Company Promises to Patch Win10 After End of Life

Microsoft has competition in the market for extending Windows 10 after its scheduled end of life. An independent company is promising simple-to-use security updates - with a cost.

Officially, Microsoft will stop issuing free security updates for Windows 10 after October 14, 2025, just over 10 years after the system was released. That's not got a great reaction given Microsoft heavily implied there would be no new version after 10, and that it has arguably made Windows 11 an unnecessarily difficult upgrade through new hardware security requirements.

If all goes to plan, anyone wanting to keep Windows 10 machines running safely through official means will need to pay for the Microsoft Extended Security Program. This is set to be available for three years.

Microsoft Program Is Stopgap

It will cost $61 per device each year for business users. There will be a consumer version, presumably at a cheaper rate, but the cost has yet to be confirmed. Microsoft warns this should only be used as a stopgap rather than a long-term solution.

Now an independent company, 0patch, says it will offer a rival service. It's already done the same for Windows 7, though that likely had less of a market given people had fewer reasons to still be using that system after it's "end of life" date.

No Reboot Necessary

The 0patch service is so named because it doesn't require changing any of the underlying Windows files or even a reboot after installation. Instead, its fixes run in the computer's memory. That also means they can be removed without any problems.

It says it will not only issue the same fixes as Microsoft, but will also create its own fixes for zero day bugs where a vulnerability is publicly known but an official patch isn't yet available. It also claims to offer patches for problems Microsoft refuses to fix, plus patches for some popular third party software such as Adobe Reader and WinRAR. (Source: 0patch.com)

The service will cost the equivalent of $37 per device each year for medium and large businesses and $27 per device each year for small businesses and consumers. Unlike Microsoft, 0patch says it will provide Windows 10 patches until at least 2030. (Source: neowin.net)

What's Your Opinion?

Would you trust a third-party patching service? Is price a key point when comparing this to the Microsoft program? Do you think Microsoft really will stop free updates for Windows 10 next year?