Latest news with #TPM2.0
Time Business News
13 hours ago
- Business
- Time Business News
Why Keeping IT Hardware Up to Date Matters – And How an MSP in London Can Help
In today's fast-moving digital landscape, keeping business hardware up to date is more than just a matter of performance—it's essential for security, compatibility, and productivity. As systems age, they become more vulnerable to threats, harder to support, and increasingly incompatible with modern software and services. That's where a Managed Service Provider (MSP) comes in. Working with a reliable MSP in London ensures your business infrastructure remains fit for purpose, secure, and future-ready. With major changes on the horizon—such as Microsoft's upcoming end-of-life for Windows 10—it's more important than ever to have the right support and insight when making IT decisions. A Managed Service Provider doesn't just step in when things go wrong. They're a strategic partner, helping businesses take a proactive approach to IT. This includes monitoring systems, applying updates, and providing expert advice on when to replace ageing hardware. From servers and switches to laptops and desktops, every piece of hardware has a natural lifecycle. Over time, performance declines, compatibility becomes an issue, and manufacturers stop providing firmware or driver updates. An MSP can: Track warranty and support statuses Identify bottlenecks or ageing components Recommend hardware refresh cycles Coordinate replacements and data migrations Ensure new devices are fully secured and integrated By working with an MSP in London, local businesses benefit from hands-on, expert guidance without needing to maintain large in-house IT teams. This ensures that IT investments are made wisely and at the right time, avoiding costly surprises down the line. One of the most pressing hardware and software challenges facing businesses today is the upcoming end-of-life for Windows 10. Microsoft has announced that support for Windows 10 will officially end on 14th October 2025. While this may sound far off, the reality is that preparations should begin now. It means Microsoft will no longer provide: Security updates or patches Bug fixes Technical support Without these essential updates, systems running Windows 10 will become increasingly vulnerable to security threats, compliance issues, and software incompatibility. Businesses still operating on this platform need to start planning for a transition to Windows 11 or consider other secure operating environments. One of the complications with this transition is that not all existing hardware will support Windows 11. Microsoft has implemented stricter requirements for the newer operating system, including: TPM 2.0 (Trusted Platform Module) Secure Boot capability Compatible 64-bit processors (e.g., 8th Gen Intel or newer) Many older machines, even those performing well today, will not meet these requirements. That means businesses may need to budget for hardware upgrades sooner than expected. This is where the right Managed Service Provider proves invaluable. An experienced MSP in London can carry out an assessment of your current IT infrastructure and help you understand: Which devices are compatible with Windows 11 Which systems need upgrades or replacements Where data and software dependencies lie How to manage costs and minimise downtime Full audit of existing devices Compatibility reports and risk assessments Procurement and installation of new hardware Secure data migration Staff onboarding and support post-upgrade Whether you're a small business with ten employees or a growing enterprise with multiple sites, an MSP makes complex transitions smoother, smarter, and more cost-effective. Beyond operating system upgrades, having a plan for regular hardware refreshes is essential to keep your IT environment reliable and responsive. Technology moves fast, and keeping pace ensures your team can work without frustration or delays. An effective hardware lifecycle plan often includes: Three to five-year refresh cycles Device performance benchmarks Power efficiency considerations Enhanced remote management capabilities Modern IT isn't just about keeping things running—it's about enabling growth, protecting data, and ensuring regulatory compliance. A forward-looking Managed Service Provider ensures that your infrastructure supports business goals rather than becoming a burden. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Hindustan Times
06-06-2025
- Hindustan Times
Microsoft tells Windows 10 users: Upgrade to Windows 11 or risk your security
Come October 2025, Windows 10 would reach the end of support from Microsoft. What does this mean? The operating system will no longer receive free security updates, new features, or technical support from Microsoft. Your PC will keep running, but without updates, it's wide open to hackers, malware, and security threats. As Microsoft tries to onboard more Windows 10 users to Windows 11, it's trying out novel ways and campaigns to achieve its goals. A new advertisement on the official Windows YouTube channel is urging people to be on the "right side of risk" by upgrading to Windows 11. While it's true that Windows 11 would be safer to use in the long run due to support from Microsoft, this ad is still getting a lot of attention. Why? Simply because Microsoft is trying to use the end of support for Windows 10 as a way to sell its current software for PCs. It's noteworthy that Windows 11 is not new. In fact, it's been around for almost 5 years. Windows 10, on the other hand, has been around for almost 10 years now and was launched on July 29, 2015. Microsoft's strict Trusted Platform Module (TPM) requirements have also drawn ire from users, with many saying that TPM 2.0 should not be necessary to run Windows 11. Before we talk about how this will negatively impact Windows 10 users, let's explore what TPM means. In short, it's a dedicated chip that is designed to give "hardware-level security services for your device." This means its job is safeguard your personal information and credentials from unauthorised users. Microsoft has made it clear that TPM 2.0 is non-negotiable requirement to upgrade to Windows 11. The problem with this is that many PCs and Windows laptops are now unable to move from Windows 10 because Windows 11 has specific hardware requirements. Essentially, they're now stuck on an older OS that may not provide enough security in the long run. Sure, Microsoft has announced an extended support programme for Windows 10, but it's definitely not a cheap option. Pricing for the same begins at $61 (over ₹5,000) for the first year, $122 (over ₹10,000) for the second year, and $244 (over ₹20,000) for the third year per device. That doesn't sound very customer friendly on paper, but this is how Microsoft is pushing all Windows users to upgrade to Windows 11. Will this strategy work? Only time will tell.
Forbes
29-04-2025
- Forbes
Microsoft's AI Secretly Reads Your WhatsApp, Signal Messages
Be very careful what you send. NurPhoto via Getty Images Update: Republished on April 28 with news that Meta's AI will also read messages. Timing is everything. Just weeks after America's NSA warned about the hidden dangers with secure messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Signal, especially when users link phone apps to PCs and other devices, everything is suddenly worse — much worse. Microsoft has decided to release its controversial Recall to Copilot PCs, which then continually screenshots and optically reads everything on screen to be saved behind a simple PIN. It doesn't matter how secure you think you are, if you message someone who has a Windows PC with this feature enabled, all that security falls away instantly. As Ars Technica explains, 'even if User A never opts in to Recall, they have no control over the setting on the machines of Users B through Z. That means anything User A sends them will be screenshotted, processed with optical character recognition and Copilot AI, and then stored in an indexed database on the other users' devices.' That means anything Users B through Z sees on screen, bar some specific data types Microsoft will try (and sometimes manage) to redact such as passwords. Ars Technica warns, that will 'indiscriminately hoover up all kinds of User A's sensitive material, including photos, passwords, medical conditions, and encrypted videos and messages.' Unlike with new options to record phone calls, there is no warning here that your content is being saved and stored by someone else, that your secrets are now dependent on the security of countless Microsoft's Windows PCs to stay secret. That's the operative word. For Users A, this all takes place secretly, without warning or opt-out. Cyber guru Kevin Beaumont put all this to the test and has found security and privacy holes galore. While Recall's screenshots are stored locally and secured by the infamous TPM 2.0 that stops so many Windows 10 users upgrading, once set up the only security protecting all that data is a simple PIN, to say nothing of the risk from hackers. 'To test this,' Beaumont says, 'I tasked my partner with using my device while I was away from desk to use Recall to find out who'd I'd been talking to the previous day in Signal and what I'd been saying.' She guessed the PIN and was in. 'So, in 5 minutes, a non-technical person had access to everything I'd ever done on the PC, including disappearing Signal conversations (as Recall retains anything deleted). That isn't great.' Recall is an easy target. It was withdrawn when Microsoft first unleashed it on the world, and was put through a privacy and security sheep dip before its second coming. Now it's here again, with better opt-outs and security wraps, but with the same very basic flaws. The idea that every interaction you have with a Recall user is screenshot and kept forever without you knowing feels — at its core — very wrong. But this is just another example of AI bringing unlimited scale to dangerous activities with ease. Your messages — disappearing or otherwise — have always been subject to a recipient screenshot. But not at industrialized scale. Similarly, targeted phishing attacks and better-written spam and brand ripoffs are all now being industrialized by AI. Put together, the linked device warning and Recall's launch means it's time for Signal and WhatsApp and others to end their linked device options or provide some way for messages to be tagged so as only to appear on primacy devices — meaning phones. The simple truth is that secure messaging and staccato screenshotting don't mix. In the meantime — and this is a serious warning — do remember that anything you send may not disappear into the chat archive on a phone, but may be analyzed, indexed and stored by AI in an easily searchable database on a device you do not control. As Beaumont says, 'Recall still captures and stores things after deletion. Disappearing Signal and WhatsApp messages are still captured, as are deleted Teams messages. I would recommend that if you're talking to somebody about something sensitive who is using a Windows PC, that in the future you check if they have Recall enabled first.' Ironically, just as Recall starts optically reading WhatsApp (and other secure messages), WhatsApp itself has stepped in to create even more AI-fueled confusion for its 3 billion users. Meta's engineers have suddenly announced that its AI will process messages after all, despite saying that it won't, but with assurances it's all done privately. So, nothing to worry about then? 'We're sharing an early look into Private Processing,' the team posted, 'an optional capability that enables users to initiate a request to a confidential and secure environment and use AI for processing messages where no one — including Meta and WhatsApp — can access them. To validate our implementation of these and other security principles, independent security researchers will be able to continuously verify our privacy and security architecture and its integrity.' Per Wired, 'the whole effort raises a more basic question, though, about why a secure communication platform like WhatsApp needs to offer AI features at all. Meta is adamant, though, that users expect the features at this point and will go wherever they have to to get them.' That's the crux of this new debate for billions of users. 'What makes me more nervous,' crypto expert Matthew Green posted on X, 'is what comes after these systems? Will these AIs stay strictly private? Or will they begin to share summarized private data with providers like Meta, for example to improve search results? There's a huge risk of a total privacy unraveling here.' Despite assurances that 'Private Processing will allow users to leverage powerful AI features, while preserving WhatsApp's core privacy promise,' there are clear privacy concerns here. While Meta insists 'no one except you and the people you're talking to can access or share your personal messages, not even Meta or WhatsApp,' this is the grey area where AI is currently changing how we think about our privacy. And even if Meta's engineers achieve this level of private processing, Recall will take its snapshots of all these private messages and will store them outside WhatsApp. For users this is becoming overly complex. You have been warned.
Forbes
21-04-2025
- Forbes
Millions Of Americans Get Microsoft's Free Upgrade Offer
Microsoft's stressed campaign to push hundreds of millions of Windows 10 users to upgrade continues. But there are still more than 700 million holdouts and an alarming redline for users without PCs eligible for the upgrade. While that's thought to be around 240 million PCs, it could actually be a much higher number than that. This week the company has pushed the hardware benefits of the TPM 2.0 security chip that is the primary dividing line between those PCs than can upgrade and those that can't. But as Microsoft continues its struggle, there is some good news at home, as the Windows-maker has quietly crossed a critical milestone. Per Stacounter's latest data, there are now more Americans using Windows 11 than Windows 10 — a huge change as the October 14 deadline fast approaches. In February, only 42% of American users were on Windows 11, but by March that had jumped to 54%. Over the same period, Windows 10's U.S. market share dropped from 66% to 44%. Microsoft is winning the upgrade race in U.S. Statcounter Microsoft needs to replicate this in other key markets. Across Europe, for example, Windows 10 still holds a stubborn 55% share with Windows 11 down on 42%. And those numbers are not moving anywhere near fast enough to solve the problem by October. The situation is even worse in Asia, with more than 60% of users still on Windows 10. Last month — the same month that Microsoft hit this critical U.S. milestone — the company warned users that PCs which don't upgrade will be left wide open to 'data breaches, identity theft, and other serious consequences.' Don't leave it too late, Microsoft told owners. 'Security updates are like locks on your doors—they help keep the bad guys out. These updates patch up vulnerabilities that could be exploited by malware or hackers. Without them, your unsupported OS is an easy target, and your personal info could be at risk.' It looks like millions of Americans have taken note. The deadline date is October 14. After that, 'Microsoft will end support for Windows 10,' which means it will 'no longer provide software updates from Windows Update, technical assistance, or security fixes for Windows 10.' Given the record number of vulnerabilities patched by Microsoft last year, the cyber nightmare of hundreds of millions of users falling off support on the same day is unprecedented. Microsoft has never struggled like this to push an upgrade before. At least in the U.S. that problem is now receding. Microsoft just needs the rest of the world to catch up — and catch up fast.
Forbes
20-04-2025
- Forbes
Microsoft's Free Upgrade Offer—Bad News For 240 Million Windows Users
Are you ojn the bad news list Microsoft's campaign to urge some 240 million PC owners to recycle their devices or consign them to landfill continues. The company has already told those users they do not get its free Windows 11 upgrade, and is now emphasizing why the new hardware so many must (but don't want to) buy is absolutely critical to staying safe. As spotted by Neowin, following Microsoft's suggestion that users 'dump their PC and get a new one with Windows 11,' the company is now explaining 'why that is and how it helps make Windows 11 a better OS than Windows 10.' Thankfully, it has done this 'in simple words so that most users can understand them.' This is TPM 2.0, the hardware security chip that is the dividing line between PCs that can upgrade to Windows 11 and PCs that can't. 'The Trusted Platform Module (TPM),' Microsoft says, 'is a specialized chip built into your computer's hardware. It's designed to protect sensitive data by ensuring only trust software runs on your computer. It also keeps your important information safe from unauthorized access.' The company provides four security related bullets to explain Windows 11's security benefits, which as is always emphasized, is a hardware/software combination: TPM 2.0 is not just chip, Microsoft says, 'it's your device's first line of defense against the ever-evolving world of cyber threats.' Microsoft has a fast-approaching problem as it 'tries to convince Windows 10 users that TPM 2.0 is worth the upgrade,' per XDA Developers. There is a hard red line between the PCs that can and can't upgrade, those with and without the TPM 2.0 chip. With workarounds being shutdown and the Windows-maker being clear than ineligible PCs should be be changed, we will hit a brake in those Windows 11 numbers. After trailing Windows 10 since its launch, Windows 11 now has almost the same market share as its predecessor, and the numbers of those switching is accelerating at long last. But at some point that will stop or at least drastically slow down. The current estimate of the number of ineligible PCs is 240 million — but there are fears there could be even more. And a vast number of those will neither update hardware nor pay $30 for a 12-month support extension. That will leave hundreds of millions of PCs exposed to the cyber threats that hit Windows PCs constantly. Bad news all round.
