Not now, Microsoft! Delay W10 updates for three days
Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 10 users will soon be able to postpone security updates for up to three days.
The news will come as a great relief to users who have complained that the current updates, which are installed automatically and can’t be deferred, often arrive at inconvenient times. These updates can cause PCS to reboot without warning.
The change is part of the highly anticipated Creators Update for Windows 10, which is expected to be released in April.
When an update arrives you’ll see a blue box with the heading ‘We’ve got an update for you’ (see screenshot). It gives you three options: ‘Restart now’, ‘Pick a time’ and ‘Snooze’.
Clicking ‘Pick a time’ lets you choose a time and date for the update to be installed. This can be rescheduled later if your initial choice is no longer convenient.
Clicking ‘Snooze’ postpones the update for three days. You can click this option again every three days, giving you the option to put off the update indefinitely.
In addition, Microsoft is extending ‘Active Hours’ in Windows 10, which is the period of time you can set to prevent updates from being installed. To see this option open the Start menu, click Settings, ‘Update & security’, then Windows Update on the left. Under the ‘Update settings’ heading click ‘Change active hours’.
Microsoft explained the new features in its Windows 10 blog ( www.snipca.com/23691), saying it realised users wanted more control over updates. John Cable, Microsoft’s Director of Program Management, acknowledged “that unexpected reboots are disruptive if they happen at the wrong time”.
New privacy settings
Also arriving in the Creators Update are new privacy settings which should make it easier for you to restrict what type of data Microsoft collects about how you use your PC.
A screenshot posted on the Windows 10 blog shows
privacy ‘sliders’ that let you turn on or off Microsoft’s data-gathering tools. The two most significant are ‘Location’, which stops Microsoft knowing where you live, and ‘Relevant Ads’, which stops Windows 10 showing you adverts based on your interests.
These settings appear to be in response to the threat of a lawsuit from Swiss privacy watchdog FDPIC, which had called for “more precise information” on how Windows 10 collects data.
However, European Union regulators said in February that they were still dissatisfied with Microsoft’s new privacy settings, and want more specific details.