Hopefully someone has experienced this issue and has a solution.

Microsoft updates are messing with Windows 8.1 and causing random crashes. I went through this last March was suspicious when the computer began random crashing right after installing updates. I uninstalled the updates and the problem was gone. Fast forward 5 months without installing updates, I was hoping Microsoft would have gotten their act together and the August updates might be OK.    Wrong!

Random crashing again with event viewer showing the Event 41 message each time. Uninstall the updates again and still random crashes. But, I notice this time that with each forced shutdown and reboot - a KB update is getting installed without my permission. Uninstall it, specify later for the restart, go in and hide all available updates, important and optional, normal shutdown and restart, and there it is, another KB update that wasn't on the available list and I was unable to hide. I even specified "never check for update" and upon reboot of 8.1, MS changes my setting back to "check for updates but ask whether to install or not".

Latest update that was installed without my permission is KB4103725.   Each time it installs a different one - KB 4457129, 4343898(twice), 4338815, 4284815, and now the latest one.

Frustrated 8.1 user. Machine is about 5 years old.