Windows 10 Updates Killing Me

[FL-JOE]

Yesterday we blasted through almost 10gigs of data on our Verizon Beyond Unlimited plan, which really should be called the Verizon 15gig a Month Plan.  We both had our laptops on for a couple hours, I was checking some different sites and the DW was doing our taxes using TurboTax.  At no time did either of us stream anything.

I spent almost an hour on the phone with Verizon thinking it was some problem with a tower or an issue with our 5 year old MiFi equipment.  Nope, finally got to the right tech who could actually look at the history of what was going through or MiFi yesterday and the times.  There were two huge Window 10 updates that got pushed to each of our laptops, over 3g each!  On top of that the DW had not fired up her computer for over a month so several more Window 10 updates used up another 3gigs.  

There is no way I can find to turn off automatic updates.  Verizon will make a fortune on data boost fees at this rate!

[BlueLghtning]

When you are connected to that hotspot via the computer, click on the connection and tell it's a metered connection. With a metered connection it shouldn't push the updates automatically. BTW, Turbo Tax pulls down a lot of updates when you use it also, but Windows Pc's are definitely some of the worst. Like I said the metered connection should help a lot. 

[Big5er]

Have you tried setting your network connection to "metered"? If you do that it will stop Windows 10 from automatically downloading the updates. Go to settings>Network & Internet>wifi>advanced and set the metered connection to "on".

 

EDIT: Looks like Dan beat me by a few seconds

 

[FL-JOE]

Thanks for the great advise!  I went back into settings and followed your directions.  Needed another couple steps in there (had to go through "properties") under the MiFi connection but finally got to metered connection "on or off".  Switched it on so we should be good to go.

We have a good friend who resides in a condo nearby.  Maybe every month or so we will pay her a visit and use her home internet connection to take care of all these downloads while wintering in Florida.

Thanks again you guys for helping me out!

[Bill Joyce]

We have done those updates while having something to eat or drink at a restaurant like Panera Bread, Starbuck's or Carino's, which have wifi.  I have known people who sit in a store parking lot after hours and use the store's wifi signal to update.  But, having a friend or relative with high speed internet is better, as long as they do not resent your usage.

[schavone]

Another thing you can do is use different devices as a hot spot. I have a MiFi, a Verizon 4G tablet and a smart phone. Once the MiFi Jetpack reaches its 15GB montly limit, I turn on the hotspot feature on the tablet and connect our laptops to that. Once the tablet reaches 15GB as a hotspot, I turn it on on my smart phone. So, effectively, I have 45GB of high speed data allowance per month. And for a lot of stuff (online PokerStars poker, Facebook, email, etc.) the slower (up to 600KBPS) data speed is fine so I keep my laptop connected to the slower MiFi when that's all I need. 

[FL-JOE]

21 hours ago, schavone said:

Another thing you can do is use different devices as a hot spot. I have a MiFi, a Verizon 4G tablet and a smart phone. Once the MiFi Jetpack reaches its 15GB montly limit, I turn on the hotspot feature on the tablet and connect our laptops to that. Once the tablet reaches 15GB as a hotspot, I turn it on on my smart phone. So, effectively, I have 45GB of high speed data allowance per month. And for a lot of stuff (online PokerStars poker, Facebook, email, etc.) the slower (up to 600KBPS) data speed is fine so I keep my laptop connected to the slower MiFi when that's all I need. 

Thanks schavone, I will give that a go.

[BlueLghtning]

On that same note, the other option is if you find yourself at the end of your billing period with data left on a certain line that would be a good time to tell the computer to update and just let it sit online to do that. Even if you get throttled to the 600kb/s, it will still pull down updates just take it awhile. 

 

[eddie1261]

Those steps will vary depending on what build of Windows 10 people have. It STINKS that Micro$oft changes things so often because then their own online help pages, which are not updated, are wrong.

[Bill Joyce]

Updates happen all the time, with Windows, Linux, MacOS, Android and iOS.  Mostly the apps update, especially the internet browsers, but sometimes it is the operating system itself.  The criminals are looking for you to not do those updates.  

 

[RV_]

This information is important enough for me to post it on its own.

The last Windows updates were an emergency update due to Intel flaws causing vulnerabilities. The defective Intel chips are in all Apple and Windows computers and since the Linux folks use x86/Windows boxes, them as well. Some cell phones are also affected.

I will hang in there and pass along what I find out, but I am not buying any computers or phones, new or used, until either Intel produces a firmware fix that does not slow them down, or announces new chips in new computers that no longer have the flaws for Spectre and Meltdown. All computer owners will see patches coming out unscheduled and unannounced as they try to fix these.

If you own an Apple you really need to read this in full too:

Will Huge Chip Vulnerabilities Lead To Mass Intel, AMD And ARM Recalls?

Excerpt:

"Back when models of Jeep were determined vulnerable to cyberattack in 2015, Fiat Chrysler announced a recall of 1.4 million cars. Should the same happen for computers when vulnerabilities aren't entirely fixable with software updates alone?

This is the question being asked after the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities were revealed yesterday, affecting almost every modern computer in existence, in particular those based on Intel, AMD and ARM processors. Whilst software patches are coming and should do much to mitigate real-world attacks, the U.S.-government sponsored Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) running out of Carnegie Mellon stated Wednesday that the true, long-term solution was simply to replace the vulnerable computer chips entirely. "The underlying vulnerability is primarily caused by CPU architecture design choices. Fully removing the vulnerability requires replacing vulnerable CPU hardware," the body wrote.

Could recalls be necessary? While it may be technically accurate to say a completely redesigned chip is the ultimate solution, it's hugely unlikely customers are going to get free fresh devices. Vendors haven't mentioned anything of the sort. And, some say, large-scale hardware replacements would amount to a needless, over-the-top reaction.

Don't expect a free new PC

The more concerning issue from a long-term perspective is Spectre, which tricks applications into coughing up pieces of their memory. As the researchers noted yesterday, it's harder to exploit, but trickier to effectively patch with software. Not to mention there aren't any fixes currently available for the specific issue, whilst many patches are coming for Meltdown.

As the researchers noted in their whitepaper Wednesday: "While makeshift processor-specific countermeasures are possible in some cases, sound solutions will require fixes to processor designs." Or as one of the paper's contributors, Daniel Gruss, told Forbes: "We believe that Spectre might haunt us for a longer while since it is difficult to generically mitigate it." Making matters worse is that attacks can exploit Spectre via malicious websites running Javascript, according to the researchers (a fact later confirmed by Mozilla in its advisory).

Ultimately, chip makers like Intel will now be ensuring future chips won't have the same problems, so it's possible those running highly critical systems where information leakage is unacceptable will want to replace their own hardware. Cybersecurity expert Rob Graham said that upgrading to newer Intel processors from older ones could also prevent loss of performance, an issue that the chip maker admitted could affect certain computer speeds, depending on the workload.

All that isn't to say consumers don't deserve better from their tech providers, said Matthew Hickey, director of cybersecurity company Hacker House. "CPU bugs have never resulted in a recall before as they get patched with microcode... This is a good case for arguing that we should have better protections as consumers for our technology. We would recall cars if they weren't safe, why not faulty hardware?" (As an alert reader pointed out, there has been a CPU recall before, in 1994 when a bug was uncovered in an Intel Pentium processor)."

Source Forbes here:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2018/01/04/intel-arm-amd-no-recalls-for-meltdown-spectre-vulnerabilities/#27fc04717d3a

Here Are All The Available Fixes You Need For Those Huge Chip Hacks -- UPDATED

For concerned users, see this list of the available fixes for Meltdown and Spectre from major tech manufacturers. Below:

'UPDATE After publication, the CERT changed its guidance from suggesting replacement of CPUs to recommending updates. It wrote the following: "Operating system and some application updates mitigate these attacks."

The official US government CERT (US-CERT) run out of the Department of Homeland Security still warned: "Due to the fact that the vulnerability exists in CPU architecture rather than in software, patching may not fully address these vulnerabilities in all cases."

Source: Forbes article with hot links to related articles and more is here:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2018/01/04/google-microsoft-apple-updates-for-meltdown-spectre-intel-processor-vulnerabilities/#6df72cff5c31

 

[Tom_M]

I disable the "Windows Update" service. To do this, type "services" in the search box then click on "Services".  Scroll down to "Windows Update" then right click on it and select "Disable". When you want to update, enable the update service, then go to Settings and click "Update & Security" then click "Check for updates".

Supposedly there are some updates that can happen, but this will prevent most of them.

[FL-JOE]

Verizon ended up giving us a 5g boost for free.  We have been long time customers and they have always been pretty good to us when issues come up.

So far with the updates turned off we have been "crawling" along on 4g speed and not using much data.  Stopped by our friend's condo yesterday and let the updates fly!

[Big5er]

On 2/9/2018 at 6:17 AM, Tom_M said:

I disable the "Windows Update" service. To do this, type "services" in the search box then click on "Services".  Scroll down to "Windows Update" then right click on it and select "Disable". When you want to update, enable the update service, then go to Settings and click "Update & Security" then click "Check for updates".

Supposedly there are some updates that can happen, but this will prevent most of them.

Tom, what version of Windows are you running? Disabling (to my knowledge) is not an option on Windows 10

[Tom_M]

I'm using Win 10 Pro and it works for me. After a bit more research, I see that this may not work for Win 10 Home.

[RV_]

Windows home, enterprise and Pro all have different settings. It is my understanding that I can defer some types of updates for up to 3 months with Pro.

Excerpt:

"his deferral process is available only on PCs running business and education editions. Windows 10 Home does not offer any deferral options.

Over the course of several feature updates since the initial release of Windows 10 in 2015, Microsoft has tinkered with the interface for deferring feature updates. The steps I describe here assume that you have already installed the Creators Update, version 1703.

Step 1 is to move your PC from the Current Branch (which gets feature updates as soon as they're released to the public) to the Current Branch for Business. (Yes, Microsoft has changed these names, but this is what you'll see in Settings.)

To make the change, go to Settings > Update & security > Advanced options and choose Current Branch for Business, as shown here. That defers feature updates until Microsoft declares them "ready for business deployment," a milestone that typically occurs about four months after the Current Branch release."

Source: http://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-10-tip-temporarily-delay-the-fall-creators-update/

If you subscribe for free to all of Ed Bott's articles you can stay up to date on the changes.

[Tom_M]

8 hours ago, Big5er said:

Disabling (to my knowledge) is not an option on Windows 10

Windows has a multitude of applications running in the background. These apps are called services. To manage these services you run the services app. One of the services running is Windows Update. I just checked my Windows 10 tablet which is using Windows 10 Home  v1703. I don't recall when I disabled the Update Service, but since it is still on v1703 it must have been quite a while ago. After I update to the latest version, I don't know if I will be able to disable the Update Service for my tablet. My laptop is running a recently updated version of Win 10 Pro and I currently have the Update Service disabled on it.

Here's a tutorial on How to Start, Stop, Restart, Enable, and Disable Services in Windows 10:

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/4499-start-stop-disable-services-windows-10-a.html

[Big5er]

On 2/10/2018 at 4:17 PM, Tom_M said:

I'm using Win 10 Pro and it works for me. After a bit more research, I see that this may not work for Win 10 Home.

Well that explains that...I'm running the cheap version..Win10 Home.
How do I find the version number? I just find "Windows 10 Home"

[Tom_M]

Go to Settings then click System. Scroll down and click About at the bottom of the list. Or type About in the search box and click About your PC. The latest version is 1709. I'm out in the boonies right now and am having problems upgrading my tablet so I can't check out if disabling Windows Update service works for it. It worked for version 1703.

[FL-JOE]

UPDATE:  Since getting these updates under control we used under 3gigs in 10 days on the MiFi.  At this rate or a little more we will never get slowed down at the end of the billing cycles.

Verizon was good on their word and gifted us a 5gig boost for the month.

[Tom_M]

I finally got my tablet updated to v1709. I disabled the Windows Update service. I'll wait and see if Microsoft enables it at some point.

[Big5er]

8 hours ago, Tom_M said:

Go to Settings then click System. Scroll down and click About at the bottom of the list. Or type About in the search box and click About your PC. The latest version is 1709. I'm out in the boonies right now and am having problems upgrading my tablet so I can't check out if disabling Windows Update service works for it. It worked for version 1703.

Wow...version 1607. Maybe I should run that update thingie, eh?

[Tom_M]

You are in for a major update so be prepared to suck up lots of data.

[Chalkie]

3 hours ago, Big5er said:

Wow...version 1607. Maybe I should run that update thingie, eh?

You might be better off downloading the Win10 ISO using the Media Creation Tool. It will fit on a 4gb USB stick (although 8 is better) and you can skip a lot of data that way. Otherwise you have to update version by version instead of direct from what you have to the newest. If you take this route just be sure to backup all your docs, pics, music, etc. ahead of time just in case. 

 

[Big5er]

Too late Gary  
I appreciate the tip but it's already done. I set it to download and went out for lunch.