Microsoft reimburses travel agency for forced Windows 10 update damages

Windows 10 has been receiving rave reviews, but some of its background activities and automatic update procedures are leaving a sour taste to many of its users. The automatic upgrade from Windows 7/8.1 to Windows 10, for example, cost at least one company tens of thousands of dollars in damages.

Teri Goldstein manages a travel agency in California and is claiming that a forced Windows update to her computers have caused the entire system to run unbearably slow and be prone to crashes. Microsoft Support was of no help and she said she never authorized the update in the first place. In fact, she claimed to have never of Windows 10 before the incident.

Goldstein brought the matter to court where Microsoft swiftly agreed to award her $10000 USD in damages and lost revenue for her company. Of course, the Redmond company made it clear in a following statement that it wanted to avoid a lengthy and expensive litigation and that Microsoft was not at fault.

The dispute is an extreme example of the consequences of Microsoft's forced updates according to Seattle Times. Microsoft's general response is that Windows 10 offers more benefits and security measures than both Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. Thus, the company does not see the free upgrade as a constraint. Users still need to confirm via a dialog box and agree to the usual legal terms before upgrading can begin. Additionally, users can still downgrade to the previous operating system within one month of updating.

Well-known Microsoft blogger Paul Thurrot has criticized the recent changes to the "Get Windows 10 Upgrade Tools" (GWX) program as being almost invasive. Fortunately for those uninterested in the OS, the pressure to upgrade should be winding down in the coming weeks when Microsoft's free upgrade program comes to a close.

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