{"id":4690,"date":"2020-07-01T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-01T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviancetechnologies.com\/blog\/blog\/who-needs-windows-10-pro-5-reasons-to-upgrade\/"},"modified":"2020-08-05T19:10:26","modified_gmt":"2020-08-05T19:10:26","slug":"who-needs-windows-10-pro-5-reasons-to-upgrade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviancetechnologies.com\/blog\/who-needs-windows-10-pro-5-reasons-to-upgrade\/","title":{"rendered":"Who needs Windows 10 Pro: 5 reasons to upgrade"},"content":{"rendered":"

[responsivevoice_button rate=”1\u2033 pitch=”1.2\u2033 volume=”0.8\u2033 voice=”US English Female” buttontext=”Story in Audio”]<\/p>\n

Who needs Windows 10 Pro: 5 reasons to upgrade<\/h2>\n

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Windows 10 Professional isn\u2019t just for cubicle dwellers who have no choice in the matter. While users who own a \u201cprofessional\u201d PC like the Surface Book 2<\/a>Remove non-product link<\/span><\/a>\u00a0will automatically be upgraded to this higher-end version of the OS, smaller businesses and PC enthusiasts may also weigh the benefits of the Pro version vs. Windows 10 Home. PCWorld also has a cheap update deal going on which eliminates many of the cost concerns.<\/p>\n

Windows 10 Professional doesn\u2019t take anything away from Home users; it simply adds more sophisticated features.\u00a0Pay attention, though: more and more devices are opting for Windows 10 Home, including Microsoft’s Surface “Pro” hardware. You may need to opt for a “Business” edition of devices like the Surface Book 3<\/a> instead to land a pre-installed Windows 10 Pro OS.<\/p>\n

What Windows 10 Pro will cost<\/h2>\n

In general, you can pay $129 to download Windows 10 Home<\/a>\u00a0via Amazon, after Microsoft raised the price by $20 at the end of 2018. You can pay $200 to download Windows 10 Pro<\/a> from Amazon, or pay a little less to buy it from an e-tailer.\u00a0(Microsoft charges $139 for direct downloads of Windows 10 Home<\/a>Remove non-product link<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and $199 for Windows 10 Pro<\/a>Remove non-product link<\/span><\/a>.) You may be able to take advantage of PCWorld’s special deal, however: a Windows 10 Pro license for $40.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s one more option: buying a \u201csystem builder\u201d license from an e-tailer. This is usually the choice of enthusiasts, but it offers no support or even instructions from Microsoft. It\u2019s cheaper: Windows 10 Home (OEM)<\/a>Remove non-product link<\/span><\/a>\u00a0is $110 at Amazon; while Windows 10 Pro (OEM)<\/a>Remove non-product link<\/span><\/a>\u00a0is $129 from Amazon.<\/p>\n

(Microsoft used to offer a \u201cPro Pack\u201d to upgrade from Windows 10 Home to Windows 10 Pro; that function is now handled by the Microsoft Store app within Windows 10. Enter Windows 10 Pro<\/strong> in the search box and follow the instructions; Microsoft asks $99.99 for the privilege.)<\/p>\n

Microsoft created a useful webpage for comparing the\u00a0different Windows 10 versions<\/a>, breaking down the reasons to upgrade to Windows Pro into four categories: the fundamentals, management and deployment, security, and Windows updates. All of them have some relevance for power users and more traditional businesses alike. While there are dozens of differences (check our original\u00a0review of Windows 10\u00a0for the details), seven key aspects of Windows 10 Professional will help you decide whether the upgrade is worth it for you. (Yes, seven: Microsoft has added another!)<\/p>\n

\"Windows<\/a> Mark Hachman<\/small>
The differences between Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Professional lie under the hood. On the desktop, your experience should be roughly the same.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

BitLocker<\/h2>\n

Microsoft\u2019s encryption software has been developed and updated since Windows Vista, and it\u2019s been built into Windows 10 as well. Since Windows 8.1, BitLocker has offered the option to encrypt the Windows boot drive and other fixed drives within the system, as well as USB keys and external drives.<\/p>\n

\"windows<\/a> Mark Hachman<\/small>
Encrypting drives is a snap with BitLocker.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

BitLocker is especially handy for traveling, even if it\u2019s just to a local cafe. Locking down your data isn\u2019t 100-percent foolproof, but it\u2019s a start.\u00a0If a drive is encrypted, BitLocker will encrypt other files that are added to it. You also have the option to suspend encryption or remove it entirely. Files moved from a BitLocker encrypted drive to another drive are automatically decrypted. It\u2019s really not all that complicated: logging in to your Windows PC will automatically make all your files accessible to you. It\u2019s only if your PC is lost that BitLocker works to protect your files from being accessed by an attacker.<\/p>\n

Of course, you\u2019ll need a password to make it all work, preferably as strong as possible.\u00a0If you don\u2019t have that password, you\u2019ll need a recovery key to regain access: a code that can be saved to a file, to a Microsoft account, or even printed out and saved. But if you forget the password\u00a0and<\/em> lose the recovery key, you\u2019re stuck\u2014you\u2019ll lose access to that data forever.\u00a0 (Saving it to your Microsoft account is recommended.)<\/a><\/p>\n

A cloud storage solution like OneDrive can be a great way to store your files, but a USB key encrypted with BitLocker and clipped to a keychain can provide an additional layer of security and keep precious files close at hand.<\/p>\n

Remote Desktop Connection<\/h2>\n
\"windows<\/a> MicrosoftWindows has two similarly named capabilities: Remote Desktop Connection and Remote Assistance. The differences between the two are significant.<\/small><\/figure>\n

Windows 10 Home machines and Windows 10 Professional machines can initiate Remote Desktop Connections, such that the \u201cmaster\u201d machine controls the slave machine and all of its resources. (Doing so blanks the display on the \u201cslave\u201d device.) Only Windows 10 Professional machines can be remotely controlled, however\u2014not Windows 10 Home machines.<\/p>\n

Windows 10 Home machines can be remotely assisted<\/em>, which means that the Windows 10 \u00a0\u201cmaster\u201d machine controls the \u201cslave\u201d machine, and the \u201cslave\u201d display mirrors the master display. Remote Assistance is designed as an educational tool, so that a remote technician can show you how to adjust your graphics settings, for example, by moving your mouse.<\/p>\n