Microsoft
Back In February, you started pushing advertisements through Windows in several ways. The first I noticed was on the lock screen. A small tile was offering me a suggested app for just a few dollars. once logged in, while trying to launch an app, I noticed another advertisement in the start menu, also offering a suggested app. Since you offered the Windows 10 operating system for free to so many people, I can almost understand how you could feel justified in generating ad revenue through advertisements. If your user did not pay for the platform up front, you can try to make up some of that loss on the back end. That almost sounds smart.
That is all fine and good, but I paid for this copy of Windows. In fact, I paid a lot because I required the Professional version that opens up Bitlocker and allows marginal control over updates. On top of that, I got the Retail version, not the OEM. So I paid $189.98 at Amazon to get Windows 10 shipped to me on a thumb drive. Then, so that I could put Windows 10 on a second computer, I bought a duplicate copy. In that light, I took offense at advertisements being pushed in front of me. So I did a few searches and learned how to disable those ads. It was not difficult, but I should not have had to do it. You know who bought the OS and who got the free upgrade. You could very easily disable the advertisements by default on the paid for copies.
Last night, much to my amazement, an advertisement was again in my start menu. This happened just after some updates were installed. Seriously, how hard is it to retain user settings through an update? This is not the first time my system has not retained settings through an update. I very meticulously locked down all of the privacy settings and disabled Cortana. I’m still not sure why I checked again at a later date, but I did, and they had been enabled. Now I have to check them regularly just to make sure you have not turned those features back on. It seems that you are up to your old tricks again. This is why I do not have a Microsoft account, actively go out of my way to avoid getting a Microsoft account, and vow that never in my lifetime will I ever sign up for or into a Microsoft account. I do not trust you, and you are giving me really good reasons not to.
It is completely unacceptable to alter a user’s settings through an update. I find it offensive that you would enable advertisements on my computer after I specifically disabled them. But it is especially egregious to alter the privacy settings. You demonstrate no respect for me by dictating how I can use my computer. You demonstrate no appreciation for the money I spent on your product by degrading my user experience. It leaves me thinking of a specific posterior orifice I would like for you to insert this operating system into.
WTF Microsoft