Microsoft and KB2952664 and KB2976978, a never-ending story [View all]
Microsoft released new versions of KB2952664 and KB2976978 for Windows 7 and 8.1 on July 11, 2018, something that the company does several times a year. We reviewed previous updates released in February 2017 and October 2016.
MS PowerUser reports that Microsoft changed the level of both patches to critical. The updates were optional or rated as important in the past, and Windows users and administrators could not get rid of these updates permanently.
While it is possible to hide the updates, any re-release by Microsoft would bring them up again in Windows Update and other update management systems.
Microsoft pushed Telemetry a lot in its products in recent years. The company tries to gather usage data to help prioritize development and react to issues and bugs more quickly.
https://www.ghacks.net/2018/07/23/microsoft-windows-kb2952664-kb2976978/
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