Windows 10 has been touted by Microsoft as being the last version of Windows that will ever be released to consumers. However, Windows 10 still updates to newer versions behind the scenes like it always has, and you still need to make sure it actually updates. Besides normal security updates that come out from time to time, Microsoft also releases large updates twice a year that give you and the operating system increased security, functionality, and features. These large updates have come in March and September. The reason this matters is that you can tell what major/minor (year/release) you have installed on your computer and know if you are current. As of this writing, the most current major version of Windows 10 is 1909. The 1909 is broken out in two sections…the first two digits and the second two digits. The first two stands for the year of the release (19 = 2019), and the second two digits being the month of the release (09 = September). Microsoft doesn’t force you to upgrade, but once a new “major” release is available to consumers, you should see a prompt letting you know it’s time to update.

To know what version your computer is currently running, I have detailed two different ways and included screenshots. The first is to click the Windows icon in the lower left of your screen, type “about” and click “About your pc”. Another way is to again click the Windows icon, then type “winver” (no quotes), and click the “winver” command that displays.

(alternative option)

To manually check for or run Windows Updates yourself, the steps are similar to the above, in that there are multiple ways to go about it. One is to click the Windows button and click the Settings icon on the left side (looks like a gear), and click “Update & Security”, or you can click the Windows icon, type “update” and go into the Windows Update settings that way (again, shown below). Once there, if you see you are behind a major version, there will be a special section showing that you can now update to a new release, otherwise you can click the “Check for updates” button and it will show if you have any minor updates available to install.

(alternative option)

I highly recommend manually checking what version you are running, and manually checking for updates as well from time to time if you are on a home computer, to make sure your computer is mostly up to date. You don’t need to be on the latest major update, but you need to be close. If you find out you are a year behind, you need to find time to update as soon as possible to stay as protected as possible, in combination with your antivirus/antimalware/firewall-layered solutions as well. If you are on a company/corporate network and find out you are well behind on your version, speak with your IT professional(s) to see if there is a valid reason.

Stay safe out there!
-Erik