PC Professionals Blog

 After a conversation with my software vendor today, I was told that in 2021 Microsoft will be going full on subscription based. Pricing was not released, nor was a set date. I was only guaranteed it will happen this year and will affect the two major products my company sells and supports (Windows 10 Desktop and Windows server). I am waiting to hear if there is any change in CALs or pricing of CALs since everyone will be moving to subscription based software. Pricing has not been released yet, but looking at the Enterprise subscription of $7 per seat/mo.

In addition, Windows 10 there will be a new version called Windows 10x. Microsoft said 10X won’t run on PCs. Instead, it’s intended for stripped-down computers something like a Chromebook, which would run mostly online software. Another 10X computer intended for small business would be less capable than a PC, but have enough processing power to run its own software.

A consumer Windows 10 subscription service (which would replace purchasing the operating system with a monthly fee to use it) has reportedly been discussed within Microsoft.

The idea is that a Windows 10 subscription fee could become part of Microsoft 365, which is currently the online subscription version of Microsoft Office. But subscriptions may not have much appeal to consumers. Microsoft does have a patent on Windows365 which they acquired at the same time as Office365.

Microsoft’s Email server Exchange 2019 is also the last of 1 time purchases for business. During the Redmond, Wash. company’s Ignite technical conference, held last month, Microsoft announced that the next version of its on-premises Exchange Server — the de facto email server in the enterprise — will be available only as a subscription-based product, thus ending licensing that let customers pay just once for the software.

Other details, notably pricing, were missing. Microsoft said that info will be fleshed out before the release of what it dubbed Exchange Next in the second half of 2021.

That means Exchange Server 2019 will be the last in the line of email servers sold as “perpetual” licenses, those that a company purchases with an up-front payment. A perpetual license payment provides the rights to run the software as long as one wants, even after Microsoft halts support.

The 10%-15% increase in cost due to the US putting new tariffs on all electronics imported from China. This is will remain in place until January 1st when it is expected to increase an ADDITIONAL 25% bring the total tariff increase to 40% if the US & China can not come to a mutual trade agreement. More details on this can be found here: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/17/us/politics/trump-china-tariffs-trade.html

I Woke Up & My PC Looks Different.

It seems there is not enough people ready to commit to Windows 10 yet so Microsoft is giving us a kick in ass. We have had an influx of clients calling us complaining about coming into work on Monday morning to find their PC has been upgraded to Windows 10 without any warning. We have had a mixed out come of scenarios for reverting their PCs back to Win7. Sometimes it rolls back without any problems, other times we see the message “An Error Has Occurred” leaving us to either leave Windows 10 on their PC or reinstall Windows 7. Even when the roll back is successful, Microsoft Office is corrupted and needs to be reinstalled. For those of us who are blessed with hard copies of Microsoft Office should be up and running in a few minutes. For everyone else, go find your key cards or your Microsoft store logins and figure out how to re-download it. We have also seen Quickbooks get corrupted as well, particularly versions that are not current.

How & Why Did This Happen?

Most people have Windows Updates set to automatically download and install. Microsoft used that to their advantage and sent the Windows 10 down in an update (guess they thought they were doing you a favor).

It’s Free, Right?

For whatever reason, Microsoft thinks this is necessary but it is not. Windows 7 is good to use until 2021 without any issues. If you don’t like Windows 10 you do not have to upgrade. The only reason to upgrade is if you like the word FREE. But be mindful of what free will get you. There are plenty of “Phone home to big brother services” in the new Operating system and MS says you can turn them off if you don’t like it. What they don’t tell you is there are more services that you are not privy to turn off.  Depending on which version of Windows 10 you upgraded to Automatic Updates are no longer an option to turn off.

I Got Windows 7 Restored, Now What?

First thing, DO NOT TURN OFF WINDOWS UPDATES! “It sounds logical, turn them off and Windows 10 can’t come down.” However, it also prevents windows from getting any security updates which are strongly advised. There are a few ways to remedy the problem. First, change Windows update settings to “Notify me but do not download or install updates”. This works but you will need to manually review, download and install every update. The second way is to check for updates, review them and look for the “Windows 10 Upgrade”. Right click it and select hide. This will prevent it from installing and allow automatic updates to continue to work properly.

If you still need help, give us a call and schedule a repair.

This article was taken directly from Microsoft’s “Avoid Phone Scams” page.

Cybercriminals don’t just send fraudulent email messages and set up fake websites. They might also call you on the telephone and claim to be from Microsoft. They might offer to help solve your computer problems or sell you a software license. Once they have access to your computer, they can do the following:

 

• Trick you into installing malicious software that could capture sensitive data, such as online banking user names and passwords. They might also then charge you to remove this software.
• Take control of your computer remotely and adjust settings to leave your computer vulnerable.
• Request credit card information so they can bill you for phony services.
• Direct you to fraudulent websites and ask you to enter credit card and other personal or financial information there.

Neither Microsoft nor our partners make unsolicited phone calls (also known as cold calls) to charge you for computer security or software fixes.

Telephone tech support scams: What you need to know

Cybercriminals often use publicly available phone directories so they might know your name and other personal information when they call you. They might even guess what operating system you’re using.

Once they’ve gained your trust, they might ask for your user name and password or ask you to go to a website to install software that will let them access your computer to fix it. Once you do this, your computer and your personal information is vulnerable.

Do not trust unsolicited calls. Do not provide any personal information.

Here are some of the organizations that cybercriminals claim to be from:

• Windows Helpdesk
• Windows Service Center
• Microsoft Tech Support
• Microsoft Support
• Windows Technical Department Support Group
• Microsoft Research and Development Team (Microsoft R & D Team)

Report phone scams

Learn about how to report phone fraud in the United States. Outside of the US, contact your local authorities.

How to protect yourself from telephone tech support scams

If someone claiming to be from Microsoft tech support calls you:

• Do not purchase any software or services.
• Ask if there is a fee or subscription associated with the “service.” If there is, hang up.
• Never give control of your computer to a third party unless you can confirm that it is a legitimate representative of a computer support team with whom you are already a customer.
• Take the caller’s information down and immediately report it to your local authorities.
• Never provide your credit card or financial information to someone claiming to be from Microsoft tech support.

What to do if you already gave information to a tech support person

If you think that you might have downloaded malware from a phone tech support scam website or allowed a cybercriminal to access your computer, take these steps:

• Change your computer’s password, change the password on your main email account, and change the password for any financial accounts, especially your bank and credit card.
• Install Microsoft Security Essentials. (Microsoft Security Essentials is a free program. If someone calls you to install this product and then charge you for it, this is also a scam.)Note: In Windows 8, Windows Defender replaces Microsoft Security Essentials. Windows Defender runs in the background and notifies you when you need to take specific action. However, you can use it anytime to scan for malware if your computer isn’t working properly or you clicked a suspicious link online or in an email message.Learn more about Windows Defender

Will Microsoft ever call me?

There are some cases where Microsoft will work with your Internet service provider and call you to fix a malware-infected computer—such as during the recent cleanup effort begun in our botnet takedown actions. These calls will be made by someone with whom you can verify you already are a customer. You will never receive a legitimate call from Microsoft or our partners to charge you for computer fixes.

More information

For more information about how to recognize a phishing scam, see Avoid scams that use the Microsoft name fraudulently.

If you need help with a virus or other security problem, visit the Microsoft Virus and Security Solution Center.