Windows 10: Microsoft to make Windows 10 installation automatic

Happy using Windows 7 or Windows 8? You might not be happy much longer, because Microsoft has announced Windows 10 will now start installing automatically on Windows 7 and Windows 8 PCs… 

The development sees Microsoft follow through on its controversial October roadmap which said Windows 10 would have its status changed in 2016 to become a ‘Recommended’ upgrade in Windows Update. In basic terms this means anyone who uses Windows 7 or Windows 8 with default Windows Update settings (the vast majority) will now see Windows 10 begin installing by itself.

The good news is Windows 7 and Windows 8 users will still have the power to interrupt the installation once it has started, but this still represents by far the most aggressive measure Microsoft has taken to achieve its stated goal of one billion Windows 10 installations by 2017.

The move is also a crucial one for Microsoft as it steps up the Windows 10 campaign from nagware (the regular upgrade prompts Windows 7 and Windows 8 users receive), linguistic cheek and scare tactics to proactive control of users’ machines.

The first stage of this began in January with Microsoft cancelling or heavily downgrading support for Windows 7 and Windows 8 on new Intel, AMD and Qualcomm chipsets. Now this combination of hardware restrictions and automated Windows 10 installations is likely to make ongoing resistance more trouble than its worth for mainstream users.