Microsoft continues to force Windows 10 on people who don’t want it

This might come as a surprise to Microsoft, but not everyone wants to upgrade to Windows 10. As the slowing pace of the updates shows, there are plenty of people who are more than happy with Windows 7 or 8.1, and who don’t want to switch to the new OS.

While some people are simply delaying the upgrade, plenty of other users have no interest at all in Windows 10, and are actively taking steps to avoid it. But "no" doesn’t mean "no" to Microsoft. It apparently means "Yes, I want to upgrade"!

Those people who are trying to block the Windows 10 update using tools like GWX Control Panel or I don't want Windows 10 have found that the update just will not go away.

Josh Mayfield, the author of GWX Control Panel, discovered users who specified that they did not want Windows 10 (via his program’s AllowOSUpgrade switch) have had their preferences reset up to several times a day and the update presented to them again.

As reported by Computerworld, Mayfield found via a monitoring component that this behavior was caused by the recent updates released to Windows 7 and 8.1 that are designed to make upgrading to Windows 10 easier, and by Microsoft re-releasing its Get Windows 10 update several times in a sneaky way. "It [Microsoft] doesn't change the name of the update, but every version is new, with new binary files" Mayfield says, which makes it harder to block.

SEE ALSO: Windows 10 uninstalling user programs without permission

Microsoft has stated that it intends to push the new OS much more heavily in the new year, making Windows 10 available as an Optional update in Windows Update and then switching it to a Recommend update shortly afterwards. That latter step will lead to the OS being installed on any systems that are set to automatically process recommended updates. Users will be able to cancel the upgrade process, but it seems very likely that doing so won’t be the end of the matter. Given Microsoft's determination to force Windows 10 down users' throats, don't be surprised if the install process starts again, and again, until users finally capitulate and allow the upgrade.

Microsoft wants as many people on Windows 10 as possible, and it seems as if it will do whatever it takes to make sure that happens.

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