Windows 10 - free upgrade to those with PC using Windows 7 or 8

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Thanks. Malwarebytes gets run at least weekly here. A few years back I got some malware or trojan.....and windows defender was the only thing that would detect and remove it.

In 2001 I was trying to fix a Windows computer that had a really nasty virus. It would not allow the major antivirus programs to run and it would not allow going to their websites. I ended up using the online version of Housecall because the virus did not block that. It wasn't well known back then.

[Sydney's Mom]

Well, I was excited to finally get my notice to upgrade. Everything looked great, but when I tried to scan a document, it would not. Windows Fax and Scan didn't even start up. Well, I really need to be able to scan (I work from home) so I went back to Windows 8.1. Luckily, most everything was okay, except a bunch of apps had to be unpinned from the taskbar, and then repined. Oh, Windows. Hopefully all this will be fixed by next July, because I really want a start button!

[danwdoo]

Originally Posted by kennyc

One thing I will add is that my system seems noticeably faster and way less disc thrashing without the Norton/Symantec antivirus krapola going all the time in the background!

If I only had a dollar for every time someone said that after I had removed Norton from their system...

[danwdoo]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Not really suprised, but just hope my trust in MS System Defender is not misplaced!

No AV is perfect. You still must use common sense steps such as only downloading from trusted sites, keeping your system up to date, unchecking adware from program installers, etc...

I've only used Windows Defender/Security Essentials since it came out years ago (it was a separate download before they integrated it into the OS) and I have never had any viruses or malware. That said, I am careful about where I obtain files from and use caution on files in email.

[GreenMonkey]

Originally Posted by danwdoo

If I only had a dollar for every time someone said that after I had removed Norton from their system...

Norton got a bad rap in the early 2000s. It got much better at some point. That said, any AV is going to cause some overhead (file scanning, etc).

I personally use Norton without issue at home. I'm a IT security professional at work, so I've been getting some free Symantec for a while since we're a Symantec shop. It runs fine these days.

Windows Defender doesn't cut it. Defender / MSE used to be good, but it tests terribly now - I think because they're the first malware authors expect to dodge (as it is default on so many installations). It simply doesn't cut it any more.

I can tell you as a security professional, there are people like me working at companies actively hunting malware and submitting it to reputable malware companies - as well as the malware research going on. It's worth a few bucks a year (not a lot, but a few, given the 40% detection rate of AV these days) to run something decent. IMO that's Symantec / Kaspersky / NOD32.

If you're going to go free, you're better off with Avast or the like these days. Can't believe I'm saying that. I used to install MSE all the time. Testing shows it's pretty awful these days. For example: https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-windows/

Originally Posted by danwdoo

I've only used Windows Defender/Security Essentials since it came out years ago (it was a separate download before they integrated it into the OS) and I have never had any viruses or malware. That said, I am careful about where I obtain files from and use caution on files in email.

Are you sure? Do you regularly review the network traffic coming out of your firewall for suspicious traffic, as well as reviewing actively running services, and Windows scheduler entries / registry start up entries?

I see people claim the above a lot ("I haven't had a virus") because they don't understand that a good handful of modern malware is VERY quiet unless you know what you are looking for. I find malware for a living and after a few months with an install I can't be sure I'm not infected without doing those things. A lot of malware is quiet as they are simply using your machine as a botnet / remote jumpoff point to attack others. I'd hazard a guess that all you can say is you haven't had any obvious malware (banking trojans, adware, etc).



On the Win10 upgrade front, I'm having some issues with my Asus laptop sleeping - it results in a nasty bootloop cycle. Googling suggests it is the Intel HD4600 drivers. The only fix I saw was to roll back to the 2013 drivers Asus provides, however, it didn't help for me (I've disabled sleep in the meantime).

For folks using their laptop for gaming, there's some issues with InputMapper / DS4Windows (Dualshock 4 software). Requires some workarounds at the moment.

[AnotherCat]

Originally Posted by Sydney's Mom

Well, I was excited to finally get my notice to upgrade. Everything looked great, but when I tried to scan a document, it would not. Windows Fax and Scan didn't even start up...

I have no idea why Fax and Scan will not start up for you as it works fine here. That being the case I suspect it is not something that you will find fixes itself by your waiting in hope before you install Windows 10 again.

Perhaps, if you wish to try again, go to Control Panel>Programs and Features>Turn Windows Features On and Off and expand Print and Document Features. Uncheck Windows Fax and Scan (it should be checked by default) and select OK. When it finishes doing its thing go back and recheck Windows Fax and Scan and OK again.

Failing that can you not use your scanner manufacturer's own scanner management software?

In any event you may have to make a visit to your scanner manufacturer's website to get (hopefully) their updated driver for Windows 10. I had to do that here with Canon scanners that are a few years old.

[danwdoo]

Originally Posted by GreenMonkey

Norton got a bad rap in the early 2000s. It got much better at some point. That said, any AV is going to cause some overhead (file scanning, etc).

I personally use Norton without issue at home. I'm a IT security professional at work, so I've been getting some free Symantec for a while since we're a Symantec shop. It runs fine these days.

A bad rap implies an undeserved reputation. It was 100% deserved. Things got better after they did a major rewrite for 360 but they have become bloated again. They try to sell to many new features (have to justify new versions every year) instead of focusing on core needs and performance. Testimonies like ones in this very thread verify this is still the case.

Originally Posted by GreenMonkey

Windows Defender doesn't cut it. Defender / MSE used to be good, but it tests terribly now - I think because they're the first malware authors expect to dodge (as it is default on so many installations). It simply doesn't cut it any more.

Granted there is room for much improvement here. But it on an regularly updated system with common sense practices is enough.

Originally Posted by GreenMonkey

I can tell you as a security professional, there are people like me working at companies actively hunting malware and submitting it to reputable malware companies - as well as the malware research going on. It's worth a few bucks a year (not a lot, but a few, given the 40% detection rate of AV these days) to run something decent. IMO that's Symantec / Kaspersky / NOD32.

My comment was only about Norton, not al AV suites such as Kaspersky or Malwarebytes (of which I've had good experiences with in the past, but do not currently use their suites). I periodically run Malwarebytes scanner as a second opinion

Originally Posted by GreenMonkey

If you're going to go free, you're better off with Avast or the like these days. Can't believe I'm saying that. I used to install MSE all the time. Testing shows it's pretty awful these days. For example: https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-windows/

Other free options are not bad choices other than the tendency at least in many of them to nag for upgrades.

Originally Posted by GreenMonkey

Are you sure? Do you regularly review the network traffic coming out of your firewall for suspicious traffic, as well as reviewing actively running services, and Windows scheduler entries / registry start up entries?

I see people claim the above a lot ("I haven't had a virus") because they don't understand that a good handful of modern malware is VERY quiet unless you know what you are looking for. I find malware for a living and after a few months with an install I can't be sure I'm not infected without doing those things. A lot of malware is quiet as they are simply using your machine as a botnet / remote jumpoff point to attack others. I'd hazard a guess that all you can say is you haven't had any obvious malware (banking trojans, adware, etc).

Quite. I've been comfortably using network trace tools for many years. Again, updates and safe browsing practices (and running as a non-admin user!) mitigate the overwhelming majority of issues. I'm not saying Defender is the only or best choice, just that Norton is a poor one based on system performance hits (not effectiveness). Also many "Windows" problems can be traced to AV software such as Norton (and some others) that try to do to much and insert themselves into too many functions of the OS. As stated earlier, why trust software that can't even uninstall itself properly half the time?

[Blossom]

I did have to reinstall my AV and uninstall my firewall then reinstall it to get it working but so far Windows 10 seems okay. A little buggy but nothing major.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Blossom

I did have to reinstall my AV and uninstall my firewall then reinstall it to get it working but so far Windows 10 seems okay. A little buggy but nothing major.

What bugs have you encountered?

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by HarryT

What bugs have you encountered?

Mainly with Cortana and Bing or explorer crashing completely.
The Bing bug is a bunch of code showing up instead of a search.
Sometimes a window just freezes and then boom explorer restarts or I can close the window using the right click on the taskbar and that fixes it. I have not tried much other than default programs and browsers so far.

[danwdoo]

Originally Posted by Blossom

Mainly with Cortana and Bing or explorer crashing completely.
The Bing bug is a bunch of code showing up instead of a search.
Sometimes a window just freezes and then boom explorer restarts or I can close the window using the right click on the taskbar and that fixes it. I have not tried much other than default programs and browsers so far.

The Edge browser is definitely still in its 'teething' stage. Hopefully it will quickly mature in the coming weeks and months as we get new updates.

[Josieb1]

I'm using Firefox and its working fine.

[kennyc]

The update release continued to fail to install on my laptop. I tried downloading it directly and installing, but the the windows update seems to be locked up checking, checking, checking for updates and never doing anything. I've rolled back to win 7 (home) and am in the process of reinstalling win 10.....will let you know what happens....

Apparently a number of people are having trouble with that update release installing. It either doesn't install or goes into continuous rebooting of your system according to some reports. Lots of talk and rumors on the interwebz as usual...I've not seen anything 'official' from Microsoft though....

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by kennyc

The update release continued to fail to install on my laptop. I tried downloading it directly and installing, but the the windows update seems to be locked up checking, checking, checking for updates and never doing anything. I've rolled back to win 7 (home) and am in the process of reinstalling win 10.....will let you know what happens....

Apparently a number of people are having trouble with that update release installing. It either doesn't install or goes into continuous rebooting of your system according to some reports. Lots of talk and rumors on the interwebz as usual...I've not seen anything 'official' from Microsoft though....

These things do happen, unfortunately. I have a friend with a Dell desktop PC that just will not upgrade from Windows 8 to 8.1. Just says "Upgrade failed" with no meaningful reason given.

[DiapDealer]

Advanced Update Settings:

Updates from more than one place
...
When this is turned on, your PC may send parts of previously downloaded Windows updates and apps to PCs on your local network, or PCs on the Internet, depending on what's selected below.

1) PCs on my local network
2) PCs on my local network, and PCs on the Internet

The default for this appears to be "On" and option number 2.
Tinfoil hats and stingy people aside, people with limited bandwidth should be aware of what might be using that bandwidth. I assume it at least attempts to send updates to the internet during off-peak hours, but I'm not taking that chance. My severely limited upload speed has me turning this feature off.

For those experiencing failures in the Windows 10 update process, I experienced the same thing. Turns out there was a failed optional update that I had to clean up first. Once that was taken care of, it took right off.