Microsoft has released its latest Windows 11 24H2 update, which includes security, UI, and alarming news for older version users.
Windows has continuously been in the headlines for months this year owing to the growing vulnerabilities with every update. The recent Windows 11 24H2 update comes with a short deadline of 24 hours before users become prone to a critical vulnerability that’s already come under attack.
According to the CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, the CVE-2024-43461, released in the September update, came with a nasty vulnerability allowing hackers to spoof a web page on their devices. This alone puts over 50 million users at high risk of losing their personal information, financial credentials, and other sensitive data.
However, the real security challenge lies for over 900 million Windows 10 users who will stop receiving security updates and related support next year. Apart from these, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.1 users total up to 50 million and have already begun living in the no-support nightmare, and Microsoft has warned them of the consequences.
“Devices running an unsupported version of Windows will still function, but Microsoft doesn't provide technical support of any issue, software updates, [or, more critically] security updates or fixes.” said the revised note that came with the latest Windows 11 24H2 Update. While Microsoft is busy building new hardware and software that work better on Windows 11 OS, there is no affordable support package or a workable solution. The company is not offering an exchange program for older hardware owners to transition to new ones seamlessly, nor is it providing a surprise support extension as it did for Windows 10.
“Windows 11 is the most current version of Windows. If you have an older PC, we recommend you move to Windows 11 by buying a new PC. Hardware and software have improved a lot, and today's computers are faster, more powerful, and more secure.” said the official notice. Instead of optimizing minimum hardware requirements to help over 900 million Windows 10 users move to Windows 11, the company is releasing warnings, use cases, and benefits of switching.
This was the primary reason the transition from Windows 10 to Windows 11 was dramatically slower during the early launch period. And now, with a no-option-left situation, the transition may halt to force users into buying either new hardware, switching to an Apple PC product, or finding a compatible antivirus protection software for Windows.
