The pros and cons of updating to Windows 11
Q: My Desktop will be 4 years old in February. It can be upgraded to Windows 11 for free, apparently. The computer has 64 GB of RAM, a 1 TB SSD drive with plenty of space left, and a 2 TB Data hard drive. Is it worth upgrading to Windows 11? Or, should I just keep Windows 10 until I purchase a new computer in a few years down the road?
A: A 4-yearold computer with those specs is a great machine and would likely be a good candidate for updating to Windows 11.
I have looked at Windows 11 and I like what I see so far. If you want to see what the differences are between the two, check out the CNet article, “Windows 11 vs. Windows 10: What’s Really Different?” at tinyurl.com/helpline10v11.
Your computer will eventually have to be replaced and when that happens you probably won’t have the option to get a PC with Windows 10, so updating your current system could give you an opportunity to familiarize yourself with the updated operating system on your own terms.
That being said, upgrades like this are not completely without risk. You should make sure you have a good backup and are prepared to reload if anything should happen to go wrong.
Also, if you upgrade you can easily downgrade again to Windows 10.
Q: While my browsing the Web my computer locked up and an on-screen message directed me to contact Windows Support and provided a toll-free number. I called and they claimed that my laptop was infected with viruses and they tried to sell me a firewall. Is this really a firewall issue? Or am I being
scammed?
A: You are being scammed. This is an increasingly common ploy by scammers to get control of your computer and sell you software and services you simply do not need.
The way it works is that you visit some random website and you get a pop-up that warns that your computer is infected or compromised and offers you a phone number to call. When you call the number, you are connected with the scammers who will ask to connect to your PC using a remote-control application. They will then proceed to show you things on your PC that, to the untrained eye, look very suspicious. From there they will try to sell you their services to “protect your computer.”
I say this often, but it bears repeating. Never give control of your computer to someone you don’t know unless you know they are legitimate. And a good rule of thumb is to never purchase goods or services from anything that is advertised in a random pop-up window or an unsolicited email.