Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Seriously Tired Of Microsoft

The easiest option for internet service here is the phone company. Won't do business with them again in my lifetime. I left that movie. I don't like pushy and Windows is nothing if not pushy. Leaving that movie, too. I can get by without internet completely if I have to. My best friend owns no computer and no smart phone. One co-worker is in the same position. And they both have had computers but walked away. I think I could as well.

There is no cable where I live, but satellite is an option. The local satellite agent is a friend and he has gone from iffy to somewhat enthusiastic on it. I'll bet that they wind up as overbearing and crooked as my former phone co. I'm looking to simplify things, not get more involved.

Currently have a couple of tablets around the house and neither have data connections active. I easily and quickly update them using my phone hotspot. Data usage for the updates is minimal.

Proprietary MS patches too?

Will I be able to pull up banking pages to pay bills and transfer funds? This is the most serious thing i do on any computer. It works on my phone but the laptop is easier and better as some banking features aren't offered on mobile app.

At SHOT in January of last year I crushed my laptop intentionally. It made me feel good and I have felt nothing but better every day since! Some things are worth doing and getting rid of laptops is one of them.

I got a 9" tablet and it does amazing things! At home I still have multiple computers for photo editing and writing, but I will never deal with a laptop again.

The tablet allows me to navigate around Kodiak Island better than any of the very expensive programs I bought in past and I can take it on the bridge or skiff in a waterproof pouch and not worry about it. It also does a fine job half way around the World.

https://spi.dod.mil/index.htm

dave

On my PCs I run windows 7 from an original MS install file as an original clean install and turn off all updates...they never get updated and run fine.

Not able to. Microsoft has scotched that on some configurations. I'm hoping Gadfly's fix will work. I plan to go back to Win 7 very soon.

Lynux systems are free of everything you hate about mac or Microsoft. I have used Ubuntu, it takes a little getting used to, but it always works. There are programs that will do everything a Microsoft program will do, word processing, spread sheets, and they are free.

If you are using a laptop, take that sucker to McDonalds or some other wifi hotspot once in a while for updates.

I've got a similar problem to the OP. If I don't watch it, updates will kill my broadband wifi data allotment. However, this is only if I let updates run when a computer is hooked to my broadband wifi. LINUX and MAC both have this problem. Tablets do to up to a point.

Here's the trick: You need to find a way to get the updates without sucking up your own data. For me, the solution is simple. Since I carry a laptop to deer camp with me, I just make sure the laptop gets all its updates at home before I go to camp. I do all my updating when I'm in town. For a fellow who lives out in the sticks, here's what I would suggest.

1) Laptops make the job much easier.
2) Set your update settings such that updates only occur on your say so. There are 3 basic settings in WIN 7-- no updates, download updates and wait for permission to apply, and update at will. You want the most restrictive setting. The same goes for LINUX.
3) Once a month, carry your laptop into town and find a place that has free wifi. MacDonalds usually has a wifi connection, and the nearest one is about 10 miles away.
4) You can often just hook to the wifi in the parking lot and then go do your shopping or hang out at the feed store while the laptop is sucking updates off the free wifi. It will take maybe an hour or so, and afterward reboot it.

There, done for the month!

Android OS on a smartphone and some tablets allow for some updates to come down without sucking off your data allotment. However, not all updates are exempt. Be careful. Again, going into town to update is the best way.

As a guy who's been at this for 35 years and who's had to manage hundreds and at one point thousands of PC systems, let me just say that refusing to do updates is just plain nuts. So is hooking a clean OS build to the Internet without immediately applying all updates. There are security updates popping up 24X7X365 for a reason. I've seen some wicked infestations over the years. In most of the cases, proper PC hygiene would have solved the problem. I'm currently working for a Fortune 5 company, and I am forced to keep all the systems under my control squeeky clean and meticulously updated. One poorly updated system left on over a weekend can cause absolute hell if the right exploits are available.

Desktop computers can be updated but it's a lot trickier. One path is to work out a deal with your accountant, or a local business that will let you hook your system up to their network once a month or so. The other way is to buy a wireless NIC for the system and do the MacDonalds thing.

The absolute best way? With Windows, there is a way to have one system suck down all the updates and distribute it to all the others. It requires Windows Server OS on one machine and adding the Windows Server Update Service (WSUS)Role to it. That way, if you've got multiple machines, you can just load the WSUS enabled system into the truck, run through MacDonalds for a Big Mac and Updates and the roll home. This is an advanced method, and I wouldn't touch it unless you know what you're doing.

you can disable auto updates, and just do them when it's convenient for you. or not do them at all

So you are complaining because both Microsoft & Apple (basically this is true of all modern software makers) provide Gig sized updates that eat more than your Wireless plan.
** If you have 2-3 devices they all do thier own upgrades as well... your cell phone, you laptop, ipad, ...

Here is a thought - YOU NEED A BIGGER PLAN!

Wireless providers have caps on use for a reason, we don’t live in a perfect world, so don’t expect a perfect solution.

The local ISP has a much, much higher use cap if any (most don’t ) for just this reason - so if you testy about not using your local ISP there isn’t much help anyone can give. You.

Software upgrades are not going to get smaller - sorry dude.

Bullchitt , I have a 7 year old Macbook Pro that has never crashed, froze you name it. I don't like their price but they hold their value better then any POS other laptop .

Not possible with Win10. You can disable them all you want, but sometime during the day Microsoft will take control of your computer and update it themselves. Your computer, if you're using it at the time, will slow to a crawl. This is what we're talking about. There are some workarounds but at least one of them has been negated by Microsoft, leaving about the only way to shutdown updates and not have them automatically come back on again being regedit. Some of us don't want to fool with that. Basically you no longer own the OS starting with I believe, Win10, so this is all legal. Microsoft has at least three backdoors into your computer with Win10 and updates is one of them.

I know this will sound paranoid but...since my Computer crashed I've had my laptop plugged in rather than using its Wifi. By my logic, if I turn off the router, there should be no way for the computer to be updated by Microsoft...both the line and the Wifi should be off, but I'm pretty sure it's still been automatically updated with my router off...Ftw?

The only thing that has worked for a very long period is disabling "Update Orchestrator Service" like Gadfly recommended on the first page of this thread. I did it immediately and it has stayed unupdated since, including through a deep cleaning by CCCleaner and Bleachbit and reboot. This would have been a trigger for a slew of updates...GB's worth, normally. We'll see if it continues working. I don't think Gadfly told y'all to also disable Windows Modules Installer, which is just another name for the old "Trusted Installer". Win10 will update with that also.

Personally, I don't see the need for all these updates. I think they are more spyware than preventing viruses. I am not just running Defender though, I'm running Avast! also.

I hope he wasn't driving at the time. That gets people killed.

I'm in total agreement that WIN10 is horrible. I can't turn my computer on at the house with out it using up my 10GB of satellite data. I have turned on the metered connection option, and I have done my best to block the cloud function, but Microsoft still data mines my files for advertising.

I've been using a Samsung tablet with Android at the house and only use the laptop at work. That has been working for me, and allows me to pay my bills and browse on the house wifi without burning throgh all my data in 24hrs. Not a good solution, but until those Microsoft people all ES&D (like I have repeatedly suggested, ever since they forced WIN10 on me) it will have to do.

From a “not getting hacked” perspective, not upgrading is ?

Probably wasn't driving seein's how it was at highway speed. Probably took both hands off the wheel and concentrated on the throwing, you know, so he wouldn't accidentally hit somebody when he threw it out. Probably put down his beer and bong also. Safety first!

There are mice for Android. I took a quick look on Amazon and saw 2 of them. One costs $10, the other $65. They both use Bluetooth to connect to a tablet.