Is Microsoft trying to take over everyone's PC again?

peter021072

Every so often I start up to find Microsoft wanting to 'set up my computer on both my Windows 10 laptop and Windows 11 PC. These aren't essential updates, but it seems to encourage the use of more Microsoft apps or even replacing other apps with theirs. It's almost impossible to bypass this because it only gives me an option to do it in 3 days. Somehow I've managed to get out of the procedure, probably by rebooting.  Another problem is that every so often Bing seems to spontaneously take over from Google search and I need to keep switching it back via control panel.  With regards removing the Bing search bar, I've long since given up trying to get rid of that.

Is this a common problem or is their something vulnerable to Microsoft infiltration? I'm surprised this is even legal, I know Microsoft have got in trouble before for their invasive techniques.

Vitor

Better to install Linux

Neil_Jones

peter021072 said:

Every so often I start up to find Microsoft wanting to 'set up my computer on both my Windows 10 laptop and Windows 11 PC. These aren't essential updates, but it seems to encourage the use of more Microsoft apps or even replacing other apps with theirs. It's almost impossible to bypass this because it only gives me an option to do it in 3 days. Somehow I've managed to get out of the procedure, probably by rebooting.  Another problem is that every so often Bing seems to spontaneously take over from Google search and I need to keep switching it back via control panel.  With regards removing the Bing search bar, I've long since given up trying to get rid of that.

Is this a common problem or is their something vulnerable to Microsoft infiltration? I'm surprised this is even legal, I know Microsoft have got in trouble before for their invasive techniques.

What Bing search bar would that be then?  The floating one or do you mean the one on the taskbar?  The latter is easy to get rid of.

I haven't seen the floating one in Windows 11, but it was easy to rid of in 10.

As to the other comments, this behaviour (re: the "do it in 3 days" thing)  is a scheduled task, so if you look at the task scheduler you should be able to find an entry that matches this.  But I've never seen that on 11, I've seen it on 10.

DE_612183

I suspect that you may be clicking "accept" to things like upgrades without reading the default - such as resetting the default search engine.

Where does the bing search bar appear?

what browser are you using? - If it's Edge, then better to move to chrome if google is your preferred route.

RumRat

I use Edge on W11 and have no Bing search bar anywhere and updates don't pester me to load any MS apps.
I set mine up with a local account from the start, are you signed into MS on your machine?

facade

I have Win 11 on a local account, and find that every now and then when I click on a file associated with the "correct" program (the icon matches) Windows asks me to choose an "app" to open it with and pushes Microsoft rubbish for most of the list, with the correct program near the bottom.

I don't get the "finish setting up your pc by linking a microsoft account, but I disabled that with winaero tweaker, and I never allow preview updates to install either.

forgotmyname

Disabled my updates so I can pick and choose when to do them.  Another gaming PC in the house I forgot to block them and it
popped up an update restart alert right in the middle of an online game.

Same with Firefox, forced updates and alerts if you dare not do them instantly.  Updates blocked and the alert message now removed also.

A lot of these updates are changes for the sake of change and that really annoys me.  Regular website I use changed the layout for no
good reason other than the owner wanted to change it.  2 years later they changed it again and it looks identical to the first version. WHY???

Neil_Jones

forgotmyname said:

Disabled my updates so I can pick and choose when to do them.  Another gaming PC in the house I forgot to block them and it
popped up an update restart alert right in the middle of an online game.

Same with Firefox, forced updates and alerts if you dare not do them instantly.  Updates blocked and the alert message now removed also.

A lot of these updates are changes for the sake of change and that really annoys me.  Regular website I use changed the layout for no
good reason other than the owner wanted to change it.  2 years later they changed it again and it looks identical to the first version. WHY???

I've ran Firefox for days and months between updates and never been alerted to do any of them.  The updates are virtually silent and I've never noticed them take place.

If you set the WIndows active hours to something more sensible than business hours then you shouldn't get bugged to restart in the middle of something else.  You can set your own 18hr window.

forgotmyname

Neil_Jones said:

I've ran Firefox for days and months between updates and never been alerted to do any of them.  The updates are virtually silent and I've never noticed them take place.

If you set the WIndows active hours to something more sensible than business hours then you shouldn't get bugged to restart in the middle of something else.  You can set your own 18hr window.

I had Firefox updates blocked so it could not auto update, that is why i kept getting the update alerts. Still blocked and I have now blocked the alerts.

If they are going to update and kill my addons without warning they do not deserve to auto update with no option to delay or stop it.

My active hours differ from day to day so a single timeframe does not work for me.  Too much effort to change the hours on the days it differs so
I took the easy option to block the updates.

My situation probably varies from many, I even had the UPS alert me the other day that my battery would only last 5 minutes at the current
power draw from the system...  Right in the middle of a game of Farcry 6,  My electric meter must go into overdrive when I launch that game.

Neil_Jones

No different to mods for computer games, updates will break them, and its the same with Firefox.  If you're going to use mods/extensions and plug-ins you're always at the whim of the base being updated, which will break them.  If you don't want that, then don't use plug-ins or extensions.

peter021072

DE_612183 said:

I suspect that you may be clicking "accept" to things like upgrades without reading the default - such as resetting the default search engine.

Where does the bing search bar appear?

what browser are you using? - If it's Edge, then better to move to chrome if google is your preferred route.

I have Chrome.  However, the fixed search bar looks to be part of the Windows Taskbar, Windows 11 moved this black taskbar to bottom middle of the screen alongside all of the other apps, but Bing certainly hijacks it if anything is typed in.  I know it's a serious pain to get rid of because I've been through tutorials on it. I assumed everyone was infected by it. However, whatever it is, it is a relatively minor problem because you can just ignore it.  

The bigger issue is this Microsoft hijack forcing me to 'to set my computer up' on startup.  I would never encourage updates I hate them but HP have encouraged me to turn on updates to stop my computer spontaneously rebooting (a previous problem I've spoke about on here).

I'll have a look at my update settings, but I bet the damn thing comes back whatever I do.  I don't think this used to be a problem more than a year ago.

edit - my auto windows update settings are turned off for some reason, but they are up to date anyway see below.