Happy Windows 10 End of Life
This New Year 2025 Windows 10 is supposed to reach the End of Life. It is scheduled to occur on October 14th, 2025. End of Life or EOL as we call it in the IT world means a there is no longer any support, updates, service, or help for a product or service.
Windows 10 is Expiring
Microsoft announced a long time ago that October 14th, 2025, would be the end of Windows 10 support and updates. It seems that many of us are happy with Windows 10 (over 61% share). After 3 years, Windows 11 has only a 35% share. It seems the simple solution would be to update Windows 10 to Windows 11 and move on as we did in the past with Windows XP, 7, and 8.
As it turns out many computers running Windows 10 are not capable of updating to Windows 11. This primarily relates to the lack of a Trusted Platform Module or TPM. TPM is a chip on the computer designed to enhance security. Version 2.0 of this chip is required to run Windows 11. Most computers built before 2020 did not include a TPM chip and those that did had an old version that doesn’t meet Windows 11 requirements. This leaves no direct upgrade path from Windows 10 for these machines.
Microsoft’s solution to this dilemma for Windows 10 users, until earlier this year, was for everyone to go out and purchase new Windows computers that can run Windows 11. This may be great for Microsoft but is costly for consumers. Many seem to be looking for other, less costly solutions, until it is time to buy a computer for reasons that make more sense to the consumers. So now, Microsoft is offering to provide Windows 10 “security only” updates and support for an additional year for $30. Of course, they may choose to extend this extended support for additional years at a higher cost each year.
What to do About Windows 10
So, what can we do about Windows 10? Microsoft expects the first option to be to replace your old Windows 10 computer with a new Windows 11 computer. You can recycle the old one or follow one of the other options that follow. Of course, you could also purchase a new non-windows computer like an Apple, Chrome Book, or a Linux computer to replace the windows computer.
The second option, I will call the ostrich. We bury our head in the sand and pretend the problem doesn’t exist. I saw this a lot in the transition from Windows NT to Windows 2000, Windows XP to Windows 7 (didn’t we all just skip Vista?), and Windows 7 to Windows 10. However, these all offered paths to upgrade without having to replace the hardware.
You may not want to use the Ostrich because Microsoft software is constantly under attack. Microsoft publishes security updates monthly for a reason. Once Microsoft’s security support is gone, sensitive data stored on unsecure computers like bank accounts or personal information is at risk.
If you decide to go the ostrich route, make sure your computer is as secure as you can make it. Do not count on Windows Defender! Get a good third-party anti-virus like McAfee or Norton. Do not use Microsoft Edge, instead use Firefox or Chrome or another secure browser. I tend to setup my firewalls to block all traffic from countries like China, Russia, and former Soviet bloc countries. Be very wary of your email, use secure email. A lot of advice is available online about how to harden the security of Windows. I suggest you look it up, read it, and follow it.
Option three: recognizes that there are third party companies that will step up and offer subscriptions to non-Microsoft update services that will attempt to protect and patch the Microsoft software and enhance your security without Microsoft’s help. I have seen a couple of companies that are beginning to offer these services, but I have no current information on their costs or effectiveness.
Option four: replace Windows 10 on your older computer with the Linux operating system. Many of my older computers have been running Linux for years. I prefer Ubuntu Mate, but I have used several variants of Linux depending on the age of the computer. All of the software I use is available in one form or another on Linux including Office Software, music and video players, games, email, and web browsers. The operating systems and most of the software is both free and open source.
Option five: replace Windows 10 with Google’s ChromeOS Flex. Flex is a variant of ChromeOS designed to extend the useful life of older computers. Use it to replace Windows providing the feature of ChromeOS on the windows platform.
What will I do?
Now you have nine and a half months to prepare for the end of Windows 10. You may be interested in my plans. I have already replaced two laptops with Windows 11 laptops and will replace one desktop early in 2025. I have two desktops running Windows 10 on a separate secure network with very limited Internet access. These will continue until a project I am doing is completed. These have no at-risk data to protect. Linux will replace all other Windows 10 systems, and I may replace one with ChromeOS Flex for use as a guest PC for visitors.
Happy New Year
I am running out of space again. My windows 10 discussion was supposed to be shorter so I could make some free software suggestions and remind everyone of end of year technology chores. We will also discuss privacy and ad blocking. Now you know what’s coming in the next months. Happy New Year!
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