Microsoft is trying a lot of new things with Windows 10, unfortunately they seem to be things no one has asked for.  We have seen them about face on providing Knowledge Base information on updates, from hiding the actual updates which were being installed to providing a way for admins to actually see which updates were being pushed.  Then they tried out reinstalling and resetting default programs during updates, again something not particularly well received and so was discontinued.   Now Microsoft has found yet another trick to advertise the availability of Win10 to those who have not yet upgraded.  After this latest patch opening a new blank tab gives you a nice blue bar with the text 'Microsoft recommends upgrading to Windows 10.' … because the pop up and emails were apparently not enough.

The Inquirer might be stretching it a bit when they refer to it as adware but it is certainly not the security patch it is billed as.  For a bit of added class you will never see KB3146449 in your list of installed updates, the only way you will know is if you get that message.  The hidden update is the real worry here, if a patch is released which you cannot determine is actually installed the difficulty to troubleshoot problems is vastly increased.  Advertise if you want but please don't make a habit of pushing hidden updates, OK?

"JUST WHEN YOU thought Microsoft had stooped as low as it could with Updategate, along comes another low blow. This time it's an advertising payload hidden in a security patch."

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