I like Windows 10. I really do, and I think users should seriously consider taking advantage of the free upgrade while it's on offer. But what I don't like is the aggressive (or at the very least, overzealous) way that Microsoft is pushing the upgrade to users.

InfoWorld has a screenshot of the latest upgrade prompt being presented to users.

To the average user it looks like they only have two options available:

Upgrade now, or tonight.

However, the more tech savvy users would probably assume they could use the "X" in the top-right of the box to dismiss it without making a choice, and they would, in fact, be right.

In fact, this is advice that Microsoft offers Windows users on its Safety and Security Center portal.

This is the latest in a series of Windows 10 upgrade nags that Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 customers have been subjected to.

This is

the sort of nag screen I'd expect from a shady website or sketchy adware installer

, not an operating system, and it makes me uncomfortable to see Microsoft going down this road.

If Microsoft were to add a "not now" and a "no thanks" option to this prompt then I'd be fine with it, but in its current format it has clearly been designed to push users into upgrading by not offering them a clear way to opt out. It's an older-than-dirt sales trick that makes out that the deal is done, and all you have left to do is choose the color of the car you've bought.

I'm at a loss to explain why it's being used. Is it a company being overenthusiastic about its new product? Is it the marketing people being given too much say in how the upgrade is being pushed? Or is it desperation arising from the fear that bold targets set before Windows 10 was released won't be met?

Users who want to get rid of the Windows 10 upgrade nag screens can use the third-party utility GWX Control Panel to block these prompts.

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