Windows 10 will fall out of support in October this year.

While this won’t stop your PC or laptop working, you might want to consider the potential risks of continuing to use an unsupported computer.

Sadly, bad people are continually looking for ways to attack computer systems with a view to finding ways to scam, threaten and extort ransoms from their owners. Microsoft has an ongoing program, reviewing threats and patching any vulnerabilities to keep users safe. Microsoft has given notice that these patches will NOT be applied to Windows 10 once it is out of support, therefore, the risk of compromise will start to increase from this time…

How could this affect you? Well, the most obvious risk is that you may not be compensated if you are scammed. for example, if you lose money through an online fraud, your bank will want details of your computer, and if you had taken the minimum required precautions, such as employing anti-virus and anti-malware protection and applying system updates. If you are found to be using an unsupported operating system, they may well refuse to help you.

Windows 11 is not supported on older machines. As a rule of thumb, if your laptop or PC is 5 years or older, it is unlikely to be supported. To find out, you can type ‘sysinfo’ into your Windows 10 search bar and look for the exact version of your CPU – you can then look this up on Microsoft’s website to check compatibility with W11.

Once you are certain that you cannot use W11 on your machine and decide to replace it, you can purchase a new one or consider a refurbished, pre-used model. At PC-FIXED we have been supplying refurbished Dell business-class machines for a couple of years now. In our opinion, these are better made than the current home-class units, are often still under the manufacturer’s warranty, and can result in considerable savings. We ensure that all the latest updates are applied and offer a data migration service – copying all your valuable documents, pictures and files to your replacement machine.

Our advice is not to wait until October. Demand and prices are likely to increase so now is a good time to start the ball rolling. Give us a call here on 01758 445025 Monday to Friday, 9:30 to 5:30.