A little while ago on our blog we reported that Microsoft would be giving some of its Windows 10 users more control over the upgrades and updates that are downloaded and installed onto their machines. They would have the ability to choose which updates were automatically installed, and which would require confirmation from the administrator or user. However, Microsoft doesn’t seem to be giving the same choice to users of its older operating systems, Windows 7 and Windows 8, as this week it has been reported that it will start a new drive to force people to upgrade to Windows 10.

Microsoft has been attempting to do something similar for a while, first by offering a free upgrade and automatically downloading the update to user’s computers. In response to this, a frustrated user created the GWX Control Panel software, which allowed users of Windows 7 and 8 to block the automatic update. However, the creator of this software, Josh Mayfield, has reported to the world that Microsoft has upped it game in response. The software allows users to switch off the ‘AllowOSUpgrade’ setting on their machines, meaning that the Windows 10 upgrade would not take place. However, many users were noticing that this setting had been switched back on, which Josh Mayfield discovered was being done remotely by Microsoft in an attempt to get more people to upgrade to the new operating system. Indeed, if they then switched it back off, it would immediately be turned back on, thus rendering the software useless in the fight against the automatic upgrade.

This news could spell danger for many businesses using Windows 7 and 8. An automatic upgrade could cause downtime at best, and data loss at worst, which could mean losing out on profits and customers. If you are worried about how this forced upgrade might impact on your business, or you’d to talk to us about our services for IT support in London, then call us at Bits & PCs today on 0207 22 11 355.