Update - Azure Code Signing
JeuneL Posted messages 1873 Registration date Status Member Last intervention -
Hello,
I don't think I'm the only one receiving a message forcing me to update a frozen Windows 10 system that doesn't want to be updated to avoid problems and honestly doesn't need it since it works so well.
But Microsoft has decided otherwise, and now the NOD32 antivirus indicates that it will no longer be updated if "Azure Code Signing" is not present.
To fix this, you need to download a pack, number KB5005625.
For version 1809, you also need to find and install a very small pack of 15MB, number KB5005112.
I haven't updated since Microsoft tried to impose a new version of Windows 10.
Around July 2020...
Can I do these updates only without doing any previous ones?
Thank you in advance...
2 answers
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Hello,
This question is not specific to Windows but rather to third-party software.
There is nothing preventing you from trying to install these KBs via the Microsoft Update Catalog by searching for "Windows 10 KBxxxxxx" without going through Windows Update (which is anyway unlikely to automatically upgrade from 1809 to 21H2 or 22H2), but there is no guarantee that, according to the principle of Russian dolls, the KBs in question will install outside of other updates; it's worth a try.
Alternative solutions include using WUMT to manage only the updates you want to install (but given the potential number, it’s going to be a real hassle) or using a Windows Enterprise LTSC version which, by definition, does not upgrade.-
I had chosen this version 1809 having seen that it was supported until 2029... then I see that this is no longer the case, even on wiki the tables have changed.
But when you have a perfectly functional machine, you don't want to touch it.Especially since I noticed that on other machines, changing the version of Windows 10 caused some utilities or programs to stop working.
Microsoft is a machine that never stops and imposes its evolutions while we need a machine that runs the software and utilities we need.In the end, it's Microsoft that owns my computer and not me.
As for the "KB" I know where to find them and I have downloaded them, but honestly, taking the risk of destabilizing everything for that really annoys me.
Aside from the three major evolutions (Win9X, WinNT, and starting from Windows 7), Microsoft has always repainted dirty walls instead of building new ones.
Updates, including security ones, install things that no one uses, from files in Azerbaijani language to modem drivers (who still has one?) and imposes applications that are very difficult to get rid of, and which, in any case, serve no purpose since they are reinstalled with the next major update.
An online (subscription-based, of course...) model was mentioned where everyone would only install what they use; we don't hear about it anymore probably because Microsoft's business model consists of trying to impose these applications on everyone and the revenues that result from them.
If, as I mentioned, many updates including security ones do not concern the average user, it is not necessarily certain that we should do without all of them.
Windows 10, whether it's 15, 18, or 2xH2y, is a convoluted mess; the version doesn't change much and doesn't pose great risks either, except that, even if we exclude third-party updates (hardware), some will still modify hardware drivers.
I had the case with the unsolicited update of an Intel driver that crashed my screen resolution settings; I had to block it via WUMT and replace it with the older version from the manufacturer; the consequences are never dramatic, but it is true that it can sometimes be annoying.
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I learned by checking the updates on Microsoft's website that there are "long-term" versions of Windows 10?!
It's really getting crazy!
On one side, we have environmentalists bombarding us with complaints about planned obsolescence, and on the other, we have big companies forcing people to change their OS version, which, conveniently, is not supported by the current hardware that needs to be changed, even though the machine works perfectly fine!
But now, it's even antivirus vendors who are being forced to only offer their products to people who have this "Azure" thing!
When will we put a stop to these big companies that impose on their customers what they want, how they want, when they want?
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It's been a while since LTSC versions have existed, but they are legally intended only for enterprise volume licenses precisely because they may require a version to be constant.
They benefit from 10 years of support instead of 18 months, but in return, there is only one version every 3 or 4 years and, by definition, it does not migrate.
Planned obsolescence is a common topic; it's quite understandable that there is no longer support for Windows XP, which is 20 years old (what company maintains its hardware or products for 20 years?), yet XP still works; any potential security vulnerabilities are one thing, they do not concern any industrial system running in a closed loop.
Nothing compels antivirus publishers to go through Azure Code Signing; it's their choice to verify that a downloaded software has indeed been signed by its publisher, and what's somewhat paranoid is that there are plenty of older or even recent software or executables that pose no danger and are not signed.
More generally, and perhaps except in companies where the firewall is poorly managed and everyone clicks on anything instead of working, the antivirus business is just a business, partly because a "new" virus has time to circle the globe three times before being incorporated into a database, but especially because a virus does not fall from the sky; it almost always results from user behavior, not to mention that a properly configured firewall/defense should systematically intercept any unknown executable and any unknown processes. -
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Azure Code Signing is built in by default in all versions of Windows 10 since 21H2, and therefore also in Windows Defender, but not if, as in this case, one intentionally retains an older version of Windows, where the problem would be exactly the same.
And as one might say in mathematics, I raised the question not of the sufficiency but of the necessity of an antivirus, whatever it may be. -
Thank you for these words, which are entirely true in my eyes...
We always push people towards new versions, but it's our PCs, our machines, our usage and our applications... The only thing I ask is to be properly protected.
This makes me think of Apple and those iDevices that force you to change the iOS version just to get a more up-to-date version of the Safari browser. When Safari could be offered separately as a simple app.
I found some interesting research on these LTSC versions... That can even be applied to a machine that, at first, is just a "home" or "family" version.
All you need to do is enter a new key, corresponding to a version you want, for Windows to adapt, fetch what's necessary and install it.
So you can migrate from "Home" to "Pro", from "Pro" to "Enterprise" and even directly from "Home" to "Enterprise".
Since the LTSC version is an "Enterprise" version, that fits...
I found and purchased a legal LTSC 2019 license that corresponds to a Windows 10 1809 version, which I have, so that's good for me...After that, normally, since my PC is currently blocked regarding WindowsUpdate via the "StopUpdates10" utility, I should disable this utility, disconnect my PC from the internet, restart, enter the key, activate the internet, and start the license verification and validation process.
The license cost me €40
Now all that's left is to cross my fingers.
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This is what I explained to the editor ESET, what is the point of pushing people to upgrade their Windows 10 in order to keep their antivirus, when Microsoft offers a good and FREE one.
So if I update my Windows out of obligation, I will no longer use NOD32, and that's it!
I have been using NOD32 since 2004
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