Karlston Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 Unlike the infamous GWX debacle from when Win10 first arrived, this kinder, gentler nag can, in theory, be reliably disabled. It’s rolling out just now in an optional Windows 7 update, KB 4493132. Microsoft / IDG Those of you who discovered a new optional patch, KB 4493132, on your Windows 7 machines this morning can breathe a sigh of relief. Although Microsoft’s official documentation says the nagware “patch” (if you can call it that) should come through automatic update, in fact every report I’ve seen so far says that KB 4493132 is playing nice, sitting in the “Optional” list in Windows Update. The KB article itself has almost no information: After 10 years of servicing, January 14, 2020, is the last day Microsoft will offer security updates for computers running Windows 7 SP1. This update enables reminders about Windows 7 end of support. More information about Windows 7 end of support can be found here. This update is available through Windows Update. If automatic updates are enabled, this update will be downloaded and installed automatically. For more information about how to turn on automatic updating, see Windows Update: FAQ. That last paragraph seems to be, mercifully, incorrect — at least at this point. We’ve been promised that you can turn off the nag, and keep it off permanently. Given the experiences with the GWX program — which found a way to not only reappear, but to install Win10 without provocation — I find that very hard to believe. But I'd be very glad to be wrong. Of course you should make sure that automatic update is turned off. Thx, PKCano. We're following intently on the AskWoody Lounge. Seven Semper Fi! Source: The new 'Get Windows 10' announcement arrives for Win7 in KB 4493132 (Computerworld - Woody Leonhard) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karlston Posted March 20, 2019 Author Share Posted March 20, 2019 If you don't want end of support notifications on Windows 7, block KB4493132 Microsoft announced earlier this month that it would start to show end of support notifications on devices running the company's Windows 7 operating system. Windows 7 support ends in January 2020 for consumer versions of the operating system. Enterprise customers may extend support by up to three years for a fee that doubles every year. The update notifications are informative in nature; they won't include actionable options, e.g. to upgrade the operating system to a version of Windows that is still supported according to Microsoft. Whether that remains so as the support end draws nearer is anyone's guess. Up until now we did not really know how Microsoft wanted to push these end of support notifications to Windows 7 devices. Yesterday's release of KB4493132 for Windows 7 changes that. The update is available through Windows Update and will be downloaded and installed on devices that have automatic updates enabled (which is the default status of Windows Update). Windows 7 users and administrators who don't want to see these prompts may block KB4493132 so that the update won't be downloaded and installed on devices running the operating system. One of the easier ways to go about it is to hide the update in Windows Update. How that is done depends on whether it is already installed or just displayed as an available update. If it is listed but not installed yet, all you need to do is right-click on the update and select "Hide update" when the context menu is displayed. Hiding blocks the update from being installed automatically by Windows. If the update is already installed, you can verify if that is the case by selecting "installed updates" in Windows Update, locating the update, and right-clicking on it to uninstall it. It gets picked up afterward again by Windows Update, and you need to use the hide option then to block its installation. Please check our detailed guide on blocking Windows updates for additional information and instructions. Closing words A quick check in a virtual machine did not list the update KB4493132 for installation on it yet despite it having all the latest patches installed. It is possible that Microsoft is rolling this out over time to all Windows 7 devices with automatic updates installed. Source: If you don't want end of support notifications on Windows 7, block KB4493132 (gHacks - Martin Brinkmann) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banned Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 Next month will make 5 years since support for Windows XP ended. It's been so long ago, I don't even remember if there was a nag screen. However, I do remember Microsoft had pushed an update to the antivirus client that gave some red warnings. So I simply kept an older version of the client around. It still works today actually, with no nags, and up-to-date signatures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The AchieVer Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 New Windows 7 SP1 update starts End of Support countdown reminder Windows 7 is going out of support on the 14th January 2020, and hundreds of millions of PC users have still not made the move to Windows 10. Microsoft is once again planning to prompt users to upgrade to the latest version of their desktop operating system, and have started the process today by pushing out KB4493132. The so-called Windows 7 SP1 support notification “enables reminders about Windows 7 end of support.” The optional update will be downloaded automatically to Windows 7 users who have automatic updates enabled. Starting next month, if you are a Windows 7 user, you can expect to see a notification appear on your Windows 7 PC. Microsoft says this will only appear a “handful of times in 2019” and users will be able to select an option to “do not notify me again.” Microsoft is also launching an information site about the upgrade options at www.microsoft.com/windows7, but notably, this does not include a free upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windows 7 is going out of support on the 14th January 2020, and hundreds of millions of PC users have still not made the move to Windows 10. Microsoft is once again planning to prompt users to upgrade to the latest version of their desktop operating system, and have started the process today by pushing out KB4493132. The so-called Windows 7 SP1 support notification “enables reminders about Windows 7 end of support.” The optional update will be downloaded automatically to Windows 7 users who have automatic updates enabled. Starting next month, if you are a Windows 7 user, you can expect to see a notification appear on your Windows 7 PC. Microsoft says this will only appear a “handful of times in 2019” and users will be able to select an option to “do not notify me again.” Microsoft is also launching an information site about the upgrade options at www.microsoft.com/windows7, but notably, this does not include a free upgrade.
Karlston Posted March 21, 2019 Author Share Posted March 21, 2019 KB4493132 Update Notifies Windows 7 Users of End of Support Date A new Windows 7 update called KB4493132 has been released and is used to display notifications that remind users that Windows 7 will reach its end of life starting on January 14th, 2020. These notifications contain a link that goes to a Microsoft page suggesting that users upgrade to Windows 10. Microsoft seems to have the knack for bringing back features we love to hate. Yesterday, we had Clippy released for Microsoft Teams and now we have an update that to some will feel reminiscent of the GWX notifications that annoyed people when Windows 10 came out. These notifications will start to show on April 18th 2019 and will state the following message and contain a Learn More link to a Windows 7 End of Life Information article. The notification also include a checkbox that allows you configure the program to not show you the alert again in the future, which is described further later in the article. Upcoming Windows 7 SP1 End of Support Notification The full text of the notification can be read below. After 10 years, support for Windows 7 is nearing the end. January 14, 2020 is the last day Microsoft will offer security updates and technical support for computers running Windows 7. We known can be difficult, that's why we're reaching out early to help you backup your files and prepare for what's next. This notification is displayed through a new KB4493132 update, which is titled "Windows 7 SP1 support notification" that installs an executable that will be run daily on Windows. More information on the technical aspects of how the notifications are displayed is explained later in the article. KB4493132 Update The KB4493132 update is not currently available through the Microsoft Catalog and will be offered by Windows Update. When offered, the update will be unselected, but will state it is an update to "resolve issues in Windows" rather than one that just displays "End of Life" notifications. Therefore users may select it thinking it contains bug fixes. Inside the Windows 7 End of Support Notification When the update is installed, it will create a new executable called C:\Windows\System32\sipnotify.exe. Sipnotify.exe Executable This executable is launched by two scheduled tasks under the Microsoft\Windows\End Of Support folder called Notfify 1 and Notify 2. Scheduled Tasks for Sipnotify.exe Notifications The Notify1 task will execute the command %windir%\system32\sipnotify.exe -LogonOrUnlock when a user logs in or the computer is unlocked. The Notify2 task will execute the command %windir%\system32\sipnotify.exe -Daily as 12:00 PM every day. When executed, the program will check if the date is between 4/18/19 and 1/15/2020, and if so, a notification will be displayed. When displaying the notification, it will utilize the localized HTML and images found in the C:\Users\[login_name]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\SipNotify folder. This folder contains localized HTML templates for numerous languages and a master CAB file that contains these HTML files. This CAB file will be downloaded and updated as necessary from https://query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/api/am/binary/RE2JgkA, which allows Microsoft to modify the message and templates shown at a later date. Sipnotify.exe also utilizes registry entries to keep track of when notifications have been displayed and if users want to continue displaying the alerts. This registry key can be found at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\SipNotify. The available entries under the this key are: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\SipNotify] "DateModified"=hex(b): "LastShown"=hex(b): "DontRemindMe"=dword:00000001 I believe the DateModified value is the date of the template CAB file, LastShown is the date the notification was last shown, and DontRemindMe can be set to 1 to no longer show the notifications. If a user clicked on the checkbox not to show the notification when it was displayed, DontRemindMe will be set to 1. To force a notification, you can clear the value in LastShown. Update 3/21/19: Updated article to mention that this update is not pre-selected when offered in Windows update. Source: KB4493132 Update Notifies Windows 7 Users of End of Support Date (Bleeping Computer) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vitorio Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 In case it is already installed, my question, this kp, new KB4493132 update, which is titled "Windows 7 SP1 support notification" that installs an executable Can it may be unistalled? plese let me know. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karlston Posted March 21, 2019 Author Share Posted March 21, 2019 1 hour ago, vitorio said: Can it may be unistalled? Yes, according to Martin Brinkmann's (gHacks) article posted above... On 3/21/2019 at 3:18 AM, Karlston said: If the update is already installed, you can verify if that is the case by selecting "installed updates" in Windows Update, locating the update, and right-clicking on it to uninstall it. It gets picked up afterward again by Windows Update, and you need to use the hide option then to block its installation. --- There are other ways to disable it, without uninstalling the update... Windows 10 nag for Windows 7 makes an appearance (AskWoody.com) Microsoft issues KB4493132 Windows 7 SP1 support notification (abbodi86's post on AskWoody.com) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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