Updates! KB3035583 came back?

[cee-dee]

Would you believe it? Checked for updates (Win 7) and lo and behold KB3035583 had un-hidden it self again.?

So I hid it again.

Also, after I installed the latest updates (except KB3035583) a homegroup icon had appeared on my desktop.

Sooooo, I removed that by going to :-

Control Panel

Network & Internet

Appearance and personalisation

Personalisation

Change desktop icons

In the Desktop Icons box, checked the network box, then unchecked it, clicked apply, clicked OK.

The icon was gone.

[otherego]

Funny thing is..... after a re-start yesterday there was a new icon on my desktop "Homegroup". It's not there this morning.

It was the same with last months updates. What all that about?

Dunno. Probably nothing good.

My computer found 14 updates during the night. After a spot of research, three have been unticked and hidden (and KB 2952664 removed as a result of my researches - goodness knows what snoopware still lurks).

It's been downloading (0% complete) for a quarter of an hour. We shall see what happens.

Have you read about the new update system from October? Instead of individual updates, we'll be offered "rollups" (reckon a smoke would be appropriate to offset the stress of Windows updating, mind you) incorporating all the month's updates - no option to check and filter out individual updates.

It should be possible to go to the "Update Catalogue" and download just the security rollup, but who knows what they might sneak in with those?

After the whole get-Windows-10 debacle, I find it impossible to trust Microsoft. I also refuse to accept that privacy is dead, and wish people would stop rolling over and accepting the loss of privacy in the interests of "convenience." It looks as if there will be little to stop MS sneaking more "telemetry" and anything else they like on board from now on. Kill switch for W7 at scheduled end of support, anybody? That time-bomb could already be lurking on our systems, for all we know.

They wouldn't dare. Would they?

More light reading. For the "privacy is dead get over it" brigade there's more good news than bad. For those of us who object to being snooped upon and having our data slurped, I'd say there's a great deal more bad news than good.

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/windowsitpro/2016/08/15/further-simplifying-servicing-model-for-...

http://www.infoworld.com/article/3108405/microsoft-windows/microsoft-changes-win781-updates-pushes-e...

http://www.infoworld.com/article/3108572/microsoft-windows/a-peek-at-the-future-of-windows-7-and-81-...

Thank goodness for Linux for anything that matters. I just hope it lasts... (When I can stand it, I'll bore anyone who'll listen with my reservations about Ubuntu-for-telephones.)

[otherego]

That "Homegroup" icon doesn't look sinister (or particularly new.) More incompetence than malice, I expect.

http://www.sevenforums.com/network-sharing/396568-homegroup-icon-appeared-desktop-after-latest-updat...

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/34580-homegroup-desktop-icon-add-remove.html

http://www.thewindowsclub.com/remove-homegroup-icon-windows-8-desktop

http://superuser.com/questions/171317/how-can-i-hide-the-homegroup-icon-on-the-desktop

[otherego]

I'm also puzzled.

It demanded a restart about three hours forty after I told it to install the selected updates. Although I wasn't actually in at the kill, I'm pretty sure that five minutes before (things only happen when you're not looking) it was still on "Downloading 0%"

I can't say I'm looking forward to the new system in October. I wonder whether individual updates can be uninstalled after the event, or whether the installed update list will only show "October batch" or whatever.

This'll be especially problematic with new installations/reinstallations, as it'll simply install everything including the telemetry rubbish.

The only alternative would be to only install the security updates, I suppose, but that would doubtless involve losing out on significant performance improvements and features.

I'm finding it awfully hard to like Microsoft.

[cee-dee]

Three hours forty was quicker than mine anyway?

Performance improvements? = easy, MS should remove all the garbage most of us will never use leaving other stuff to be installed by those who (think they might) use it?

[otherego]

MS should remove all the garbage most of us will never use leaving other stuff to be installed by those who (think they might) use it?

Sounds good to me - if a lot of hard work.

I wish I had the self-discipline to sit down and learn to install and build on Debian Linux - which essentially works like that.

[cee-dee]

Today there were more Windows updates! Seeing the total size, I wondered how long they'd take. I started it off at 9:25 and by 5 to 10 they were downloaded, installed and a re-start completed.

As the process rumbled on, I saw that the percentage/progress bar was working OK so one of the updates a while back must have fixed whatever was stopping that feature working?

All done and.................. another update turned up. That only took a few minutes to D/L and install.

[otherego]

I might just wait to see whether there are any howls of outrage. Isn't this the first of the fancy new "convenience" updates, which introduces the whole lot under one banner, so to speak? Seems an awfully good way to sneak all the W7 telemetry rubbish we've all painstakingly removed back on board...

[cee-dee]

Well now, Windows Updates turned up with 132Mb (for Word and Windows) so I clicked to install them all.

They downloaded relatively quickly and the progress bar was working OK, they were soon on to installing but update 5 stuck on 53% for quite a while, then in a flash they were done so it was then time for a restart.

I wonder how OE will get on with them? (You don't have Word?)

[completelycrystals]

Updates can often fail with poor computer performance such as a bad internet connection, too many processes running or a badly fragmented disk. Sometimes when a computer has slow internet connection, it will take it to mean there is no connection at all - often a browser will say 'page not found' or something similar if there is no response after a few milliseconds, this can all be caused by a slow computer. There are several toolkits available to speed up your computer and some are available as a free cut-down version. I started using IObits System Care Free (no I don't work for them!) and upgraded to the full packege as it seemed to make things better. Just food for thought - you don't have to follow mine or anybodys advice!