LAST July, we published an article on Windows 11, the eleventh version of the most used operating system for PCs and laptops.
First the good news.
Windows 11 will be free and downloadable from 5 October 2021 in a staged roll-out.
Not everyone is getting Windows 11 at the same time.
If you buy a new computer, it will most likely be on there.
Everyone else has to wait until they get a notice through a Windows update on their computer.
Windows 10 will continue to be supported until 14 October 2025.
After that, you can keep using Windows 10, but without support the security risk will increase dramatically.
Now the bad news.
Any computer without internet security applications is already at great risk from malware applications.
These allow programs to steal data such as passwords, personal photos, emails, and instant messages.
Windows 11 is designed to proof your device against this data theft.
Unless you upgrade to Windows 11, you will remain at risk.
With just about every computer user on the planet upgrading, these malware applications will be fishing in a much-reduced pond of users.
In other words, the risk will not only stay, but it will also increase.
As THE VOICE reported before, some older computers won’t have the power to handle Windows 11.
Microsoft has promised an online device compatibility check, but this was not yet available at the time of writing.
For Windows 11 you will need a minimum processing speed of 1 GHz on a compatible 64-bit processor.
You will also need a minimum of 4 GB RAM and 64 GB of data storage capacity.
To check your device’s specifications, click on the Windows icon in the left bottom corner of your start-up screen.
Then click on Settings, which is the icon that looks like a sprocket.
Then click on System.
Then click on About at the bottom of the list on the left-hand side.
According to some estimates there are still 100 million people worldwide who use Windows 7.
Windows 7 is no longer supported. Even if it works well and does everything you want it to do, be aware that your computer’s security is seriously compromised.
At a minimum, don’t do your banking on your computer if you use Windows 7.
