Microsoft has been accused of 'nagging' users to upgrade to Windows 10 after a new pop-up box on users' computers has given them no choice but to "upgrade now" or "upgrade tonight."
The dialogue box can be closed by clicking the 'X' button, but the move has prompted a backlash from users and critics.
Microsoft is bringing out new software changes which Forbes describes as "annoying" and "increasingly difficult" for users to avoid.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Windows 7 and 8 users are receiving the misleading pop-up as part of a fresh drive by Microsoft to get people to upgrade to the latest operating system. But the change in Microsoft's attitude from offering the software as a choice for free to misleading users into thinking they have no option are "tactics more reminiscent of malware than a leading technology company", say Forbes.
Microsoft's aggressive approach could be down to reports that Windows 10 installations have been lower than Microsoft anticipated they would be.
"It's hard to imagine any marketing campaign worse than Microsoft's ongoing "Get Windows 10" debacle" says Infoworld.
The website lists the various irritating Windows 10 related actions Microsoft has sent the way of 7 and 8 users, including the automatic download of the GWX program to prompt users to upgrade, the forced download of up to 5GB of installation files, and reports of computers accidentally launching the Windows 10 upgrade.
Another article from Forbes describes how Microsoft has even brought out updates for computers which prevents safeguards against downloading Windows 10, circumventing them and reversing user settings to leave the PC vulnerable to an unwanted Windows 10 upgrade.
The Register reports on how Windows will be upgrading the status of the Windows 10 upgrade from 'optional' to 'recommended' in the New Year, meaning many users with automatic patches enabled will get Windows 10 by default.
-
The NCAA is a 'billion-dollar sports behemoth' that 'should not be a nonprofit'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump picks conservative BLS critic to lead BLSspeed read He has nominated the Heritage Foundation's E.J. Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics
-
What's a pocket rescission and can Trump use one?The Explainer The White House may try to use an obscure and prohibited trick to halt more spending
-
Microsoft unveils quantum computing breakthroughSpeed Read Researchers say this advance could lead to faster and more powerful computers
-
Microsoft's Three Mile Island deal: How Big Tech is snatching up nuclear powerIn the Spotlight The company paid for access to all the power made by the previously defunct nuclear plant
-
Video games to play this fall, from 'Call of Duty: Black Ops 6' to 'Assassin's Creed Shadows'The Week Recommends 'Assassin's Creed' goes to feudal Japan, and a remaster of horror classic 'Silent Hill 2' drops
-
CrowdStrike: the IT update that wrought global chaosTalking Point 'Catastrophic' consequences of software outages made apparent by last week's events
-
Why is Microsoft breaking up Teams and Office?Today's Big Question The company had previously divided the software in Europe, but will now make this change globally
-
2023: the year of the AI boomthe explainer This year, generative artificial intelligence bypassed the metaverse and became the next big thing in tech
-
Inside Sam Altman's 'extraordinary firing' from OpenAIThe Explainer AI superstar joins Microsoft after 'philosophical disagreement' with his old board that stunned tech world
-
Microsoft, Activision and the battle with competition tsarsTalking Point A giant gaming deal has highlighted the shifting attitudes of global regulators
