The new Windows 10 operating system is coming.  It is scheduled to start being released on July 29th.  However, if you are a user of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 you are eligible to receive the new Windows 10 operating system for free.  Microsoft is letting these customers reserve the new operating system now.  Microsoft is notifying customers through a new icon on your taskbar or a popup message as indicated in the screen photo below.  Clicking on the message will take you to a page where you can sign up by merely providing your email address.  Once Windows 10 is available Microsoft will then download it to your computer. Over the years Microsoft has issued new operating systems after years of patches and updates of the previous operating systems.  When it became too cumbersome and difficult to patch the old operating systems, new ones were released.  Unfortunately, many individuals and companies still use the old operating systems, such as Windows XP although they were warned for years that new security update would no longer be issued after a specific date.  People and companies continuing to use the old operating systems, particularly Windows XP have become easy targets for hackers exploiting the vulnerabilities of the older operating systems.

TIPS

The release of Windows 10 will be exploited by scammers and identity thieves.  In particular you may receive emails or text messages with links or downloads that purport to be of Windows 10.  Don’t trust them.  Microsoft is not contacting people by emails or text messages regarding Windows 10.  Any email or text message, regardless of how legitimate it may look, that purports to be from Microsoft asking you to download an attachment or click on a link to install your Windows 10 is a scam.  If you click on those links or download those attachments all you will succeed in doing is downloading keystroke logging malware that will steal the information from your computer and use it to make you a victim of identity theft.  Microsoft will  also not be calling you on the phone to install Windows 10 either, so if you get a telephone call in which the caller represents that he or she is from tech support at Microsoft to help you download Windows 10, just hang up.  The call is from an identity thief only seeking to get access to your computer and its data.