Urgent warning issued to all Windows 10 users – check your settings now

Anyone with a Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC in their home would be wise to head to settings and make sure the very latest updates are installed. That advice is due to Microsoft releasing a hugely important update which fixes a number of issues including three that have been given a dreaded zero-day rating. If you’ve never heard of that phrase before then it’s not something you want to ignore as zero-day basically means hackers have become aware of the glitch and are actively exploiting it.

That’s why this update has been rushed out. Once downloaded no future attacks can take place.

The three bugs mended in the release include one that could give cyber thieves access to system privileges whilst another can let online crooks execute code remotely via a rogue email.

“In an email attack scenario, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending the specially crafted email to the victim,” Microsoft warned.

“Exploitation of the vulnerability might involve either a victim opening a specially crafted email with an affected version of Microsoft Outlook software, or a victim’s Outlook application displaying a preview of a specially crafted email. This could result in the attacker executing remote code on the victim’s machine.”

Along with these three zero-day issues, Microsoft also says that this release fixes another 35 bugs with six bad enough to be given a critical rating.

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Here’s how to make sure your PC is up to date.

WINDOWS 10

Windows 10 users should select Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update , and then select Check for updates. If updates are available, install them.

WINDOWS 11

Windows 11 users should select Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and select Check for updates. If the upgrade is available for your device and you want to proceed, download and install it.

This latest update, which is part of Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday campaign, is a timely reminder to those who are still using ageing operating systems such as Windows 7 and Windows 8 to switch to something new.

Microsoft confirmed earlier this year that these platforms will no longer receive any software patches which means PCs that uses these operating systems face a higher risk of attack from criminals.

Microsoft recently urged all users of older Windows-powered machines to consider an upgrade.

Explaining more about the issues of sticking with unsupported software, Microsoft said: “While you could continue to use a PC running Windows 8.1, without continued software and security updates, your PC will be at greater risk for viruses and malware. We recommend upgrading to a version of Windows that is still supported. A new device that can run Windows 11 makes for an easy transition and a great experience.”