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deif writes:
A recent Windows 8 update detects other OS installs as a "security problem", erases non-windows bootloaders and enables UEFI Secure Boot, all without user intervention.
I contacted MS by chat (in Dutch, so of no use to you) and asked them about this. They vehemently denied this was possible at all. Multiple times, in no uncertain terms. Same results were acquired by phone: denial, denial, denial.
I pointed out that it did actually happen, and that it wan't the first time such a thing had happened in the history of MS updates -so "impossible" was BS, to put it shortly.
Then came a chat reply which amounted to "MS updates makes sure W8 functions fine, it does not look at other OS's integrity". This is, in my opinion, a de-facto admission that yes, the update had changed the bootloader back to the W8 version that ignores other OS's, and yes, it had set the UEFI setting back to "secure boot."
(Score: 5, Informative) by TheGratefulNet on Wednesday March 26 2014, @12:38PM
I finally found out what was causing my windows7 system (which I use for media play; stupid amazon prime forces me to use windows to stream videos, grrr!) to reboot on its own. for the longest time I thought my system was not stable or had hardware problems. some days I would wake up and not see the folders as I left them on the desktop but a login window!
well, I was up at 3am last nite watching some video when the MS updater started a count down and did allow me to defer the reboot for another 4 hours (thanks... I guess) but if you were not there to say 'no', it would reboot your system. how rude!! I turn off auto-updates and I turn off most things in win7 that would annoy a user, but this just goes too far! its enough to make me want to turn off ALL update ability. I really hate forced reboots and ones that auto-reboot on you at night without your say-so is as rude as can be!!
does anyone know any way to stop this? I think I did disable all auto-style settings but maybe there are reg hacks for this?
at any rate, I could believe that win8 also wants to clobber mbr's. if MS thinks its ok to reboot a live running system without the user allowing it, sure, I could see them stepping on other os's and not CARING one bit about it.
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 26 2014, @03:23PM
That thing runs all kinds of stuff when it thinks you're not using your computer.
You gotta remove all those tasks and that crap goes away. Everything from actually useful to you. To calling home to microsoft.
Or just disable task scheduler in the registry.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by DECbot on Wednesday March 26 2014, @04:48PM
I manage to watch Amazon Prime videos just fine with Xbuntu and chromenium. I've even trained my wife and 4-year-old daughter to use it. Netflixs and silverlight was the last thing that I recall not playing on Linux, but that might have change since Google released chrome/chromenium.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 26 2014, @06:24PM
Are you sure you have auto-updates off? Specifically Windows Update.