3 More optional Windows updates published today, possibly to facilitate Windows 10 upgrade

[Xen]

KB 3068708

This update introduces the Diagnostics and Telemetry tracking service to in-market devices. This applies benefits from the latest version of Windows to systems that have not yet upgraded. The update also supports applications that are subscribed to Visual Studio Application Insights.

Helping the overall application experience This kind of update helps the overall application experience on Windows, by improving the current operating system for upgrade to the latest version of Windows. The diagnostics tracking service collects diagnostics about functional issues on Windows systems that participate in the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP). CEIP reports do not contain contact information, such as your name, address, or telephone number. This means CEIP will not ask you to participate in surveys or to read junk email, and you will not be contacted in any other way.

You can opt into or out of CEIP later. For any released product with an option to participate in CEIP, you can select to start or stop participating at any time. Most programs make CEIP options available on the Help menu, although for some products, you might have to check settings, options, or preferences menus. Some pre-released products that are under development might require participation in CEIP to help ensure that the final release of the product improves frequently used features and solves common problems that exist in the pre-released software. Files that are needed for Diagnostic Update The included service uses SSL (TCP Port 443) to download manifests and upload data to Microsoft when data is available for upload. The service uses the following DNS endpoints:

• vortex-win.data.microsoft.com
• settings-win.data.microsoft.com

This update contains the following two manifests that are occasionally updated by the Diagnostic Tracking Service:

• telemetry.ASM-WindowsDefault.json
• utc.app.json

The two files are marked as static files in the update. When an advanced user runs the System File Checker Tool (sfc.exe), the files are unintentionally flagged as corrupted. There is no impact or corruption on a device that is running this update, and this issue will be fixed in a later service update. Windows 7 support The Windows 7 offering also supports the kernel updates that were deployed separately to Windows 8.1 through April 2015 security update for Windows (3045999).

KB 3050267

Fixes that includes in this update

• A change is made on the log level for %windir%\WindowsUpdate.log to reduce the frequency of certain events from exhausting log space.
• Fixes an issue for managed computers in which managed computers have to update drivers as a set. Driver sets are not processed by Windows Update during shutdown, and are still available to be installed after you restart the computer.
• Fixes an issue in which the files of an update may not be found by Windows Update (0x80070002) if the download operation spans multiple sessions.
• General improvements are made to support upgrades to a later version of Windows.

KB 2976978

This update performs diagnostics on the Windows systems that participate in the Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program in order to determine whether compatibility issues may be encountered when the latest Windows operating system is installed. This update will help Microsoft and its partners ensure compatibility for customers who are seeking to install the latest Windows operating system.

Hence, proper reading through the update information is required as some of the above update will continuously send data to MS servers.

[manju]

I do think that those updates, by the name they have, are to help to make the upgrade! B)

[CarterTaz]

More BS from Windows. "Oh yea, like you need this update for future updates, and we are not really going to say much more than that". What: What? This is more crap just like the updates about a month ago that gave no real info, now on June 1st everyone got a nag (Adware) at the bottom right (taskbar) corner of windows. If you click don't show icon it will go away until next boot. Yea, I have found out how to uninstall it, but I still would like to call out MS for placing Adware on my OS.

It is what it is: ADWARE. I'm sure MS will try to lable it as a simple upgrade reminder (just like all updates), but it's putting lipstick on a pig and calling it Miss Universe.

[Actarusse]

For disable any pop up , go to Task Manager - Microsoft - Windows -

Application Experience : disable all entry ;

Customer Experience Improvement Program : disable all entry ;

Set Up - gwx : disable all entry

Reboot your computer and enjoy :)

[steven36]

KB 3068708 -- An update for customer experience and diagnostic telemetry. "This kind of update helps the overall application experience on Windows by improving the current operating system for upgrade to the latest version of Windows." There's open speculation -- by gator2013 on eightforums, among others -- that KB 3068708 is just our old foul friend KB 3022345. You may recall that KB 3022345 triggers (incorrect) errors in the Microsoft SFC system scan routine. It also has a long history of other problems. Microsoft promised that KB 3022345 would have "an upcoming version that will be a compatible upgrade to either version" of KB 3022345. Could this be an attempt to get 3022345 installed on systems that have the ill-fated update hidden?

KB 3050267 -- Windows Update Client for Windows 8.1: June 2015 makes "General improvements to support upgrades to a later version of Windows." Again, the KB article says this is Revision 2, but there's no record of another version being sent out Windows Update.

KB 2976978 -- The compatibility update for Windows 8.1 and Windows 8 "performs diagnostics on the Windows systems that participate in the Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program in order to determine whether compatibility issues may be encountered when the latest Windows operating system is installed." That surprised me a bit, because I didn't realize people who ran the Windows 10 compatibility scan were, in fact, opting in to the CEIP. This patch, too, has a long history: first released on July 8, 2014, re-released five times in 2014 and six times in 2015. I don't have any records of it

they were 5 updates really more info here

http://www.infoworld.com/article/2930713/microsoft-windows/microsoft-re-re-releases-kb-2952664-kb-2976978-and-kb-2977759.html

[dcs18]

3 More optional Windows updates published today, possibly to facilitate Windows 10 upgrade

Yep, received those exact 3 Windows Updates - just as published.

[steven36]

the other 2 updates were for windows 7 reisuses of the same updates.

KB 2952664 -- The compatibility update for upgrading Windows 7 "helps Microsoft make improvements to the current operating system in order to ease the upgrade experience to the latest version of Windows." This is the patch that was re-released numerous times in 2014, causing crashes and all sorts of mayhem. If I count things correctly, the compatibility update (which has nearly no official description) was released 10 times in 2014, and has been released six times so far in 2015.

KB 2977759 -- The compatibility update for Windows 7 RTM "performs diagnostics on the Windows systems that participate in the Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program in order to determine…" etc., etc. This one's a CEIP upgrade that's been around a long time. I don't have any record of it causing problems, although there were five releases in 2014 and six so far in 2015.