Windows 11 launched at the start of October, with the next-generation of Microsoft’s iconic operating system available pre-installed on select new devices, and rolling out in stages to existing Windows 10 machines. However, this phased approach has its drawbacks – as new research reveals a small percentage of PCs out there are actually running the new OS. According to a study by Lansweeper, less than one percent (0.21) of PCs scanned are running Windows 11.
In fact, the IT asset management firm found that more PCs are running Windows software that has reached its end of support.
Their research found 3.62 percent of Windows machines are running Windows XP, while Windows 8 is being used on 0.95 percent of PCs, according to a report by Techradar.
Both of these operating systems reached their end of life years ago, meaning any computers running this software aren’t receiving crucial security updates.
And, as the WannaCry attack that caused havoc on the NHS underlined, this can lead to untold damage for any PCs running out of date software.
In total the Lansweeper study found almost one in 10 (9.93 percent) of analysed PCs were running versions of Windows that had reached their end of life.
So that would include machines installed with Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows XP.
There could be a number of reasons why the take up of Windows 11 is, currently, reportedly so low.
When Windows 11 was first announced the high minimum specs caused anger amongst PC fans.
Among the high specs required to run the software include a machine needing to support Secure Boot, Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 as well as running at least an AMD 2000 or 8th-gen Intel chip.
Secure Boost and TPM 2.0 are hardware level security features that tend to be found and activated only on recently released PCs.
The other reason for the, so far, low install rate of Windows 11 could be how long it’s taking to rollout the software upgrade.
It’s expected that by the middle of next year all eligible PCs will be able to download the Windows 11 update.
So there are still millions of people out there unable to download the Windows 11 upgrade right now.
Speaking about the findings of the study, Lansweeper’s chief marketing officer Roel Decneut said: “The situation poses a significant cybersecurity risk as Microsoft no longer provides bug-fixes or security patches for Windows Vista, 2000, XP, and 7. Although the majority of users are on newer operating systems, the billions of active Windows devices worldwide means there could still be millions of people using devices that are insecure and open to attack. Plus, a large number of these outdated systems are predicted to be running on enterprise devices, which means it’s not just personal information that’s on the line.”
If you’re feeling a bit of deja vu reading this, then there’s good reason.
Windows 11’s predecessor – Windows 10 – took a long time to overtake Windows 7, which for years stayed ahead as the leading OS in terms of market share.
It took Windows 10 three years to overtake Windows 7 and claim top spot after first launching.
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