Windows 7 users...

[PP Mguire]

I tried the usual update-disable method described on many sites (for example: https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000538.htm#xp), and it was only effective for about a week in stopping the stealth downloads of KB junk to my XP Pro. It took the previously mentioned software to lock down whatever backdoor M$ was using. The fact M$ should of stopped this back in 2014, yet was still at it as of one year ago, means their credibility is nil with me....especially where EOL/EOS is concerned. Hopefully it will be different with Win 7 Pro, but I'll not be turning my back nor letting my guard down.

For XP this kills the service entirely and there is no way to turn it back on unless you or some form of 3rd party* software you have installed turns it on. Period. Like, no discussion. Automatic updates were implemented with XP and that is the end all be all for updates, service off = the update software cannot be run. This could be different for 7 as it's newer but I highly highly doubt it. For whatever reason you may want to use XP some more I suggest ditching stock iterations and find yourself the Integral copy that is substantially better anyways, it's what I use. It doesn't even have the update service built in anymore. It also comes with native NVMe, USB3, modern SATA, and networking support built in with a browser that works among other things.

*And by this I mean any AV, software update program, security center, security essentials, anything like that.

 

[TechnoChicken]

Put a decent GPU in her (3070/3080) and she'll kick butt off mars...

 

[i8DRM]

For XP this kills the service entirely and there is no way to turn it back on unless you or some form of 3rd party* software you have installed turns it on. Period. Like, no discussion. Automatic updates were implemented with XP and that is the end all be all for updates, service off = the update software cannot be run. This could be different for 7 as it's newer but I highly highly doubt it. For whatever reason you may want to use XP some more I suggest ditching stock iterations and find yourself the Integral copy that is substantially better anyways, it's what I use. It doesn't even have the update service built in anymore. It also comes with native NVMe, USB3, modern SATA, and networking support built in with a browser that works among other things.

*And by this I mean any AV, software update program, security center, security essentials, anything like that.

Thanks but XP Pro was only used for surfing the web and streaming movies. With only three browsers (Mypal, Centuary and Firefox) still working, and all of them crapola in one way or another, it's unfortunately time to move on to Win 7...at least until I can teach myself Linux, which could take a couple years.