Going down the IT rabbit hole

Windows 11 24H2 is out of preview and now available as GA (General Availability) version through Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) and Windows Update for Business. We can also download it from:

• Microsoft 365 admin center (Billing -> Your products -> Volume licensing -> Products and services -> View downloads and keys),
• Visual Studio Subscriptions,
• Software Download Service (consumer editions),
• Microsoft Evaluation Center (Windows 11 Enterprise & Enterprise LTSC -> download).

Enterprise and Education editions of Windows 11 24H2 are supported for 36 months (starting on 1st of October, 2024). Home and Pro editions of Windows 11 24H2 receive 24 months of support (starting on 1st of October, 2024). Windows 11 Enterprise LTSC 2024 is supported for 5 years starting on 1st of October 2024 and Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024 continues to offer a 10-year support lifecycle.

Windows 11 24H2 brings a lot of security improvements and some nice-to-have features:

• Personal Data Encryption (PDE) for folders (Documents, Desktop and Pictures)
• SMB signing is now required by default for all connections,
• SMB client now supports connections over TCP, QUIC, or RDMA using alternative network ports,
• Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS) improvements (automatically create the managed local account, randomize the name of the account,…),
• SHA-3 support,
• Checkpoint cumulative updates (update file level differentials are based on a previous cumulative update instead of the RTM release),
• Wi-Fi 7 support,
• Sudo for Windows,
• File Explorer -> Support for creating 7-zip and TAR archives,
• … (full list available at What’s new…, video overview).

Download Windows 11 24H2 and related resources:

• Download Windows 11 on Software Download Service
  • Windows 11 Media Creation Tool (make a bootable USB or DVD)
  • Windows 11 Disk Image (ISOs in 38 languages)
• Group Policy Settings Reference Spreadsheet (download)
• Administrative Templates (download)
• Security baseline (download)
• Windows ADK 10.1.26100.1 (released in May 2024, requires ConfigMgr 2303 or newer)
• Windows SDK 10.0.26100.1742 (downloader or ISO)

More information about the new features and security improvements in Windows 11, version 24H2 is available in official announcement: What’s new for IT pros.