microsoft

A British consumer group charity has slammed Microsoft over Windows 10. It says it's received more than a thousand complaint from users disappointed with the upgrade. The report comes from "Which?" (also known as the Consumers Association) - an ... organization similar in concept and operation to Consumer Reports in the United States. In many cases, the complainants said they either felt nagged to get the upgrade, or had it installed against their will. The organization said that for many of its members, "Windows 10 has been foisted on them like an unwelcome house guest. ... (view more)

Several tech giants have backed Microsoft in its attempt to overturn what it calls a gagging order over government data requests. The company says such orders are a double breach of the constitution. The case relates to the Store Communications Act, ... which is related to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. In a nutshell, the law allows law enforcement officials to get a court order forcing tech companies to hand over details of customer activity, if it relates to an ongoing investigation. The controversial part is that the government can also ask the court to order the tech company not ... (view more)

A consumer rights group has slammed Windows 10's privacy settings. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) says Microsoft is unfairly linking privacy to security in its update system. The attack comes in a lengthy blog post by the EFF's Amul Kalia, ... published just after Microsoft released its Windows 10 Anniversary Update. It starts by recapping the numerous complaints about Microsoft using unfair measures to try to maximize the number of people upgrading to the system, including closing an on-screen window as consent for the installation. (Source: eff.org ) Data Transfer Is " ... (view more)

Microsoft has confirmed some Windows 10 computers may freeze up after the latest update. It says starting in Safe mode is one way to get round the problem while a permanent fix is developed. The problem comes with the Windows 10 "Anniversary Update" ... (Build 14393.51), which is the recently-released biggest set of changes since Windows 10 was released. In previous editions of Windows, this significant update might be considered the equivalent of a Service Pack. According to Microsoft, the Anniversary Update problem only affects computers with a specific set-up, namely that the ... (view more)

Just days after the deadline for free upgrades to Windows 10 passed (July 29, 2016), the first Windows 10 loophole has emerged. Reports suggest that users with disabilities can still claim the free Windows 10 upgrade, but proving eligibility appears ... to be nothing more than an honor check. For most users, the deadline for the free Windows 10 upgrade offer has passed and attempting to download and install Windows 10 from Microsoft's website now brings up only an option to buy the system, which costs $120 for the standard Home edition. However, Microsoft also has a separate page for people ... (view more)

Microsoft is giving Windows 10 one last push before the free upgrade offer ends on July 29 for Windows 7 and 8 users. It comes through a full-screen pop-up message that could well irritate those who have chosen to give the new system a miss. The new ... message will appear for some, but not all users who have yet to upgrade. It takes up the full screen and is white text on a blue background. That's a curious choice, as that color scheme is traditionally associated with the Blue Screen of Death , particularly in full-screen use. (Source: theverge.com ) Upgrade Message Includes Apology The ... (view more)

Microsoft says it will backtrack on one of the most controversial elements of its campaign to push users towards Windows 10. It will no longer interpret clicking a close window button (the "X") as authorizing an installation of the new operating ... system. Since launching the system last year , Microsoft has been slowly ramping up its efforts to get people installing Windows 10. It's moved from the original position of having user actively seek out the system through a "pre-registration" tool to eventually reaching the point when Windows 10 was considered a recommended ... (view more)

Microsoft has agreed to pay $10,000 to a woman who says her computer was wrecked by an unwanted Windows 10 upgrade. The terms of the payment means there's no guarantee others in the same situation would prevail in court. Teri Goldstein says her ... computer automatically downloaded and attempted to install Windows 10 just days after it was released last July. If that's the case, that timeline certainly suggests some form of technical mistake as its only in recent months that Microsoft has stepped up its program of pushing the system out as an automatic update to many users. Broken ... (view more)

A newly-publicized take on a long-running scam involves on-screen messages that falsely appear to be from a user's Internet service provider. It's a trick with a variety of ways to profit from the customer. For many years, scammers have been calling ... people on the telephone claiming to work for Microsoft or other computer companies, saying the person receiving the call has a virus. The scammer will then usually try to get the victim to pay for bogus tech support services. While most people realize it's a scam, the idea is to call enough people so that even a small percentage of ... (view more)

Microsoft claims its Edge browser uses far less battery power on laptops than rivals such as Google Chrome. The claims come as it publishes details of further tweaks to the browser's power demands. To back up its claims, Microsoft has released the ... results of tests it carried out using its own Surface Book computer, along with data gathered remotely from Windows 10 computers. As with any such non-independent tests, it's always worth remembering that not only could the setup of the tests be designed in a way that favors Microsoft, but there's no way of knowing that Microsoft hasn ... (view more)