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While Microsoft has a long history of innovation that has unquestionably changed the world, they do have a tendency to become the punchline among... Microsoft Lets You Hide Automatic Updates In Windows 10

While Microsoft has a long history of innovation that has unquestionably changed the world, they do have a tendency to become the punchline among tech users who aren’t too excited about their offerings. Case in point, the much-heralded Windows 10 release that’s slated to happen in a matter of hours has already suffered a lot of heated criticism over a number of factors, not the least of which is the automatic updates. Microsoft originally decided that Home users of the operating system will not have the ability to prevent or turn off updates that the company sends out, and that hasn’t sat too well with some.

Windows 10

Luckily, a recent Nnvidia graphics card update that rendered some computers completely unusable may have changed that. Following outcry over the after effects of the update–but very likely not directly related to it–Microsoft has now quietly mentioned a tool that will be available to users of the Home edition (Pro users don’t have to worry about this step) that will let them hide these updates. It doesn’t mean they won’t be downloaded automatically, but it does mean users will have the option to uninstall them and hide them so that they aren’t automatically reinstalled.

This tool is vital to users’ choice in using Windows 10. Without it, users can still uninstall an automatic update, but the system will reportedly install it again for them in the next round. While some say it’s sad that Microsoft has decided to take this step in forcing updates on its consumers, others have expressed irritation at having to use an outside program–even one created by Microsoft–to disable updates that they never chose to install in the first place.

According to Antony Leather in an article for Forbes, “By hiding updates, you essentially prevent Windows 10 from installing them and you can see a list of updates you’ve already ‘hidden’ using the tool too. You can uninstall updates already via control panel, but the likelihood is that Windows 10 would just download them again. The tool prevents this, although it’s obviously not ideal having to use a separate program that’s not integrated into the OS itself somehow.”

Whether or not this tool (which can be downloaded HERE) is enough to change users’ perceptions about tomorrow’s launch remains to be seen, and whether or not it’s enough of a fix to keep users happy will only be clear after the first round of updates magically appear in the background.