer inoperable with a software update somebody didn’t request, then sending them into a phone tree hell of incompetent, cut-rate tech support is definitely the right thing to do. Good for her. Microsoft’s behavior with Windows 10 has been reprehensible. [http://www.seattletimes.com/business/microsoft/microsoft-draws-flak-for-pushing-windows-10-on-pc-users/](http://www.seattletimes.com/business/microsoft/microsoft-draws-flak-for-pushing-windows-10-on-pc-users/) > [@](#): > > Mary Jo Foley, a journalist who has closely followed Microsoft for decades, wrote recently that the company has made saying no to Windows 10, particularly for nontech-savvy people, “nearly impossible to implement.” > > Paul Thurrott, another longtime Microsoft follower, criticized a recent pop-up asking users if they were ready to get Windows 10. In the prompt, the X in the upper-right corner — long known to Windows users as a way to exit a software program or abort a process — is interpreted by the update tool as an agreement to go ahead with Windows 10. > > “The violation of trust here is almost indescribable,” Thurrott wrote. I’ve avoided it thus far, but it’s required constant vigilance, including reading the details about every update before allowing it to be installed. I have a friend who’s been a programmer for decades who somehow managed to let it slip by and is now having all kinds of problems with his computer. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-has-to-pay-woman-10-000-for-sneaky-windows-10-upgrade/758666/2 "2016-06-29T02:51:03Z")
I finally took the plunge – things went okay. I had to reinstall printer drivers. [But, yeah, Microsoft was getting pretty damned pushy about it.](http://www.sandraandwoo.com/2016/06/09/0793-an-offer-you-cant-refuse-ww/) ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-has-to-pay-woman-10-000-for-sneaky-windows-10-upgrade/758666/3 "2016-06-29T02:54:58Z")
Someone here on the Dope (sorry, good person, I have forgotten who you were) turned me on to a little utility that allows you to turn off those pesky Windows 10 popups and update attempts. I believe it is called GWX Control Panel. It also allows you to install Windows 10 when you are ready and when you initiate the process. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-has-to-pay-woman-10-000-for-sneaky-windows-10-upgrade/758666/4 "2016-06-29T02:59:15Z")
I have zero problem with them offering the upgrade, but they’re doing it in the most underhanded way they can without outright forcing it without any notice or permission, and they would probably do that if they thought it wouldn’t cause a PR shitstorm. Of course they’re getting that shitstorm anyway. I’m guessing that this will not be the last lawsuit. There’s probably some kind of provision against class action suits hidden in their user agreements or they’d likely be facing a big one. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-has-to-pay-woman-10-000-for-sneaky-windows-10-upgrade/758666/5 "2016-06-29T03:00:20Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Someone here on the Dope (sorry, good person, I have forgotten who you were) turned me on to a little utility that allows you to turn off those pesky Windows 10 popups and update attempts. I believe it is called GWX Control Panel. It also allows you to install Windows 10 when you are ready and when you initiate the process. I have that. (I think I learned about it here, or possibly I’m the one who posted it.) Even so, I’m paranoid enough to also check out every update because I wouldn’t put it past Microsoft to try to find ways around such utilities. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-has-to-pay-woman-10-000-for-sneaky-windows-10-upgrade/758666/6 "2016-06-29T12:17:21Z")
We’ve had two computers upgrade to Windows 10 without any permission given to do so. I want my money. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-has-to-pay-woman-10-000-for-sneaky-windows-10-upgrade/758666/7 "2016-06-29T13:08:07Z")
My father in law is elderly and about as IT non-savvy as they come. He lives in another country and has no readily available tech support and relies in significant part on his computer for keeping in touch. We support him by remote access from here. He doesn’t need any damn upgraded OS. Next thing you know we are trying to deal with an OS that neither myself nor Mrs P are familiar with from halfway around the world. MS should be slapped repeatedly with wet fish. WTF do they think they are playing at? ---
**Author:** ![Askthepizzaguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askthepizzaguy/32/9405_2.png) [@Askthepizzaguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askthepizzaguy)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-has-to-pay-woman-10-000-for-sneaky-windows-10-upgrade/758666/8 "2016-06-29T13:16:30Z")
Each successive version of windows is worse than the previous one. Ever since XP, it’s been terrible. But there was a time when I could keep the shitty version I had, to make sure it didn’t get any worse. Fuck microsoft. This is what happens when companies get too much share of the marketplace. They stop giving a fuck what the customer even wants. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-has-to-pay-woman-10-000-for-sneaky-windows-10-upgrade/758666/9 "2016-06-29T13:34:55Z")
> [@Askthepizzaguy](#): > > Fuck microsoft. This is what happens when companies get too much share of the marketplace. They stop giving a fuck what the customer even wants. Their business model requires releasing new operating systems, when they were small they were pressured to release useful and effective software. However, when your product is already ubiquitous you’re left with generating a market through incompatibility. It’s not as if nexgen Minesweeper or Media Player is going to drive sales. ---
**Author:** ![Askthepizzaguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askthepizzaguy/32/9405_2.png) [@Askthepizzaguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askthepizzaguy)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-has-to-pay-woman-10-000-for-sneaky-windows-10-upgrade/758666/10 "2016-06-29T13:39:18Z")
It’s like when they build cars with the battery in the wheel well so you are likely to go get it serviced at a station instead of changing it yourself, because you have to take the wheel completely off just to change the battery. Fuck all companies whose models include designed obsolescence, incompatibility, or deliberately inconvenient so it’s more difficult or expensive to maintain. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-has-to-pay-woman-10-000-for-sneaky-windows-10-upgrade/758666/11 "2016-06-29T13:49:10Z")
> [@Askthepizzaguy](#): > > Each successive version of windows is worse than the previous one. Ever since XP, it’s been terrible. Oh, Vista is just terrible. I got given my mom’s laptop and it has Vista installed on it. I spent a fruitless two days trying to install Amazon Workspace Services on it so I could work from home. First it was - I need a new installer, the installer program was not updated. Found the installer program, it said “This update is not required for Vista.” I tried making an administrator account, running it as an administrator, everything. Finally I unplugged it and plugged in my netbook, which runs XP. AWS installed first go. I miss XP so much. Windows 7 is ok…not awful, but I never went to Windows 8. I suppose when I replace my PC eventually I will have to upgrade. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-has-to-pay-woman-10-000-for-sneaky-windows-10-upgrade/758666/12 "2016-06-29T15:24:30Z")
One thing that a lot of people don’t know is how much Windows 10 tracks everything you do. It’s probably the reason they’re not only giving it away for free but are aggressively pushing it on people. You can turn off a lot of the tracking, but you have to be at least minimally tech savvy to do so. Apparently, the home edition (as opposed to professional) doesn’t even allow you to turn off automatic updates, and the professional version makes it non-obvious and difficult to do so. This page gives a pretty good rundown of the privacy issues and how to disable a lot of the tracking. I’m used to having to change a bunch of settings when I get a new computer, but they’re making it more and more onerous to do so. > **[What Windows 10's "Privacy Nightmare" Settings Actually Do](https://lifehacker.com/what-windows-10s-privacy-nightmare-settings-actually-1722267229)** > > Windows 10 has some handy new features, but if you believe the rest of the internet, it also comes with features that eviscerate any semblance of privacy. But that view is a little overblown. Let’s take a closer look at what each of these settings... ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-has-to-pay-woman-10-000-for-sneaky-windows-10-upgrade/758666/13 "2016-06-29T15:38:10Z")
We got the window that said “do you want to install W10 now, or later?”. The one with no way to close it, and no way to say hell no! I did find a way out of the impenetrable window of doom, and found the GWX script and installed it. We are safe (for now!) from further MSBorg incursions to assimilate our W7 machine. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-has-to-pay-woman-10-000-for-sneaky-windows-10-upgrade/758666/14 "2016-06-29T15:51:58Z")
I have a laptop that I bought refurbished. I actually wanted to install 10 on it, and they wouldn’t let me because I have a refurb license on it. Then a few months later, they put 10 on it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-has-to-pay-woman-10-000-for-sneaky-windows-10-upgrade/758666/15 "2016-06-29T16:04:21Z")
> [@Askthepizzaguy](#): > > Fuck all companies whose models include designed obsolescence, incompatibility, or deliberately inconvenient so it’s more difficult or expensive to maintain. This is just another example of the Violent Insecure Male Patriarchy that runs society. Never under estimate The VIMP! ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-has-to-pay-woman-10-000-for-sneaky-windows-10-upgrade/758666/16 "2016-06-29T16:11:57Z")
> [@Askthepizzaguy](#): > > Each successive version of windows is worse than the previous one. Ever since XP, it’s been terrible. > > But there was a time when I could keep the shitty version I had, to make sure it didn’t get any worse. > > Fuck microsoft. This is what happens when companies get too much share of the marketplace. They stop giving a fuck what the customer even wants. You have a very strange way of saying “more stable and more secure.” The BSOD is nearly unheard of these days. And each successive version of Windows includes new ways to protect against malware. > [@](#): > > Despite the endless warnings from Microsoft, the security-related horror stories from users on Internet forums, and countless technology articles that advise people about the folly of continuing to use Windows XP, some individuals (and companies) simply will not listen. > > Believe it or not, there is an odd breed of computer owners out there who maintain that a 15-year-old operating system is both better and more user-friendly that the recently-released and much-praised Windows 10. > **[7 Ways Windows 10 is More Secure than Windows XP](https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/windows-10-secure-windows-xp/)** > > Even if you don't like Windows 10, you really should have migrated from Windows XP by now. We show you how the 13 year old operating system is now riddled with security issues. > [@](#): > > Windows 10 security incorporates years of improvements to remove or mitigate long-term issues with Windows vulnerabilities. [http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/feature/Longtime-Windows-vulnerabilities-fixed-in-Windows-10](http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/feature/Longtime-Windows-vulnerabilities-fixed-in-Windows-10) By the way, one of the big reasons why Microsoft has been doing this huge push towards Windows 10 is because many people simply will not bother to download security patches for their current system. That’s also why they’ve done such a big push towards automatic updates within 10. An awful lot of people are too stupid and too lazy to update their system. > [@](#): > > The most commonly targeted vulnerability in 2015 was a Windows flaw that came to light in 2010 after being exploited by the notorious Stuxnet malware, Microsoft said in its latest Security Intelligence Report (SIR). > **[Attackers Still Target Old Flaw Exploited by Stuxnet](https://www.securityweek.com/attackers-still-target-old-flaw-exploited-stuxnet/)** > > The flaw that was most commonly targeted in 2015 is one that was exploited by the Stuxnet malware back in 2010 ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-has-to-pay-woman-10-000-for-sneaky-windows-10-upgrade/758666/17 "2016-06-29T16:25:37Z")
> [@Askthepizzaguy](#): > > Each successive version of windows is worse than the previous one. Ever since XP, it’s been terrible. Having used Windows 3.1, 3.11, 95, 98, XP, Vista, 7, and 10, my vote for best ever is Windows 7. > [@boffking](#): > > I have a laptop that I bought refurbished. I actually wanted to install 10 on it, and they wouldn’t let me because I have a refurb license on it. Then a few months later, they put 10 on it anyway. That’ll teach you a lesson. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-has-to-pay-woman-10-000-for-sneaky-windows-10-upgrade/758666/18 "2016-06-29T17:58:42Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > One thing that a lot of people don’t know is how much Windows 10 tracks everything you do. It’s probably the reason they’re not only giving it away for free but are aggressively pushing it on people. You can turn off a lot of the tracking, but you have to be at least minimally tech savvy to do so. > Apparently, the home edition (as opposed to professional) doesn’t even allow you to turn off automatic updates, and the professional version makes it non-obvious and difficult to do so. > > This page gives a pretty good rundown of the privacy issues and how to disable a lot of the tracking. I’m used to having to change a bunch of settings when I get a new computer, but they’re making it more and more onerous to do so. > [What Windows 10's "Privacy Nightmare" Settings Actually Do | Lifehacker](http://lifehacker.com/what-windows-10s-privacy-nightmare-settings-actually-1722267229) Finally a Pitting I can get behind. If **Windows10** was a poster here he would have been banned for being a jerk long ago. Once you have installed Win 10 you need to go through the Settings, all of them, very slowly and turn off as much of the nanny, _we just want to help you, because we are selling your info_ crap. Cortina, Cortana? Divorce that bitch. And most of the other “features” that are new with 10. For some reason this stuff makes me highly unlikely to ever use the Edge browser. Hmm, wonder what it is really doing? After reading several links like the one you posted I now have Win 10 looking and acting like I want it to, which is mostly like Win 7 or 8. I got rid of all the tiles and touchscreen crap and made it look and operate like previous versions, more or less. But I still cannot turn off the automatic updates!! Trust me, Microsoft!, I will regularly check for updates but **at a time that I choose** , not you! I turn my computer off when I leave for work and turn it back on when I want to use it again. But if Win 10 decides to update there is no option when you shut the machine down to update later. Hit the windows icon and go to power, and turn off is gone and you only have the option of installing updates and restarting. Which can take time I do not want to spend right now. My computer desk has a built in surge protector and I just hit the red button and cut all the power. Update that Motherfuckers!! And when I get home after work I turn it back on and it updates just fine, never had an issue. But come on!! Can I think for myself a bit here? Apparently not as far as Microsoft is concerned. With my apologies to the Outer Limits: “There is nothing wrong with your computer. Do not attempt to adjust the settings. We are now in control of the operation and updates. We control the appearance and the ease of use. We can deluge you with a thousand tracking cookies, or expand one single camera to crystal clarity and forward it to the NSA. We can shape your internet usage to anything our profit margin can conceive. For the rest of your life, we will control all that you see and hear.” ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-has-to-pay-woman-10-000-for-sneaky-windows-10-upgrade/758666/19 "2016-06-29T18:07:55Z")
Yeah, in some ways I do like 10, but it is pretty creepy how much it tracks. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-has-to-pay-woman-10-000-for-sneaky-windows-10-upgrade/758666/20 "2016-06-29T21:30:03Z")
> [@Askthepizzaguy](#): > > Each successive version of windows is worse than the previous one. Ever since XP, it’s been terrible. Because 95, 98 and ME were SO awesome? :rolleyes: XP was good, I’ll grant you. But it hasn’t been a downhill slide from there. Vista and 8 suck balls, but 7 is pretty solid (as good, if not better than XP overall), and as best as I can tell, 10 is supposed to be pretty good as well, minus the shady and obnoxious upgrade tactics and automatic upgrades. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-has-to-pay-woman-10-000-for-sneaky-windows-10-upgrade/758666.md?page=2)