To Update or Not to Update: Opinions wanted

[scuzzycard]

I'm a Windows 10 Pro user, and I have my Windows Update disabled. I've had it disabled since I installed Windows 10. I don't trust Microsoft one bit, and I would only install an update if I specifically needed it. Am I the only one who does this, or does anyone else feel this way? Should I reconsider this position?

 

[Stysner]

Security updates are always a good thing, though the new Anniversary Update yielded a lot of problems for a lot of people (I had some BSODs due to Avast! myself, but no idea who's fault that is Microsoft or the anti-virus software). Also a lot of the privacy settings get returned to default without it asking you (on the Anniversary update alone). The last is actually more like what a Service Pack used to be than a simple update.

For me, aside from the before mentioned update I have had no problems with Windows Update, and I was in the same boat as you are with the previous versions of Windows (XP up to 8.1), never using Updates.

So: is there a chance MS fucks up and you'll get a less stable system after updates? Yes. Is it therefore better in this day and age to connect to the internet with an outdated Windows... Hmmm, just really (you probably aren't) don't use Edge or IE then.

I'm fine with the updates, trust MS or not, think about what Google already knows of you, or Apple if you have any of their products. On my first smartphone I had ALL location services off at all times, but on the net I could still find my everyday movements over a period of a couple months, with Google sometimes guessing (correctly) where I lived and what my place of work was, and I checked if my location services options were off every week.

So, in conclusion, is any big tech coorporation to be trusted? No. Can you have total privacy? Yes, live like a hermit and don't use anything connected to the internet ever. Is it worth it? No, probably not. I'd say just install the updates

 

[LukeFatwalker]

I don't think you're wrong for not trusting updates, but I also think there's a better way of going about it. Reason being, these updates can often fix stability issues and bugs. By not installing them, you're missing out on those.

How I do it is I make a backup of my PC before each update. If the update isn't wanted for whatever reason, I restore back to before the update. I have enough snapshots to take me back to Day 1 I installed Windows 10. So even if I have issues, I can always restore back to the state where I knew things worked.

Lots of programs do something like this, I recommend Rollback Rx or Comodo Time Machine but even traditional disk imagers like Acronis True Image work as well.

 

[CountMike]

A full system disk backup with something like Macrium Reflect (which should be done anyway) and than you can update everything, in case of a screw up, in 15 minutes you are back to what you had.
Otherwise, keeping system updated is practically a must nowadays, patching up security holes and keeping up with latest treats too. A lot of stuff is on system level and no AVs can save you.

 

[wpgwpg]

I always make full system backups often and do the updates automatically as others have said. That's been working just fine for me since 1991. A lot of things can go wrong besides update problems, so it's really risky NOT to make regular backups.

Good luck.