Windows 10, Microsoft’s eagerly anticipated replacement for Windows 8 is now with us and is being installed for free on millions of Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 SP1 PCs around the world.
If you have one of these eligible operating systems you can update for free using the Windows 10 update tool, which should be present in the System Tray in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen. The tool allows you to register for the free update, which Microsoft is rolling out in waves.
This means that even though the update was released on 29th July, it may not have been installed on your PC yet but it will be coming soon.
Of course, the hackers couldn’t let this opportunity pass. They’re praying on people’s impatience to get hold of Windows 10 by creating malware infections that claim to be able to get you the Windows 10 update immediately.
In fact, if you respond to the Spam message, all it does is infect your PC with a ransomware virus that forces you to pay money to unlock it.
The messages mimic the messages that Microsoft has been sending out about Windows 10, so they look very realistic.
However, some of the characters in the message are corrupt and the file that comes with the message, that claims to be a Windows 10 installer, is in fact an infection. Microsoft would never send an installer by email, so if you receive a message like this under no circumstances click on it.
There’s no doubt that the Windows 10 release is generating lots of interest and many readers have written to me about it. One reader wrote last week, asking about the minimum requirements needed to run Windows 10 on a PC, so here they are:
- 1 GHz or faster processor
- 1 GB RAM (for 32-bit Windows 10) or 2 GB (for 64-bit Windows 10)
- 16 GB of free hard drive space
- Graphics card that supports Microsoft DirectX 9