Why Is It Free?
Since the release of Windows 10 I have been inundated with calls from people who are experiencing problems since upgrading to 10. Clearly all the bugs of the new version have not been worked out. Microsoft has done something with this release they have never done before: They are giving it away for free. One must consider why they would do that. Why would they give up the revenue of selling the operating system? Sometimes it is wise to look a gift-horse in the mouth.
Windows 10 is programmed to snoop through 
your emails and gather information about you to determine what you might be interested in buying. This information is being sold by Microsoft to third parties. Microsoft also says they will make the information available to the U.S. government if they choose to, and all of this is done without any kind of search warrant. You agree to it (supposedly) when you click the agreement when installing or upgrading to the Windows 10 operating system. The fine print of the agreement says, “We will access, disclose and preserve personal data, including your content, such as the content of your emails, other private communications or files in private folders…”
Personal data would include anything concerning your life style, religious beliefs and your political positions. All your private family photos, your documents, writings, emails, messages, your address; every personal bit of private personal information on your computer is made available to the world and to the federal government. All without your knowledge and express permission. This is an egregious violation of the spirit of the 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects…” Passively accepting our personal information flowing into government hands without due process is to give up important constitutional rights that our forefathers fought and died for.
Windows 10 will spy on nearly 
everything you do with your computer, tracking your location and online behavior and probing through your messages, calendars, search history, web history, cloud drive, purchases, contacts, emails, documents, software, music and movies. If any unlicensed music, movies or programs are found it will turn this information over to law enforcement and it will sell the rest of the information to third parties so that companies can target your browser, Facebook, search engine and other programs with commercial ads that are in line with what the data shows you might be interested in buying.
Some don’t care, saying they aren’t breaking the law so they have nothing to hide. But it is not a matter of “not having anything to hide.” What does matter is who is buying the data. The highest bidder is buying. Do we want to trust Microsoft to keep the data secure? Are we also going to trust unknown third parties, who purchased the data, to keep the data secure from hackers? Are we going to trust them not to resell the data again to other unscrupulous third parties? Once your data is taken by Microsoft it is potentially released to the entire world. Would thieves and pedophiles be interested in how old your children are, what they look like, where they go to school, or even what your net worth is? Everybody has something to hide when wicked criminals are the ones trying to take a look. If you have Windows 10, The “Big Brother” of George Orwell’s novel 1984 is in your home and is sitting on your computer desk.
You Will Be Assimilated
The worst thing about upgrading to Windows 10 
is that many people were not given a choice. Windows 7 or 8 were sent an automatic update that made them nag you continually to upgrade to Windows 10. Many took the bait to their sorrow and regret. Many others wisely declined, but one day found that their computer had upgraded to Windows 10 on its own without their permission. I have had many customers tell me this happened to them and this is despicable behavior by Microsoft. That is not their computer. It is yours and they have no right to do this to people. People should have a choice on what happens to their computer. For the consumer to be denied the choice and have their own personal computer upgraded without their permission to an operating system that is totally different and that is bound to give them trouble is downright criminal.
Unstable and Unwieldy
I have found Windows 10 to be buggy 
and very difficult to fix once it breaks. Often there is no recourse but to do a Windows 10 Reset to factory, which reinstalls the Operating System and deletes the data. Furthermore, the system is not as intuitive and easy to use as Windows 7 was, not to mention it is not nearly as pretty an interface. Things that were easy to find in Windows 7 or 8 have been moved around to who-knows-where.
Windows Updates Forever – Like It Or Not
And there is more bad news. 
Windows Updates cannot be turned off in Windows 10. Not really. There are some registry hacks to get it turned off, but it’s complicated and will cause your activation to expire on some computers. Why would you want Windows Updates turned off? I recommend a computer be fully updated when installed, and then turn off all updates, and only manually update after you have a full backup. A Windows update can crash a computer. I have had countless calls where the customer says, “All was fine until it did a Windows Update and now…” For this reason I am not a fan of automatic updates. But at least in previous versions you have a choice. Not so in Windows 10. Microsoft will install who-knows-what on your PC at any time they so choose. Bad idea. You don’t want the risk of Microsoft installing updates the day before you have an important assignment to complete.
Now I have some good news, mixed with bad news. The good news is, if you have upgraded to Windows 10 and wish that you hadn’t, you can easily revert your computer back to your previous version. The bad news is you have to do it within 30 days of upgrading.
Instructions to Roll Back
1. Click on Start Button
2. Click on Settings
3. Click Update & Security
4. Click Go Back to Windows 7 (or 8)
That’s all there is to it. If you don’t see “Go Back to Windows X” then you are past the thirty days and you cannot easily roll it back.
If you are past the thirty days and can’t roll back, you can turn off many of the spying features of Windows 10. This website tells how to do it: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/07/30/windows-10-privacy-settings/ Turning off the spy features is a bit convoluted. You do part of it on the computer and part on a Microsoft website. If you want to hire me to do it I can take care of it for you for a reasonable fee. There is a free program called Spybot AntiBeacon which assists with turning off the telemetry in Windows 10 to stop the spying. This is a great program. Recently Microsoft started sending out updates to Windows 7 and Windows 8 that allow them to spy on those versions also. In this case no one is signing an agreement to let them spy and this is, in my opinion, totally illegal. Fortunately, the Spybot AntiBeacon program will stop the spying on those versions also.
A Terrible Start Menu System
Another problem with Windows 10 is the Start Menu. The Start Menu in Windows 7 was perfect. They took it away completely in Windows 8. Windows 10 brings it back, but it is dysfunctional and not user friendly. There is an after-market program that puts a Windows 7 Style menu on Windows 10 or Windows 8. It is called Start10 or Start8. I can install that for $19.95. It makes Windows 8 or 10 much more user friendly.
In my professional opinion, 
Windows 7 is still the best operating system that Microsoft has made and I’m sticking with that. It is the only operating system I use. I have worked with every version of Windows ever made, beginning with Windows 1.0. For those who are interested, here is a quick overview of Microsoft’s Operating Systems (OS) and their reputation…
DOS/Windows 1.0 – Barely worked.
DOS/Windows 286 – Better, but painfully slow
DOS/Windows 3.0 – An improvement
DOS/Windows 3.1 – Widely used. Crashed or locked up several times a day.
Windows 95 – Good for its time, but unstable
Windows 98 – Even better for its time, but unstable. 
ws Vista – Bad OS. Very unstable and hard to repair.
Windows 7 – The best OS made to date.
Windows 8 – Bad OS. No menu system. Not user friendly. Convoluted Access to System Restore
Windows 10 – Bad OS. Bad menu system. Not user friendly. Spies on you. Can’t turn off updates. Convoluted Access to System Restore
I hope this has been helpful to everyone. If my help is desired, or if you just have questions, I am just a phone call away.
Sincerely,
Mark Swarbrick
CertifiedOnlineComputerRepair.com
480-430-7780