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If you have no intention of upgrading to Windows 10 you may think there’s nothing Microsoft can do about it. But the company isn’t taking no for an answer. While it can’t actually force you to upgrade, it is secretly downloading files on to PCs in order to get them “ready” for Windows 10. This came to light after worried users started reporting seeing an unexplained file called “$Windows.~BT” on their PCs, alongside a message saying they had failed to update to Windows 10. You may think that Microsoft is downloading these files only on PCs owned by people who have reserved their Windows 10 upgrade. But that’s not the case. The company was forced to admit as much following investigations from the website The Register. It said: “For those who have chosen to receive automatic updates through Windows Update, we help customers prepare their devices for Windows 10 by downloading the files necessary for future installation”. That’s worth reading twice. Microsoft says the files will be downloaded if you have automatic updates switched on, whether or not you’ve reserved your Windows 10 upgrade. That means the only way to stop these downloads is by turning off automatic Windows updates (www.snipca.com/17930).
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The problem with doing this is that you’ll probably miss out on all sorts of security fixes. So what is Microsoft up to? Its official reason for downloading files is that having them on a PC “results in a better upgrade experience and ensures the customer’s device has the latest software”. That may be true, but the upgrade to Windows 10 is no ordinary system update, and these files aren’t small downloads – they’re huge, sometimes between 3.5GB to 6GB. They clog up your hard drives, may slow your PC and broadband, and may even nudge you over your monthly data limit. Every time you boot your PC, the files try to install themselves, though you can remove them using the Disk Cleanup tool in Windows (we’ll explain how in our next issue).
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Microsoft’s behaviour is in keeping with its aggressive marketing of Windows 10. Dozens of Computeractive readers still using Windows 7 or 8 have emailed us to complain about Microsoft’s persistent reminders to upgrade. One reader said she was fed up with being “pestered, prodded, badgered and tormented” by pop-up messages imploring her to upgrade. Another likened Microsoft’s tactics to those used by high-street charity fundraisers (also known as ‘chuggers’). But while marketing messages can be irritating, they are broadly accepted as being part of promoting a new product. Secretly downloading files is different, particularly when it’s in order to help you upgrade to a system you may not be interested in. Presumptuous? It certainly feels that way. Perhaps what’s most troubling is that Microsoft doesn’t seem to understand why people are annoyed about this. We wouldn’t expect the company to apologise because it doesn’t think it’s done anything wrong. But it should at least acknowledge the concerns of users, and be more transparent.
That’s not Microsoft’s style, though. We learnt that when it said it won’t explain the details of most Windows 10 updates, bar the “significant” ones (see ‘Question of the Fortnight’, Issue 458). Some may see that as a confident decision taken by company that knows what’s best for its customers. But others regard it as arrogant and out of touch. Microsoft needs to stop alienating those users, or Windows 10’s success will be short lived.
