Window’s Secure Boot certificates are expiring in June — here’s what you need to do
The Secure Boot certificates used by Windows are set to expire in June 2026, potentially affecting system security during startup. Most Windows 11 users on modern hardware will receive automatic updates, but others may need to take manual action. Secure Boot helps protect the boot process, and failure to update could leave some systems vulnerable.
- ▪The original Secure Boot certificates for Windows are expiring in June 2026.
- ▪Windows 11 users on modern hardware are expected to receive updated certificates automatically via Windows Update.
- ▪Users on older systems or earlier Windows versions may need to manually update their certificates to maintain security.
- ▪Secure Boot is a security feature that protects the system during the boot process before Windows fully loads.
- ▪Administrators can check their system's status by running a command in PowerShell.
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If you’ve never heard of Secure Boot certificates, that’s by design — they work quietly in the background, and for most of the past 15 years, nobody’s had to think about them. That’s about to change. The original certificates that power one of Windows’ most fundamental security features are set to expire in June 2026, and depending on which PC you’re running and which version of Windows you’re on, the fallout could range from a seamless automatic update to a security headache you’ll need to solve yourself. Your PC isn’t going to die, but it might get a lot less safe Secure Boot is what protects your machine during the boot process — before Windows even finishes loading.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Digital Trends.
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