Since last summer, the tech giant has pushed and prodded cheap office 2013 home and business owners to upgrade their machines to its latest Windows version. While the upgrade is currently free for most consumers with Windows PCs, critics say the company's heavy-handed nudging amounts to an ``offer you can't refuse.''

Microsoft initially offered Windows 10 as an optional upgrade - that is, one that users had to choose themselves. Then, earlier this year, the company reclassified it as a "recommended" update. Some Windows 10 holdouts cried foul, since many PCs are set up to automatically install recommended updates, which are usually important security fixes. Suddenly those machines would automatically install buy windows 10 as well.

At one point, some PC owners complained, Microsoft began sending on-screen messages prompting them to download and install Windows 10. The catch: Where most such pop-up windows have buttons marked "OK" and "Cancel" this message displayed two buttons that both led to an upgrade ("Upgrade Now" and "Upgrade Tonight"). To avoid the upgrade, diehard resisters had to click a red "X" in the upper-right corner that closed the window.

Microsoft then revised the notifications, citing customer feedback. A new version tells office 2010 home and student owners they are scheduled for a "recommended" upgrade to Windows 10 at a specific time in the near future, and bears a prominent "OK" button. To reject or reschedule the change, users have to find and click a less conspicuous link in small type. But clicking the "X" no longer blocks the upgrade.