The latest operating system from Microsoft computers, tablets and phones fixes problems, allows more customization and best of all, it’s free to most users, an information technology specialist told Vicksburg Lions Club this week.

Ben Buck, the IT director for Vicksburg accounting firm May & Co. and a member of the club, gave a demonstration of Windows 10 to the club Wednesday.

“It is a free upgrade to anyone running at least Windows 7. If you’re running XP or Vista, you’re out of luck. If you have XP, you’re computer is at least seven years old. You could buy Windows 10 for about $150, but you need to buy a new computer,” Buck said.

Microsoft released its latest operating system in late July after many users complained it was geared too much toward tablet computers instead of desktop computers.

“They made smarter decisions with that,” Buck said.

The upgrade file is large and users with slower Internet connections at home can download it elsewhere and save it on a DVD or thumb drive, Buck said.

Downloading it directly to a computer will make the machine unusable for a while, he said.

“It usually takes about an hour and a half, so don’t do it in the middle of the day. Let it run overnight,” Buck said.

As users learn the ins and outs of Windows 10, a modified version of Microsoft’s most recent operating system, it’s not a bad idea to employ free, portable anti-virus systems that supplement paid products such as Norton AntiVirus and McAfee VirusScan, Buck said. That way, there’s more than one technological hand on deck to clean up any malware.

In late August, Microsoft announced its latest operating system had been installed on 75 million computers, tablets and phones.