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Title: Microsoft's Windows 10 Torrent-U-Like updates GULP DOWN your precious bandwidth
Source:
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URL Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/07/31/windows_10_torrent_updates/
Published: Aug 3, 2015
Author: Gavin Clarke
Post Date: 2015-08-03 09:02:13 by A K A Stone
Keywords: None
Views: 2023
Comments: 15
Feel like your network bandwidth is slipping away? Windows 10 could be the culprit.
Microsoft’s new desktop operating system has employed a torrent-style approach to sharing updates with your fellow Windows 10 users.
The OS employs a system of sharing updates between users’ PCs and across their own networks rather than download direct from Microsoft. The system is called Windows Update Delivery Optimisation, or WUDO.
WUDO came to light as people began downloading Windows 10 – released on Wednesday – to their machines. It’s been causing surprises.
According to Microsoft, WUDO lets you get updates when there’s limited or unreliable connection to the internet.
It works by creating a local cache and stores files that it has downloaded in that cache for a short period of time. Windows 10 sends parts of those files to other PCs on your local network or PCs on the internet that are downloading the same files.
Microsoft claimed its “delivery optimisation” wouldn't be able to access your personal files or folders or be able to alter files on your PC.
The system has been switched on by default and can only be turned off by digging into advanced options under Windows Update, diving deep in update and then poking about in security and settings. It won't work on dial-up connections.
In a statement, a Microsoft spokesperson said delivery optimisation would let customers get Windows updates and Windows Store apps from sources in addition to Microsoft.
"This helps people get updates and apps more quickly if they have a limited or unreliable internet connection,” the MS mouthpiece said.
You can read more about the system here. ®
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#1. To: A K A Stone (#0) (Edited)
The OS employs a system of sharing updates between users’ PCs and across their own networks rather than download direct from Microsoft. The system is called Windows Update Delivery Optimisation, or WUDO.
It sounds pretty bad. But in a large organization with thousands of machines, when Microsoft issues a new patch, all those machines are trying to grab a copy at once, leading to bad internet performance and even crippling the local area network.
They've addressed this before by allowing their corporate customers to run their own update server on the LAN so they download the update to their Update server and then roll it out slowly to all the Windows computers on their LAN.
Probably Microsoft should have left this option off by default.
Far worse, IMO, is Microsoft is giving people only two options for updates: update and restart without prompting or update then prompt you to restart. That's right, no option just to decline taking an update, not even for people whose machines or software will break from taking that update.
Apple is getting closer to the same policy but their users can still turn down the update entirely.
Another bad decision is that Solitaire is now a freemium game. You have to watch ads to play it. Well, unless you pay Microsoft $1.50/month or $10/year to play it. I have the feeling they are going to have that poop flung back into their faces. It's just an insult.
#2. To: TooConservative, A K A Stone (#1)
I'm running 7. And Linux.
Never bought or used 8.
I guess there never was a 9, eh?
Leave it to Microsoft - to screw things up.
#3. To: Chuck_Wagon (#2)
Microsoft had a chance to do some great stuff with the Win10 revamp. Instead, they acted scummy. And they made it a free upgrade, like the sour Windows 8.1, to lure users into their nasty little trap.
I fault Apple for some of their practices but even they aren't this greedy and stupid. It makes a customer feel like Microsoft considers them to be complete chumps.
Try to stay with Win7 as long as you can. I think Win10 will really be resisted and they'll have to change some of the worst stuff in a service pack.
#4. To: A K A Stone (#0)
Skynet has been released:)
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.---John 1:17
#5. To: redleghunter (#4)
Skynet has been released:)
If only. Even SkyNet would be better than Windows 10.
#6. To: TooConservative, A K A Stone (#2)
I'm running 7. And Linux.
Actually I'm running XP also - I forgot...
#7. To: Chuck_Wagon (#6)
They stopped pushing XP updates I thought.
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.---John 1:17
#8. To: A K A Stone (#0)
I just had Microsoft 10 installed a few days ago and I'm already having internet connectivity issues as well as installing updates. I'm thinking that perhaps I should just restore my computer back to Windows 7. :(
#9. To: TooConservative (#3)
I'm having no troubles with Windows 10. I like it.
I got a laptop a couple of months ago with 8.1.
#10. To: redleghunter (#7)
They stopped pushing XP updates I thought.
I still have a Celeron-D machine still running XP -
it still gets the automatic XP updates.
So I dunno.
#11. To: A K A Stone (#0)
Windows 10 Can Collect Your Data For Gov't Agencies - What to Do
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
In a Cop Culture, the Bill of Rights Doesn’t Amount to Much
Americans who have no experience with, or knowledge of, tyranny believe that only terrorists will experience the unchecked power of the state. They will believe this until it happens to them, or their children, or their friends.
Paul Craig Roberts#12. To: Chuck_Wagon, redleghunter, Willie Green, A K A Stone (#10)
You can do a quick registry hack and fool Windows Update into thinking you're using Windows XP Embedded. Support for that version extends through April 2016.
Hacked Windows XP still updates, still a bad idea
It may be okay to use WinXP for static machines, like a machine you use only offline for Quickbooks or a database but, for general use and browsing the web, it's a serious security risk.
We are approaching the point of enough people abandoning WinXP that it becomes less a target of the malware people and they stop writing attacks on WinXP. So if you hang on long enough, security-through-obscurity will start to make XP a safer platform (even if it is still easily compromised and cannot be fixed).
And just because you are getting some kind of updates doesn't make XP safe. XP simply cannot be fixed, cannot be patched to make it safe.
One major vulnerability that cannot be fixed in WinXP is lack of address space layout randomization. Under XP and earlier versions, everything in the OS (and in every program you run) load, essentially, at the same memory addresses every single time. So if a malware writer overruns your programs buffers, he can write his own code into memory at known locations in memory and jump to that code to execute it. And he has gained control of your WinXP. Newer versions of Windows fix this vulnerability and they scatter-load code modules into memory and use the CPU virtualization feature to make the code behave normally and this is done transparently; it just works but your security from buffer overrun attacks is greatly enhanced and tons of existing and current malware attacks are neutered by this one technique.
And you cannot just patch WinXP to fix this ASLR problem. You would have to fully rewrite and recompile the entire WinXP OS and you'd likely run into some problems because WinXP itself expects to have all its modules written this way too.
ASLR has been in every major product for some years now: OS X (since 10.7), iOS (since v4.3), Windows (since Vista), Android (since 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich).
IOW, everyone who is anyone thinks it is necessary. And WinXP will never have it.
I run a WinXP virtual machine, about 32GB (and keep a backup copy in case it gets infected). I have an emulator or two I use it for, some obscure Windows-only utilities for hacking Android/iOS, some Windows-only encoding/streaming utils. Mostly, I have a couple of old C&C games I play on it. But I don't browse the web with it and I rarely turn on the networking so it is unreachable from the internet.
#13. To: TooConservative (#12)
Thanks great info on XP. When MS stopped the updates I put that old desktop on stand alone and no longer surf on it.
I already had a Windows 7 and 8.1 laptop. So in the market now for a new PC given Junior #1 and Junior #2 monopolize the two laptops:)
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.---John 1:17
#14. To: redleghunter (#13)
I already had a Windows 7 and 8.1 laptop. So in the market now for a new PC given Junior #1 and Junior #2 monopolize the two laptops:)
Grab a Win7 machine. You can upgrade it to Win10 for at least a year.
If you want to preserve your Win7 restore capability, make sure you back up the Win7 restore partition before you ever allow the Win10 upgrade.
Given some of the anti-consumer stuff in Win10, I expect Microsoft will have to back down from the most evil parts of Win10 in a year or less. So Win10 might get cleaned up and become more acceptable.
Win10 is, technically, a great advance for Windows and it does the things that should have been done years ago (terminating the old horrible APIs that needed to go). But M$'s marketing department has turned it into a real skunk.
#15. To: TooConservative (#12)
Thanks!
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