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When it was released by Microsoft Windows 11 at the end of last week, the company announced the usual advances in efficiency and design that any operating system brings. But Windows 11 is also welcome: they are more stringent than ordinary hardware requirements that computers can run. Microsoft has said that due to security concerns, many devices (even some that are currently on sale) will never be able to upgrade, leaving a generation of computers idle in Windows 10.
To run Windows 11, devices must have an Intel Core processor at least from 2017, or an AMD Zen 2 processor from 2019 onwards. They will also need at least 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of hard drive storage. Microsoft’s $ 3,500 Surface Studio 2 desktop, the new one you can buy from the company right now, doesn’t do that under those cutting requirements. Microsoft is still exploring the possibility of cutting slightly older chips, but you will still need a fairly new system to upgrade your operating system.
“Microsoft has a clear vision to help us protect our customers now and in the future, and we know that our vision works,” said David Weston, Microsoft’s director of enterprise and operating system security. he wrote on Friday. “We are announcing Windows 11 to increase the security base with new hardware security requirements.”
This basis seems to be based on the Trusted Platform Module or TPM 2.0 chip, a component that Microsoft has been requiring since 2016 for all new Windows devices. But not all devices with the TPM 2.0 chip are actually enabled, and the process of activating it is technical and involved when feasible. Microsoft or individual computer manufacturers should offer free personalized support for most customers, both individuals and companies, to enable other features like TPM Shield and SecureBoot. Also, some of the device models you can buy today do not yet have TPM 2.0, which is simply manufactured before the requirement is met.
By associating Windows 11 availability with this specific hardware function, Microsoft could leave a considerable number of even weaker devices in the long run. Those who can’t upgrade to Windows 11 will still have Windows 10, but not forever. Microsoft plans to end its 2015 operating system support – currently installed on 79 percent of Windows devices worldwide, according to the analytics site StatCounter—October 14, 2015. This will not mean more security patches for the large population of devices that are unable to switch to Windows 11.
While Microsoft expects most people to buy a new Windows 11-capable computer by then, the panic of decades of Windows XP migration is still fresh in the memory of the security community. Security vulnerabilities found in XP After Microsoft stopped supporting it, it created huge holes for millions of devices that weren’t Windows 7 or newer. In fact, StatCounter shows that it’s been 20 years since its initial release, and after several industry-wide upgrade efforts, more than half a percent of Windows devices still run XP.
“The first major vulnerability at the end of Windows 10 life will cause chaos and put customers in a tough spot,” says Marcin Kleczynski, CEO of the anti-virus company Malwarebytes. “Microsoft has a responsibility to protect its customers. If half of them are still in Windows 10, will they let them dry? “
Microsoft denied WIRED’s view of the registry as a transition or its potential to turn Windows 10 into a time bomb. In one blog post on Tuesday, the company admitted confusion and concern over which devices will be upgraded.
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