Microsoft Sued for $10,000 After Windows 10 Auto Update Renders Woman’s PC Unusable

A Californian woman has successfully sued Microsoft after Windows 10 auto-installed on her computer without permission and rendered the machine unusable.

“I had never heard of Windows 10,” said Teri Goldstein, whose computer was left unusable after the upgrade failed. “Nobody ever asked me if I wanted to update.”

Goldstein won $10,000 in court from Microsoft after attempts by customer support to fix the issue failed, and the debacle has most likely given those opposed to the aggressive upgrade campaign a satisfied grin.

Since its debut to the public last year, everyone with a Windows 7 or 8 operating system will have noticed that Microsoft really wants you to upgrade to Windows 10. Though it’s a free update, Microsoft haven’t reached the number of users that they want to boast on the new system and have progressively made their upgrade notifications more aggressive.

Numerous times a day users will receive pop up notifications on their computers prompting them to upgrade to Windows 10. There are usually two options: Upgrade Now or Upgrade Later. Most users previously didn’t realize that you could click the little red X in the corner to say no altogether, causing many people to sign up unwillingly, though this solution has also been reportedly patched. Clicking the X button now schedules the upgrade for you, leaving people with little option to disregard the update and confusing users who are now double-guessing every button.

“They tell you it’s optional, that you have to opt in, but they just do it anyway,” claimed reluctant Windows 10 user and HR assistant Jane Dunkin to the Seattle Times. “I’ve been using Windows forever… and when I can’t find what I need to get done what I need to do, there’s a problem with it.”

“My worry with this is that they are fundamentally manipulating the trust Windows consumers will have in Windows Update from this point going forward,” said analyst Wes Miller, who claims that the aggressive update pushes are also a security hazard due to the amount of people turning off all of their updates to avoid Windows 10. “You can’t perform an action for a user without their explicit permission, it’s just not acceptable.”

Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech and former editor of the Squid Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington or like his page at Facebook.