10 facts about Windows PCs you need to know
There are more than 50 programs on each Windows PC. Half of them are outdated, which can cause PC slowdowns. Add to this the fact that most computers with the operating system have 5 years of life and still use Windows 7 and you will have a panorama on the use of computers in the world.
The data comes from a report released by Avast. The security company has married the anonymous data of 155 million users of its products with the global statistics provided by Gartner consulting. Among the findings are several facts about the system that draw attention: the program most used, the preferred manufacturer of consumers and more. Here are ten things worth knowing.
How to find out which Windows is installed on your PC
Survey done by Avast updates the scenarios of computers equipped with Windows
1. More than 50 programs installed on the PC
The average number of programs installed per computer is 51. However, countries like Korea and Japan have an average of 79 and 73 apps, respectively, while Pakistanis with 29, and Egyptians with 34, are people with less software on their PCs. "Remember that the more programs you install, the slower and potentially unreliable your computer becomes, " recalls the Avast blog.
2. Chrome is the most downloaded program
The Google Chrome browser is the most installed application on Windows PCs, being the option of 79% of users. The use of the program has grown considerably in the last two years: in 2015, it was used by only 25%. Next comes the Adobe Flash Player (77%) and Java (59%) utilities. Fourth, there is the Mozilla browser, Firefox (44%), and the Skype messenger (39%) closes the top 5.
Two browsers appear in the list of the five most downloaded apps in Windows
It should be noted that the list has two browsers, even if Windows has a native program installed: Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer.
3. 48% of programs are outdated
The percentage of outdated software is high. "Using outdated versions of applications not only means losing the latest features, compatibility, and bug fixes, but also leaves the door wide open for hackers to exploit vulnerabilities, " Avast said in its report. Java is the least up-to-date app ever, followed by Adobe Air, Adobe Shockwave, VLC Media Player and iTunes, closing the list of five with less updates.
List displays the five programs with the lowest refresh rate in Windows
4. Windows XP users are still 4.6%
Released in 2001, Windows XP was discontinued by Microsoft in 2014. This means that since then, the manufacturer has not performed security updates or has technical support for the release. Even so, 4.6% of users still use this variant and are completely vulnerable.
After the end of support, Windows XP became an even more recurring target of hackers (Photo: Reproduction)
Brazilians, however, appear in the ranking among Mexicans among those who use the least Windows XP: they are only 2.5% of the total users in the country. Already the Ukrainians are the champions, with 11% of PCs running the system even without support or any guarantee of security.
5. Windows 7 is the most used version
Windows 7 is the version used by 47% of users of the Microsoft operating system. The number of fans of the most current variant of the platform, Windows 10, grew 5% over last year, reaching the level of 35.1%. Then there are Windows 8.1, with 10.7% and the discontinued Windows XP, with 4.6% of the total users.
The latest version of Windows still does not lead to user preference
6. Computers have more than five years of use
Only 10.40% of Windows computers were released in 2015 or more recently. According to the survey, the average PC usage time with the system is five and a half years. However, the percentage of machines with eight years of useful life or more is quite high: 27.82%.
About 28% of Windows computers have more than 8 years of use
7. HP is the preferred manufacturer
HP is, as it turns out, the preferred computer maker, being the choice of approximately one in five Windows users. Its PCs represent 19.8% of the total notebook and desktops. Secondly, there is a technical tie between three brands: Acer (10.4%), Asus (10.3%) and Dell (10.2%).
HP is the choice of one in five Windows users
8. More than half of the PCs have 4 GB of RAM
More precisely, 50.6% of users use computers with 4 GB RAM, which may be enough for those who just need to use standard programs, such as the Office suite, and surf the Internet. More powerful hardware is needed if you want to run modern games or use editing programs. The second place was those with only 2 GB of RAM, representing 24.7% of machines with an operating system.
Graph shows percent of the type of RAM installed
9. HDs still reign
As the average use of Windows machines is more than five years, it is not surprising that 85.6% of computers use HD against 7.4% equipped with the latest and fastest SSD. Those with the hybrid combination of HDD and SSD, in which the fastest disk serves as a system drive and the mechanic is used for data storage, represents only 6.7% of the total.
HDD still reigns among disk types installed on Windows machines
10. Number of quad-core PCs grew 4%
Another result of using the low refresh rate of computers: 75% of the machines have a dual-core processor, that is, with two cores. The number of quad-core PCs grew 4% over the previous year and represents 19% of users. In general, the more cores, which work independently, the CPU has, the better the performance of the device.
Data show that about 5% still use processors with only one core
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