By Zak Doffman, Contributor
Publication Date: 2026-04-22 05:14:00
This has never happened before. Microsoft is expiring the authentication that protects Windows PCs from threats each time they restart. Secure Boot certificates on almost all Windows PCs date back to 2011 and will now be replaced. The process starts this month and is wrapped into April’s security update.
While Microsoft had said that “starting in April 2026,” PCs users will be able to check their PCs to confirm the update has installed successfully, that advice has now been updated. The status check “won’t show up immediately on all PCs,” the company now says, but the update will be available “by the end of April 2026.”
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The update both installs new certificates and confirms whether user action is required. When you go to Windows Security > Device security > Secure Boot, Microsoft tells PC owners that, “a green, yellow, or red badge attached to the Secure Boot icon indicates your current…
