Anti-Poaching Field Operations Hampered by unscheduled Windows 10 Upgrade

[GreatGazoo]

The project set up motion-activated cameras over the area to catalogue and research the surrounding wildlife, and has collected over 700,000 sightings. It works with local people to provide employment and education in its quest to preserve this unique part of Africa.
...
"If a forced upgrade happened and crashed our PCs while in the middle of coordinating rangers under fire from armed militarized poachers, blood could literally be on Microsoft's hands," said one member of the team.

"I just came here recently to act as their pilot but have IT skills as well. The guy who set these PCs up didn't know how to prevent it, or set a metered connection. I am completely livid."

The Reg has been reporting a lot on the Windows 10 upgrade fiasco, so decided to investigate – and the story checks out. A team member told us the Chinko Project uses satellite communications for internet access and gets charged quite a lot for data, so the multi-gigabyte automatic upgrade was even more frustrating than for the rest of us.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/06/03/windows_10_upgrade_satellite_link/

[Dr Hobbitstein]

1. What kind of IT guy leaves automatic updates on?

That's a terrible idea. Any IT guy worth their salt knows that updates should be deployed only after testing, so leaving automatic updates on is a strict no-no.

[earthshine]

3. Your obvious fealty to Microsoft has prevented you from understanding certain simple points.

1) This is an extremely poor country.
2) These are donated laptops.
3) The pilot (that's the guy who flies the planes) is acting as the IT guy.
4) Microsoft has changed their forced upgrade mechanism several times.
5) Shutting off automatic updates leaves one vulnerable to other types of security threats.
6) Blaming victims makes you look like a jerk.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

5. The pilot was speaking out against the guy who setup the laptops.

Not Microsoft. And for the record, I'm a Mac guy. I just happen to know IT quite well. And NO IT guy leaves automatic updates on. You always test the updates before deploying across the systems. Automatic updates are for the average user, not for any sort of agency/company.

Here's the quote from the pilot: "I just came here recently to act as their pilot but have IT skills as well. The guy who set these PCs up didn't know how to prevent it, or set a metered connection. I am completely livid."

[earthshine]

7. He's not referring to a specific IT guy.

Read between the lines. They don't have their own IT guy.

> NO IT guy leaves automatic updates on.

No one who gives the matter any thought would be so dogmatic. You speak from a place of arrogance.

MS tells people to leave automatic upgrades on. Not everyone likes to defy MS.

On the ten or so computers I administer, updates are turned off. But I understand that not everybody stays on top of Microsoft like I do, and therefore can be subject to the problems inherent in Windows updates.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

8. I speak from experience.

I took care of both the Macs and PCs at the college I went to, and the last two companies I worked for. Automatic updates are NEVER turned on. This is NOT MS's fault. Windows 10 is a recommended update for Windows 7 and 8 users. If you turn on automatic updates, recommended updates will install. The pilot was not criticizing MS, and he came into the job recently. He was criticizing the guy who setup the systems, who obviously knows dick about IT.

[earthshine]

10. And you are criticizing them for no good reason.

So you are an experienced SysAdmin. It's the only valid point you make.

Yes, the guy setting up the computers, who is not a regular IT guy, didn't know what he was doing. He wasn't paid. The laptops were donated. And MS fucked them like they did so many others.

If I didn't get Windows via a subscription service, I'd have abandoned MS years ago.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

18. I'm criticizing the guy who set them up.

Just like the pilot was. I am in agreeance with the pilot, who is also angry with the guy who set them up.

[Orrex]

13. What kind of company turns on auto-updates by default?

As is the case on every PC and laptop I've bought in the past several years.

This should be an unambiguous and user-selected opt-in function, and the software shouldn't saddle the end user with a load of bullshit when trying to opt out.

[Gore1FL]

14. It's nice to see a Fellow Sysadmin that knows how Windows Updates work.

The hate-all-things-microsoft people are everywhere.

[hunter]

17. IT guy??? This is a hanging by a shoestring and gets shot at by bad guys group.

Real bullets. Not television.

You think they have an IT guy?

They probably have trouble getting electricity.

[Quantess]

2. WHY is microsoft so determined for everyone to get windows 10?

Is it spyware, or what?

[Rex]

4. It controls upgrades and shares bandwith like cable even if you have a DSL line.

The wifi is shitty due to an upgrade in their NET software. Not spyware, just not good for wireless needs at the moment.

[earthshine]

6. Yes, and more.

Windows 10 contains facilities for examining how you use your computer. The generated data is referred to as telemetry.

Since the advent of Windows 10, Microsoft has back-ported some of this into Windows 7 and 8.

If you run this free program, it will block the telemetry updates. It does this by blocking the Microsoft servers in the hosts file on your machine.

https://www.safer-networking.org/spybot-anti-beacon/

If you wish to block the forced upgrade to Windows 10, go here and download the free Never10 program from the extremely reputable Steve Gibson.

https://www.grc.com/never10.htm

The "official reason" Microsoft wants everybody on W10 is that they want developers to create programs with greater compatibility across devices for the future. The way to lure developers is to give them a large customer base. The way to lure customers is to have a robust suite of apps for the platform.

[GreatGazoo]

22. not sure but this has been an aggressive push

and per Murphy's law will happen at the worst time for many.

[Quantess]

23. Have you ever had an aggressive suitor? Pushing too hard is a turn-off for most people.

I know Microsoft has absolutely no intentions to give me romance Haha
Microsoft, same as all giant corporations, are ONLY about the money and the power, and nothing else matters. Microsoft is only after one thing, and it's not sex.

I think all the nagging is gross and annoying.

[joeybee12]

9. One more reason to hate Microsoft...

Not that I needed to add to my hundreds of reasons so far.

[Sunlei]

11. MS shoves WIN10 on everyone so they can charge money for extra app & "subscription fees"

Let us buy the damn windows software and use it forever if we want! That's what compatibility mode is for.

[Gore1FL]

15. It's free. There is no purchase necessary after the upgrade. nt

[Sunlei]

19. unlike old windows, everything extra above the 'free bare bones' is à la carte.

so much crap on it to track everything, and that app-like page, I hate that.

[Gore1FL]

20. What is missing from Win 10 that came with Win 7? nt

[Sunlei]

21. many of the office programs, parts of basic graphics program, repair programs, system admin programs

an actual repair disc, re install disc, basic games, online basic games. The ease of use without all the extra pages. You can buy or subscribe for a yearly fee all of the$e.

To much stuff running on my computers, Many more tracking processes MS probably 'hooks' with google/facebook sells to businesses & provides the government.

They should pay people to track them. My favorite PC is the one not connected to the internet for 2 years

[IronLionZion]

12. I believe it

Even with automatic updates disabled, my workplace had some machines automatically start the update process without any input from anyone. Microsoft has been way too pushy with it and claims its for security reasons.

The US military has been testing the updates and holding off on full deployment.

[Gore1FL]

16. That's a sysamin problem. They let the update through.

Your US military example is how it should work. The sysadmins release the patches when they feel they are ready to have them applied.