If the past few weeks of being battered around the ears by calls to upgrade Windows 10 wasn’t enough, the final cumulative update for the operating system might be a final reminder of why to do so. That’s because the latest Windows 10 update, version KB5066791, fixes several zero-day vulnerabilities.
This might make you consider upgrading to Windows 11 because, well, this will be the very last time you’ll be able to get a security update like this—unless you get Extended Security Updates for a year for $30, but this is only available to some devices in some locations (via Bleeping Computer). Most people still on Windows 10 won’t be receiving any more security updates like this one.
The patch includes fixes for zero-day exploits including privilege escalation, secure boot bypass, memory corruption, and TPM information retrieval. ‘Zero-day’ means these exploits were discovered and exploitable before there was a fix released for them, meaning systems have been vulnerable to these ones until now.
Zero-days can be particularly scary, with devs scrambling to find a fix for them before users (or too many users) become affected by them. They’re one of the main reasons to keep your system updated… provided you’re offered those updates, of course, which is the whole point here.
As it stands, these important updates will install right away when Windows Update starts chugging, and then after the other smattering of updates in KB5066791 are done, that’ll be it.
If you’re considering upgrading to Windows 11 so you can keep receiving security (and other) updates, it might be best to do so using Rufus. The official Microsoft Media Creation Tool, which is usually used to create a Windows 11 installation drive, has recently stopped working for many Windows 10 users, but Rufus should still work.
Don’t sweat it too much, either, if you’re worried about upgrading. There are some differences between Windows 10 and 11, but they’re hardly worlds apart, and most users should find the transition fine. You can also hang on for a little while longer to backup all your data properly before you upgrade, if that’s your concern. Just keep in mind the longer you wait, the more potential unpatched exploits you risk leaving your system open to.
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