Is Microsoft into trojans or spyware?

[Iwanushka]

If you have second gpu e.g. integrated in cpu + discrete amd/nvidia you can run windows in kvm with gpu passthrough and you will het around 90% GPU performance as on real windows, so you can use all 3d stuff in virtual machine

[Red Squirrel]

If you have second gpu e.g. integrated in cpu + discrete amd/nvidia you can run windows in kvm with gpu passthrough and you will het around 90% GPU performance as on real windows, so you can use all 3d stuff in virtual machine

The issue is most games refuse to even START.  They want to see a discrete graphics card.   

[Iwanushka]

If you have second gpu e.g. integrated in cpu + discrete amd/nvidia you can run windows in kvm with gpu passthrough and you will het around 90% GPU performance as on real windows, so you can use all 3d stuff in virtual machine

The issue is most games refuse to even START.  They want to see a discrete graphics card.

that's the point of this, Windows Virtual Machine gets direct access to the GPU, so it's the same as running windows on baremetal

[edy]

Here's an article on Forbes from 12 hours ago (as of this posting). Is it just me, or do you see an obvious spelling mistake?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2016/05/25/microsoft-windows-10-upgrade-warning

Just in case they change it, I have attached a screenshot.

Perhaps they were using Windows 10 Spell-Checker? 

[ZeTeX]

Here's an article on Forbes from 12 hours ago (as of this posting). Is it just me, or do you see an obvious spelling mistake?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2016/05/25/microsoft-windows-10-upgrade-warning

Just in case they change it, I have attached a screenshot.

Perhaps they were using Windows 10 Spell-Checker? 

Are canadian afraid of the dark?

[madires]

The real PITA is that MS says that Win10 is going to stay. No WIn11 which will fix all issues, like WIn7 for Vista. So it's time to make a decision. Staying with Win7 as long as possible and moving to another OS, or swallowing the very bitter pill? Not an easy decision, especially if you run some special windows-only software. Virtualization can help, as long as your software runs with Win7. It's a mess!

[rrinker]

 Just because they aren't going to keep changing the version number (which is just the name, not the actual internal version number of the software) doesn't mean a damn thing - updates will keep coming, they just aren't going to play a silly marketing game and change the name of the OS any more. Apple has been OS X for how many years now? There are new versions all the time, but regardless of the version, the name of the operating system is OS X. So with Microsoft, it will be Windows 10, at least until some other marketing maven joins the executive team and convinces everyone this is a bad idea. But there will be new versions. Just because the name doesn't change doesn't mean the software will remain stagnant.
 ANd still "Fix all the issues" I love reading the tech rags, which have seemingly all devolved to the same total lack of actual technical reporting as places like CNET and so forth, all they do is post article after article of "issues" and make it sound like anyone running Windows 10 is having these problems. I have a 6 year old laptop I upgraded from 8.1 to 10, a 5 year old desktop I upgraded from 7 to 10, and two new desktop machines I built with 8.1 because that's what I own and then immediately (before installing any other software) upgraded to 10. All work fine, all have been receiving updates, and never have they had any of the fail to boot after some broken update issues that have been so harped upon by the "trade press" (I'm talking InfoWorld type publications). They all sync the same OneDrive account beautifully, so I can work on my model railroad CAD on the dual screen desktop, then pull up the plan on my laptop from some hotel room across the country, or work on an Arduino sketch on my workbench machine and then pull it up on the other desktop to make a change. Even better is that all my bookmarks sync across machines, no more "I knew I had this interesting site bookmarked, must have been on one of the other machines".

[rdl]

I don't think the most serious problems with Windows 10 have anything to do with broken updates or installation failures.

[Jeroen3]

Microsoft just made the X button the "yes please upgrade" button. 

[madires]

And more fun. The Anniversary Update (planned for end of July) requires 2GB RAM (current system requirement for Win10 is 1GB RAM). Also note that Win10 users only get security fixes when they run the latest version (feature update), as stated by the service policy. If you got a tablet with 1GB RAM and have upgraded to Win10 you can't install the Anniversary Update, and therefore you won't get any security fixes anymore, possibly.

[Tinkerer]

Microsoft just made the X button the "yes please upgrade" button. 

They really did that?

[G7PSK]

Microsoft just made the X button the "yes please upgrade" button. 

They really did that?

https://youtu.be/kJ9KkVfLDno

[ZeTeX]

Microsoft just made the X button the "yes please upgrade" button. 

They really did that?

https://youtu.be/kJ9KkVfLDno

What the fuck is wrong with Microsoft? they are going full asshole on this one.

[engineer_in_shorts]

Microsoft just made the X button the "yes please upgrade" button. 

They really did that?

No. Actually this box is just a notification that the upgrade is scheduled.  So the X is just closing the notification and it's a msgbox just to make it clear to the user that it is still scheduled.

[engineer_in_shorts]

Microsoft just made the X button the "yes please upgrade" button. 

They really did that?

[You tube Video]

Terrible blog, he doesn't even show the latest look of the GWX or what happens.   

[suicidaleggroll]

No. Actually this box is just a notification that the upgrade is scheduled.  So the X is just closing the notification and it's a msgbox just to make it clear to the user that it is still scheduled.

And that's better?

So instead of just being a confusing dialog box intended to trick users into agreeing, after 10 months of the user saying "No", "No", "No", "I don't want it", "Leave me alone", "No", Microsoft has decided to say "Fuck you, we're going to install it anyway, here's a confusing dialog box that looks like another request, but actually it's just telling you that we're going against everything you've said and doing it anyway, good luck trying to stop it".

I always thought this was a video of a bunch of asshole frat guys, turns out it's just Microsoft's Windows 10 department:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=fdb_1287415182

[edy]

I just updated my father's computer to Windows 10 (from remote, using Teamviewer... as he lives 1000 miles away). He called me in a panic that he got this "Your Files have been encrypted" Virus and that he was being asked to send some Bitcoins. At that point.... I figured it was all over.... There was no way we would pay ransom and the computer was going to just be better off getting wiped clean of the infection and whatever files he had lost would just need to be restored from backup (Which he doesn't do). 

Anyways, I cleaned his machine up using Malwarebytes and did a thorough scanning with Avira.... Both found thousands of infected files which were eliminated. I figured, I may as well install Windows 10 because it's not my machine.    And it is better than the Windows 8.1 garbage he was running before with the "Tiles" layout.

NOTE: I noticed he had no "upgrade" path to Windows 10.... No Get Windows 10 icon, and Nothing in Windows Update! I had to actually go to the Windows 10 microsoft website and download their Windows 10 update utility to do it! Has anyone else noticed this on a Windows 8.1 installation?

Windows 10 installed, even after several reboots I was still able to re-establish a connection with Teamviewer as soon as it booted, and finished scanning and all is clean. I tried opening some of the so-called "encrypted" files and they worked!     That makes no sense..... Perhaps he was infected with something else? Or maybe he was confused by a pop-up that showed up on his screen that was spoofing the same type of virus? Anyways, we dodged that bullet.... 

So yeah... Windows 10, to replace Windows 8.1. If he was Windows 7, I would probably not have upgraded him. But seeing he was on Windows 8.1 and we had actually installed 3rd-party utilities to remove the tile interface and make it look more like class Windows with the Start menu, I'm actually kind of liking Windows 10 layout.

We'll see how long he stays virus free though. I keep telling him to be careful not to open attachments from his buddy who sends him jokes through email, but he does not listen! 

[Jeroen3]

You've run malwarebytes, that would have removed the upgrade malware. 

[MrSlack]

We'll see how long he stays virus free though. I keep telling him to be careful not to open attachments from his buddy who sends him jokes through email, but he does not listen! 

This is why I get non tech savvy people to buy Chromebooks these days. They can't screw them up however hard they try. If they manage to bust the hardware, I tell them to go buy another one and just log into it. Problem solved. While I'm no fan of "the cloud" as such, for some people it's better for them than letting them be in charge of their own data and devices.

[edy]

We'll see how long he stays virus free though. I keep telling him to be careful not to open attachments from his buddy who sends him jokes through email, but he does not listen! 

This is why I get non tech savvy people to buy Chromebooks these days. They can't screw them up however hard they try. If they manage to bust the hardware, I tell them to go buy another one and just log into it. Problem solved. While I'm no fan of "the cloud" as such, for some people it's better for them than letting them be in charge of their own data and devices.

Yes, when he called me and told me his computer said "I encrypted your file, pay me Bitcoins"... I immediately thought he was completely foobared. I told him to buy a Chromebook while I figure out how to get his computer out of this mess from a remote connection. I didn't think I would be able to get in remotely, and even then I didn't think his files would make it through in a readable format.

Anyways, before he had a chance to buy anything, I got in and fixed it up. NOW... I was really interested in putting some Linux version on his machine, and I may still set up a dual-boot system just to be on the safe side. If he gets in trouble again, he could boot into Linux and away he goes. But I cannot trust he'll know what to do with a Linux machine. I would have to constantly manage it from remote, and get questions all day long. So Windows 10 it is for now.... Until the next crisis. Meanwhile, if he is mostly cloud-based I would ask him to pick up a Chromebook anyways just to have in case.

[retiredcaps]

We'll see how long he stays virus free though. I keep telling him to be careful not to open attachments from his buddy who sends him jokes through email, but he does not listen! 

Did you setup your Dad's account as a guest/standard user or with full administrative?  Before I switched a relative to guest/standard, I would have to re-install Windows every 6 months due to viruses despite best practices (firewall, AV, etc).  Ever since limiting access, I have had no problems since then.  I also installed an adblocker as he is somewhat gullible.

I know when I use my local public library computers, they have Windows locked down.  I'm not a Windows expert, but I wonder if you can lock down certain functions?

As for Linux, I use Lubuntu and spend 95% of my time using a browser.  If your Dad mainly uses a browser, making the switch to Linux will require minimal, but some training.

[ZeTeX]

I just updated my father's computer to Windows 10 (from remote, using Teamviewer... as he lives 1000 miles away). He called me in a panic that he got this "Your Files have been encrypted" Virus and that he was being asked to send some Bitcoins. At that point.... I figured it was all over.... There was no way we would pay ransom and the computer was going to just be better off getting wiped clean of the infection and whatever files he had lost would just need to be restored from backup (Which he doesn't do). 

Anyways, I cleaned his machine up using Malwarebytes and did a thorough scanning with Avira.... Both found thousands of infected files which were eliminated. I figured, I may as well install Windows 10 because it's not my machine.    And it is better than the Windows 8.1 garbage he was running before with the "Tiles" layout.

NOTE: I noticed he had no "upgrade" path to Windows 10.... No Get Windows 10 icon, and Nothing in Windows Update! I had to actually go to the Windows 10 microsoft website and download their Windows 10 update utility to do it! Has anyone else noticed this on a Windows 8.1 installation?

Windows 10 installed, even after several reboots I was still able to re-establish a connection with Teamviewer as soon as it booted, and finished scanning and all is clean. I tried opening some of the so-called "encrypted" files and they worked!     That makes no sense..... Perhaps he was infected with something else? Or maybe he was confused by a pop-up that showed up on his screen that was spoofing the same type of virus? Anyways, we dodged that bullet.... 

So yeah... Windows 10, to replace Windows 8.1. If he was Windows 7, I would probably not have upgraded him. But seeing he was on Windows 8.1 and we had actually installed 3rd-party utilities to remove the tile interface and make it look more like class Windows with the Start menu, I'm actually kind of liking Windows 10 layout.

We'll see how long he stays virus free though. I keep telling him to be careful not to open attachments from his buddy who sends him jokes through email, but he does not listen! 

Just install a good anti virus and a good firewall that is setup correctly, also a couple of ad blockers to Firefox would not hurt.

[MrSlack]

Never enough. Prevention is better than cure here.

[GEuser]

We'll see how long he stays virus free though. I keep telling him to be careful not to open attachments from his buddy who sends him jokes through email, but he does not listen! 

I know when I use my local public library computers, they have Windows locked down.  I'm not a Windows expert, but I wonder if you can lock down certain functions?

Same here , i looked into it (can't recall the software name though) and it's a propriety software they can use , it also does not allow anything to be kept or saved after a reboot and it will not allow anything to be altered after a first boot , it also is password protected at first boot and if one does not login it just loads up the protected environment base installation which cannot be fiddled with .

If the Library does not let the Admins in there (out rural here) often one sees heaps of popups saying new drivers and updates are ready to be installed over and over again (by day) as no one has got in the computer and updated everything and as nothing is saved it repeats itself , its mildly annoying .

[Brumby]

Came across a bit of Microsoft fun yesterday...

I've been having some hassles with the Microsoft Update process running one of my CPU cores flat out - and doing absolutely nothing.  I haven't had any updates for a couple of weeks, so I was keen to sort it out.

Anyway, yesterday I finally was able to get into Windows Update and decided to test the waters by doing a manual update and only selecting ONE of the 'important' updates (there were 14) and see how that went.  I was not going to do any 'optional' updates.

However, as I was about to click on the 'let's go' button, I noticed it said there was 1 important and 1 optional update selected.   

I stepped back to check the 'optional' updates and found the optional Win 10 update had been selected for me.     That was unchecked really quickly.


Now I'm really wondering if I want to risk doing any more updates ever again.