Microsoft Windows: Difference between revisions

Windows operating system comes pre-installed with an active license on most new desktop computers. Windows licenses can also be acquired by making a one-time purchase.

Additional Office software suites like microsoft office software that was sold as a package add on, or later offered in base installations now require a forced account and subscription to have the prividge of working on a document offline, users are offered a trial period of office software from a lisicince purchase. Although lifetime purchases exist for older office software Microsoft has set a precedent of not holding up their end of the agreement. For many users they will be forced to have an internet connection to do basic revisions on software like word, powerpoint, and excel documents.

===Market control===

==Telemetry==

This raises concerns of privacy and security, especially so for international users in light of the United States Cloud Act{{Citation needed}}. Moreover, it is not uncommon in certain countries for the home editions of Windows and Office to be used in places like medical facilities{{Citation needed}}.

Given the scale of Windows and Office deployments, the cumulative energy consumed by collecting, transmitting, storing and processing this data across the globe is also an environmental concern.

In 2015, users reported their Windows 7 and 8.1 computers with automatic updates enabled were upgraded to Windows 10 without the users' notice, by enabling by default the option to upgrade to Windows 10. If the process of upgrading to Windows 10 starts, any attempt to stop it could make the computer unusable.

===Windows 10<!-- Reluctant to add this one unless we have more reports of this online, but I did find some microsoft support articles that mention Factory Resets happening with windows updates:  https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/216587/why-a-factory-reset-without-my-permission-during-a -->===

====Forced updates====

====Resetting preferences during updates====

- James-->

====Forced arbitration====

====Extended Security Updates (ESU) Program====

{{see also|Trusted computing}}

Some advocacy groups, such as the [https://endof10.org/ End of Windows 10 campaign] , have encouraged users with older PCs to switch to Linux instead.

{{Main|Microsoft Copilot's recall feature}}

In 2025, Microsoft re-released ''Recall'',<ref>{{Cite news |last=Davenport |first=Corbin |date=Apr 25, 2025 |title=Windows Recall Is Finally Rolling Out After Controversal Reveal |url=https://www.howtogeek.com/windows-recall-is-finally-rolling-out-after-controversal-release/ |access-date=Jun 20, 2025 |work=How to Geek |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260218203614/https://www.howtogeek.com/windows-recall-is-finally-rolling-out-after-controversal-release/ |archive-date=18 Feb 2026}}</ref> with claims that the tool has resolved the security flaws and it coming disabled by default.<ref>{{Cite news |last=LeClair |first=Dave |date=Apr 11, 2025 |title=Microsoft Recall is rolling out following major controversy — what you need to know |url=https://www.tomsguide.com/computing/microsoft-recall-is-coming-for-real-this-time |access-date=Jun 20, 2025 |work=Tom's Guide |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251119223853/https://www.tomsguide.com/computing/microsoft-recall-is-coming-for-real-this-time |archive-date=19 Nov 2025}}</ref> However, despite integrating better security, having this feature enabled continues to pose privacy risks for consumers, as it is only a matter of when a vulnerability is discovered for the problems both consumers and businesses initially had with the tool to resurface,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lewis |first=Nick |date=May 5, 2025 |title=Turn Off Windows' Recall to Protect Your Privacy |url=https://www.howtogeek.com/how-to-disable-recall/ |access-date=Jun 20, 2025 |work=How to Geek |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260110141040/https://www.howtogeek.com/how-to-disable-recall/ |archive-date=10 Jan 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Piltch |first=Avram |date=2025-08-01 |title=Tested: Microsoft Recall can still capture credit cards and passwords, a treasure trove for crooks |url=https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/01/microsoft_recall_captures_credit_card_info/ |access-date=2025-08-05 |website=The Register |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251218063254/https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/01/microsoft_recall_captures_credit_card_info/ |archive-date=18 Dec 2025}}</ref> especially since it is difficult for users to inspect the screenshots that are taken by the tool.

{{Main|Microsoft's anticompetitive practices}}

====Removal of WordPad====

*[[Microsoft]]

*[[Microsoft Edge]]

==References==