> Two years ago this month, I disconnected my recording studio from the internet

This is, unfortunately the right thing to do. This was since Windows 2000 common knowledge: Install windows offline, install the latest service pack offline and disable automatic updates. Then from time to time check security updates and install if needed.

Todays SW has nothing to do with engineering. It looks more like sculpture or painting but with the work being delivered after every cut. Nothing is finished, nothing is thought. All is based on a religious vision. And those UI religions appear every second day making the computers a pain to use.

As a sysadmin and hobbyist music person, i always struggle to recommend volutarly keeping your machines out of date. It's how most viruses propagate, etc. But unplugging totally makes a lot of sense in the music world, and honestly i sometimes think that for the purposes of recording instruments in a studio, the music/technology boundary has been solved fully and it is useless to invoke new features as a motivator to update.

Just be careful with usbs :)