Does Microsoft know about » Microsoft Windows Hardware compatibility publishers » and is it affiliated to Microsoft at all ?

Microsoft suggests that the download of any 3rd party products (or even presumably Microsoft products) from non-Microsoft sites — especially sites like brothersoft or download or tucows or other mass download sites is risky and done so at your risk. There are far too many sites to check everything every day. One way is to check is to start here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/howtotell/default.aspx. If you think you’ve found a case of software piracy, see: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/piracy/reporting/default.aspx. (NOTE: We will sometimes recommend 3rd party products where appropriate, but while almost certainly safe if suggested here by verified expert here and even with that recommendation of an expert here, YOU still bear the risk of using 3rd party products.)

The best thing to do aside from avoiding such sites and choosing to download only directly from reputable program producer websites (Microsoft, Sun, Adobe. ) with valid certificates and publishing information is to follow basic security procedures.

Let’s talk about security in general. Because my work entails more risks than the average user, I do more things more frequently than most would need. However, some of this might help (you could reduce the number or the frequency) and some of it applies to everyone (especially the bold section):

Here’s what I do (and it isn’t 100% but nothing is, and in some cases only catches things after they’ve already gotten into the system, but it’s a good process while remaining reasonable and they can all work together — as proven by the fact that I use them):

I use MSE for real-time protection and run scheduled daily quick scans with a scheduled bi-weekly full scan.

I update and periodically (every couple of weeks or so) run full scans with Malwarebytes: http://www.malwarebytes.org/ and SuperAntiSpyware: http://superantispyware.com/ and ESET online scanner: http://www.eset.com/us/online-scanner Get only the free versions. Any that also have paid versions include features like real-time protection that cannot be used along with MSE anyway (in these cases), so there’s no point in spending the money anyway.

I use WOT http://www.mywot.com/en/download to help identify safe and dangerous web sites.

I use Secunia PSI http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/ to make sure all my programs are updated and current (since updates often plug security holes in the software and thus can be important as many people never check and/or update their software unless prompted — and this way I don’t need to check everything since notifications and sometimes updates are automatic).

I always follow the following advice from Stephen Boots — MVP:

-Make sure that the Windows Firewall is enabled. No other firewall truly offers better protection or is needed. This one is perfectly fine.

-Make sure that all important/critical updates, including service packs for the operating system and programs are installed from Microsoft Update (Windows Update).

-Make sure Internet Explorer is at version 8 or 9 and updated with all patches.

-In Internet Explorer 8 or 9, use the SmartScreen Filter.

-Make sure that IE Internet Security settings are at least set to medium-high (default).

-Enable the pop-up blocker in IE.

-On Vista and Windows 7 make sure that User Account Control (UAC) ON and not running with elevated privileges.

-Make sure that Windows Automatic Updates are set to at least notify, but the preferred setting is to download and install automatically. If you update manually, be sure to update as soon as possible after being notified of available updates.

—Make sure that installed applications, especially Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Flash, and Java are at their latest versions. Many vendors are regularly updating and patching for security holes. Secunia PSI mentioned above can help automate this a lot.

-Never click through links from unknown sources and use caution even if they are from a «trusted» source.

-Never open unsolicited email attachments.

-Practice safe web browsing. No adult sites, no peer-to-peer file sharing sites, no sites offering cracks or free software that you know can’t be true, lockdown Facebook to only Friends on EVERYTHING, use WOT mentioned above, use Task Manager to close all open instances of your browsers if you ever get a suspicious pop-up , double check all links in browsers and emails by hovering over them or otherwise checking to see if what they say and where they say they are directed match what is really there and I could go on but you get the idea.

-Always use a standard user account unless you have a specific need for an administrator account. Then switch, do the administrative task, and return to the standard account. This greatly limits the access of any type of infection of intrusion into your system since administrative access isn’t in place.

I hope this helps.

MVP(7/2012-6/2015),MCSE,MCSA,MCC2011,xCMM,xCAM,A+,Net+,Security Expert, xInfluencer. See Profile.

W10Prox64 Fast 16299rs3; Ofc Insider 1710/8613.1000; Edge,IE11,Chrome.

Windows Hardware Certification Kit

Platforms

Clients — WindowsВ 7 | WindowsВ 8
Servers — Windows ServerВ 2008В R2 | Windows ServerВ 2012
Server/Controller — Windows ServerВ 2008В R2

Description

The Windows Hardware Certification Kit enables developers, ISVs, IHVs, and OEMs to certify their hardware devices, systems, and filter drivers for the latest Windows operating systems. It contains all the tools and documentation that you need to certify your hardware and filter drivers for these operating systems:

• WindowsВ 8
• Windows ServerВ 2012
• WindowsВ 7
• Windows ServerВ 2008В R2

The Windows Hardware Certification Kit replaces the Windows Logo Kit and is a part of the Windows Certification Program.

Usage or best practices

Before you can test any hardware or filter driver, you must set up the proper test environment based on the hardware or filter driver you are certifying. This includes the controller, client, and potentially additional hardware (for example, multi-function devices) or software. After your environment is set up, you can test your hardware using the new HCK’s Studio tool. These steps outline the certification test process.

1. Set up test environment.
2. Create a project.
3. Create one or more machine pools.
4. Select features to validate.
5. Select and run tests against those features.
6. View test results.
7. Submit your package.

How to Find Windows 10 Computer Specifications & Systems Requirements

Here’s an overview of how to find computer specification requirements, versions, and languages available for Windows 10.

Table of Contents

System requirements for installing Windows 10

These are the basic requirements for installing Windows 10 on a PC. If your device does not meet these requirements, you may not have the great experience intended with Windows 10 and might want to consider purchasing a new PC.

RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) for 32-bit or 2 GB for 64-bit

Hard drive size:

32GB or larger hard disk

Note: See below under “More information on hard drive space to install or update Windows 10” for more details.

Compatible with DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver

Display: 800×600 Internet Connection:

Internet connectivity is necessary to perform updates and to download and take advantage of some features. Windows 10 Pro in S mode, Windows 10 Pro Education in S mode, Windows 10 Education in S mode, and Windows 10 Enterprise in S mode require an internet connection during the initial device setup (Out of Box Experience or OOBE), as well as either a Microsoft account (MSA) or Azure Activity Directory (AAD) account. Switching a device out of Windows 10 in S mode also requires internet connectivity. Learn more about S mode here.

There may be additional requirements over time for updates, as well as requirements to turn on specific features within the OS.

Keeping Windows 10 up-to-date

Windows 10 is designed to deliver updates for the supported lifetime of the device. Two types of updates may be provided: quality updates and feature updates. Quality updates include both security and non-security updates and are typically targeted to be released once a month. Feature updates also include security and non-security fixes as well as new features to Windows 10 and are typically provided twice a year. Ensuring that your device receives these updates and is kept up-to-date is important for your device security. Windows 10 periodically checks for updates so you don’t have to. When an update is available—and sufficient free disk space is available on your device—it will be automatically installed. So that Windows 10 continues to stay updated, it’s important to ensure your device has sufficient free space. See additional applicable details in the following notes.

Important notes about updates:

• A device might not be able to receive updates if the device hardware is incompatible, if it lacks current drivers or sufficient available hard drive space, or if it’s otherwise outside of the Original Equipment Manufacturer’s (“OEM”) support period. Visit the Windows Lifecycle Fact Sheet or the Lifecycle FAQ for Windows products to learn more about the servicing timeline for each feature update.
  • Some of the disk space needed for installing updates is only temporarily required. Typically, ten days after installing an update, a disk cleanup will be automatically performed to delete copies of the older, unneeded Windows files and free up space again.
• Not all features in an update will work on all devices.
• An internet connection is required to perform updates and Internet access (ISP) fees might apply.
• If you need assistance installing an update, Windows 10 Update Assistant may be able to help.

More information on hard drive space requirements to install or update Windows 10

The size of the Windows operating system that comes with your device and the amount of space needed to download and install Windows updates, are highly variable as they depend on a variety of factors. Visit here to learn why. The factors that impact the amount of free hard drive space needed to take an update include: the versions of Windows previously installed on the machine, the amount of disk space available to reuse from Windows files, such as the virtual memory pagefile or hibernation file, which applications are installed on your device and how those applications store data. Starting with the May 2019 Update, the system requirements for hard drive size for clean installs of Windows 10 as well as new PCs changed to a minimum of 32GB. The 32GB or larger drive requirement is set to leave space for users to install apps and to keep data on the device. Installing Windows or updating from a previous version of Windows on devices with less than 32GB storage will continue to work if the device has enough free space available. When updating, Windows will attempt to automatically free up enough hard drive space and guide you through freeing up even more if the automatic cleanup is not sufficient. You can also take steps to free up space on your own. For more information, see Free up space to install the latest Windows 10 update or visit the related FAQ.

Feature-specific requirements for Windows 10

In addition to the requirements above that are needed to run Windows, some features have additional requirements. In some cases, features included with updated versions of Windows 10 will be best experienced with newer processors. For specific hardware support please refer to your Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). Below are some additional details regarding requirements for key features:

• BitLocker Drive Encryption (available with Windows 10 Pro or Windows 10 Enterprise only) requires a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2 or higher and Trusted Computing Group (TCG)-compliant BIOS or UEFI. BitLocker can be used on devices without TPM, but you will need to save a startup key on a removable device such as a USB flash drive. TPM 2.0 and InstantGo support is required when you want to automatically encrypt the local drive when joining a device to Azure Active Directory (AAD). Check with your PC manufacturer to confirm if your device supports the correct TPM version and InstantGo for the scenario you want to enable.
• BitLocker To Go requires a USB flash drive (available in Windows 10 Pro and Windows 10 Enterprise only).
• Client Hyper-V requires a 64-bit system with second level address translation (SLAT) capabilities and additional 2 GB of RAM (available in Windows 10 Pro and Windows 10 Enterprise only).
• Cortana is only currently available on Windows 10 for the United States, United Kingdom, China, France, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, Canada, Spain, Australia and India.
• Microsoft account is required for some features.
• Miracast requires a display adapter which supports Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) 1.3, and a Wi-Fi adapter that supports Wi-Fi Direct.
• Movies & TV application is not available in all regions. For the most up-to-date list of regions, please go to the Movies & TV information page.
• Secure boot requires firmware that supports UEFI v2.3.1 Errata B and has the Microsoft Windows Certification Authority in the UEFI signature database.
• Skype is available only in select countries and regions. Calling to select countries and regions only. Excludes special, premium and non-geographic numbers. For details, visit the Office FAQ page.
• Snap: The number of applications that can be snapped will depend upon the minimum resolution for the application with a limit of two applications in Tablet mode and four applications in Desktop mode.
• Speech recognition will vary by device microphone. For a better speech experience, you will need a:
  • High fidelity microphone array
  • Hardware driver with microphone array geometry exposed
• Tablet mode is available on tablets and 2-in-1s with GPIO indicators or those that have a laptop and slate indicator will be able to be configured to enter «tablet mode» automatically.
• Touch: To use touch, you need a tablet or a monitor that supports multi-touch.
• Two-factor authentication requires the use of a PIN, Biometric (finger print reader or illuminated infrared camera), or a phone with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth capabilities.
• Windows Hello requires a camera configured for near infrared (IR) imaging or fingerprint reader for biometric authentication. Devices without biometric sensors can use Windows Hello with a PIN or a portable Microsoft compatible security key.
• Xbox application requires an Xbox Live account, which is not available in all regions. For the most up-to-date list of regions, please go to Xbox Live Countries and Regions website.
• Wi-Fi Direct Printing requires a Wi-Fi adapter that supports Wi-Fi Direct and a device that supports Wi-Fi Direct Printing.