Microsoft will download Windows 10 even if you don’t want to upgrade — here’s how to stop it

After a concerned Windows user wrote in to the Inquirer, reports blew up this week that Microsoft is downloading Windows 10 installation files onto users’ machines without them reserving a copy of the new operating system. We reached out to the company to set the record straight; we confirmed that this occurs when Automatic Updates is enabled, and that this is nothing new — it’s been happening since Windows 10 launched on July 29.

For one year, Microsoft is offering free Windows 10 upgrades to Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users — one of many strategies the company is employing to achieve its goal of 1 billion devices running Windows 10 “in two to three years.” In other words, Microsoft is downloading Windows 10 so that users will be more likely to complete the free upgrade process.