With Microsoft announcing the new Windows 11 operating system, you may be all excited to upgrade your PC. However, before you click the install button, the biggest mistake you can make is to not verify the source of the Windows 11 update.
Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky is warning users about the presence of fake Windows 11 downloaders that can infect your computer with malicious software.
Windows 11 will be officially available to all public later this year but if you want you can install the prerelease build to try out Windows 11.
It’s fairly simple to get the new Windows 11 prerelease build and all that you need to do is to visit the official Microsoft website and download it from there. Having said that, many users are attempting to download Windows 11 from third-party sources.
Kaspersky claims to have “defeated several hundred infection attempts”.
A large portion of these threats consists of downloaders, whose task is to download and run other programs.
What are the risks
The main reasons for opting for third-party downloaders could be that your computer is too old to support Windows 11 officially or you may not have a stable internet connection. Your PC may get infected by “relatively harmless adware, to full-fledged Trojans, password stealers, exploits,” warned Kaspersky.
“The most straightforward way cybercriminals deceive users is by slipping in something extra (or else).One example involves an executable file called 86307_windows 11 build 21996.1 x64 + activator.exe.
With a file size as large as 1.75GB, it certainly looks plausible. In fact, though, the bulk of that space consists of one DLL file that contains a lot of useless information,” it added.
How to download Windows 11 safely on your PC
As the final release of Windows 11 is yet to be out, it is highly recommended that you get the prerelease build on a spare computer and not your primary system. This is because Windows 11 prerelease builds can be quite unstable.
To download Windows 11 safely, you need to register for Windows Insider. Also, you will need a PC with Windows 10. To upgrade, go to Settings, click Update & Security, then select Windows Insider Program and activate Dev Channel to get the update.
