Win10 End-of-Life has Major Security Implications

With less than a year to go, Microsoft is sticking to its vow to stop supporting Windows 10. Analysts remain unconvinced given it remains the most used version of Windows. Officially, October 14, 2025 will be the end of life date for the system. Although it will still work, Microsoft will no longer offer security updates for Windows as standard. Instead, users will have the option to pay for extended security support. (Source: microsoft.com)

10 Year Life Cycle

In principle, this is perfectly normal. Next year is 10 years after Windows 10 was first released, and that's the normal lifecycle for Windows editions. However, this case has some big changes. One was that Windows 10 was not initially expected to have a distinct successor but rather to simply continue developing over time with regular updates. Windows 11's emergence six years later was something of a surprise.

Another is that the barrier to upgrading is more severe than with previous new versions of Windows. Commonly, the vast majority of Windows computers could run a new version because the only changes to the minimum specifications were a small increase in RAM or hard drive space.

Most PCs dated 2017 or older won't be able to run Windows 11. That's because PCs need specific processors and a hardware security feature called TPM (trusted platform module). That has left many people with a perfectly functional computer that has the power to run Windows 11, but cannot do so because of the new, seemingly arbitrary, Microsoft requirements.

As a result, roughly two thirds of Windows PCs are running Windows 10 as of September, 2024. Some owners may be leaving it late to upgrade, but many may have concluded their only option is to buy a new PC and that they aren't willing to do so given the arguably limited improvements in Windows 11. (Source: arstechnica.com)

Security at Stake

That creates a chicken-and-egg situation we haven't seen since the days of Windows Vista, where many users decided to use Windows XP way, way, way past its end of life date.

As we've mentioned many times on our website, using an out-of-date operating system (which is no longer supported by security updates by the developer) is incredibly dangerous. In many cases, a firewall will not stop an operating system zero day exploit. All that is needed is to have the system connected to the Internet to have it become infected.

Related: WinXP Lasts 10 Minutes Before Becoming Infected

If Microsoft extends the Windows 10 end of life, there will be less incentive to get Windows 11. But if it does stop security updates, there's a serious risk that hackers will be able to exploit unpatched vulnerabilities in literally hundreds of millions of computers.

What's Your Opinion?

Do you think Microsoft's decision to end support for Windows 10 is justified given the high number of users still reliant on it? How might this impact users who are unable to upgrade to Windows 11 due to hardware limitations? Should Microsoft reconsider its approach to ensure security for a broader range of users?