Want To Keep Getting Windows 10 Updates? It'll Cost You $30 (pcworld.com) 39
With Windows 10 support set to expire on October 14, 2025, Microsoft is offering a one-time, one-year Extended Security Updates plan for consumers. "For $30, you'll receive 'critical' and 'important' security updates -- basically security patches that will continue to protect your Windows 10 PC from any vulnerabilities," reports PCWorld. "That $30 is for one year's worth of updates, and that's the only option at this time." From the report: Microsoft has been warning users for years that Windows 10 support will expire in 2025, specifically October 14, 2025. At that point, Windows 10 will officially fall out of support: there will be no more feature updates or security patches. On paper, that would mean that any Windows 10 PC will be at risk of any new vulnerabilities that researchers uncover.
Previously, Microsoft had quietly hinted that consumers would be offered the same ESU protections offered to businesses and enterprises, as it did in December 2023 and again in an "editor's note" shared in an April 2024 support post, in which the company said that "details will be shared at a later date for consumers." That time is now, apparently.
Back in December 2023, Microsoft offered the ESU on an annual basis to businesses for three years, one year at a time. The fees would double each year, charging businesses hundreds of dollars for the privilege. Consumers won't be offered the same deal, as a Microsoft representative said via email that it'll be a "one-time, one-year option for $30."
Previously, Microsoft had quietly hinted that consumers would be offered the same ESU protections offered to businesses and enterprises, as it did in December 2023 and again in an "editor's note" shared in an April 2024 support post, in which the company said that "details will be shared at a later date for consumers." That time is now, apparently.
Back in December 2023, Microsoft offered the ESU on an annual basis to businesses for three years, one year at a time. The fees would double each year, charging businesses hundreds of dollars for the privilege. Consumers won't be offered the same deal, as a Microsoft representative said via email that it'll be a "one-time, one-year option for $30."
No. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:1)
I wouldn't even use Windows 10 if they paid me $30,000,000, let alone $30.
Seriously.
MS was right: Windows 10 is the last version (Score:4, Insightful)
People are still using Windows XP. I doubt "everyone" is going to abandon Win10 for the Win11 garbage. I'll keep using Win10 until it is no longer feasible because I don't want nor need even more spyware crap from MS.
(Yes, I know MS never officially stated Windows 10 was the last version. It was the media misinterpreting Jerry Nixon's quote: "Right now weâ(TM)re releasing Windows 10, and because Windows 10 is the last version of Windows, weâ(TM)re all still working on Windows 10." when he probably meant: ... because Windows 10 is the current version of Windows ...)
Re:MS was right: Windows 10 is the last version (Score:4)
People said that every time Microsoft decided to pull the rug out from under them, and then, when the cut-off date came, it was always quickly followed by a critical vulnerability in some core component that you can't live without and can't defend against without major loss of function. If you keep buying Microsoft, you keep paying Microsoft. Anything else is a delusion.
Re: (Score:2)
Market share figures demonstrate that no people of any significant group size are still using XP, and history dictates that a large portion of OS migrations do in fact happen at end of life.
No one cares about you, or me, or the fact that I still have a Windows XP machine here as well. We are completely insignificant in the grand scheme of IT install base. On the flip side the choice of software for some major groups opens them to actual liability. I'd continue running Windows 10 if I were using it offline,
demanding money to fix product defects (Score:4, Interesting)
Sounds like fraud to me.
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Yup, only in the software world...just about every other industry calls these product recalls, not "updates" or "patches", and they are free of charge.
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Sounds like fraud to me.
Do you refer to the SW industry in general? Or to MS in particular?
Because, if you are talking about MS, last time I checked, World + Dog, including FOSS starwalts like Red/PurpleHat, Suse, and Ubuntu did so. Also non-FOSS starwalts like IBM and Oracle, both for FOSS and Non-FOSS SW in their portfolios....
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Do you refer to the SW industry in general? Or to MS in particular?
Yes. The software industry in general has been guilty of shipping defective products with shrink-wrap licenses that disclaim any responsibility for the product. Microsoft has led that pattern. But this strikes me as extortionate, even for Microsoft.
Re: (Score:2)
Arrogant Demands. (Score:2)
It is extortion, plain and simple. Which is a crime
Really? The product known as Windows 10 came out in 2015.
Go ahead. Tell me how many other products from our highly disposable tech industry do you EXPECT to find full manufacturer support a fucking decade after release.
Extortion my ass.
Re: Arrogant Demands. (Score:1)
The problem is that Windows 11 has strange hardware demands, meaning that people have to replace their hardware to get an upgrade. Even if their hardware is more than capable of running Windows 11 at decent speed.
This includes computers bought in 2020 or 2021, which is still very recent hardware.
Re: (Score:3)
Sounds like fraud to me.
Base product comes with an expected XX months of support included.
This is nothing but buying extended warranty coverage. Take it or leave it. There’s always the model under full warranty support (Win11) if you want too.
Major damage to MS's reputation coming (Score:5, Interesting)
I guestimate 80% won't pay, and continue to use Windows 10 as-is. And being ubiquitous, it will get hacked up the wazoo without security updates, creating all kinds of embarrassing headlines.
Bad biz move on MS's part. They should keep giving out free security updates until the share of Windows 10 drops below a certain threshold.
I predict they will end up giving free security updates anyhow after a few such headlines.
Re: (Score:2)
I guestimate 80% won't pay, and continue to use Windows 10 as-is. And being ubiquitous, it will get hacked up the wazoo without security updates, creating all kinds of embarrassing headlines.
Bad biz move on MS's part. They should keep giving out free security updates until the share of Windows 10 drops below a certain threshold.
I predict they will end up giving free security updates anyhow after a few such headlines.
The doom and gloom scenario you paint was already predicted many times in the past and:
Did not happen when Win98 went out of support.
Did not happen When Win2000 went out of support
Did not happen when WinXP went out of support
Did not happen when Win7 went out of support.
Yes, the past is not a predictor of future performance, but I begin to see a pattern here...
Re: (Score:2)
The doom and gloom scenario you paint was already predicted many times in the past and:
Did not happen when Win98 went out of support. Did not happen When Win2000 went out of support Did not happen when WinXP went out of support Did not happen when Win7 went out of support.
Yes, the past is not a predictor of future performance, but I begin to see a pattern here...
The frick it didn't.
https://www.extremetech.com/internet/it-now-takes-just-10-minutes-for-trojans-to-infect-windows-xp
Only a complete goddamn moron keeps an out-of-date OS connected to the internet. You're probably one of those clowns that think the Y2K problem was much-ado about nothing too...
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The doom and gloom scenario you paint was already predicted many times in the past and:
Did not happen when Win98 went out of support.
Did not happen When Win2000 went out of support
Did not happen when WinXP went out of support
Did not happen when Win7 went out of support.
Yes, the past is not a predictor of future performance, but I begin to see a pattern here...
The frick it didn't.
https://www.extremetech.com/internet/it-now-takes-just-10-minutes-for-trojans-to-infect-windows-xp
Only a complete goddamn moron keeps an out-of-date OS connected to the internet. You're probably one of those clowns that think the Y2K problem was much-ado about nothing too...
And precisely that's the point. It only takes 10 min (in 2024) to infect an XP PC, and yet, we are not drowning in botnets.
Wanna know why? Because people updated their OS from XP to something else when the time came, and they updated their OS from Win7 to something else when the time came, and surely they will update their Win10 to something else when the time comes...
And, for the record, let me quote an snipet from my CV:
Did the certification process for Y2K for all Monitoring Equipment.
Telecomunications Monitoring Equipment, as in GSM. Project engineer at that time...
Re: (Score:2)
Satya is trying to speedrun being hated as much as Gates and his crooked business practices.
A free security upgrade is also available (Score:2)
Just go to https://almalinux.org/ [almalinux.org]
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It doesn't run MS-Paint, show-stopper! Yes it sucks, but I can do it in my sleep drunk and suffering rickets blindfolded.
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Good news, the Ms paint from WinXP is "platinum" in winedb. You're good to go.
Long live Win10 %^) (Score:3)
My company and our 10k+ Windows user PCs all run Win10. Heck, I don't even know if all the hardware we own can run Win11. The next 12 months may be epic!
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My company and our 10k+ Windows user PCs all run Win10. Heck, I don't even know if all the hardware we own can run Win11. The next 12 months may be epic!
If your company has 10k+ windows desktops, they probably have easy access to Win10 Enterprise LTSC (non-IoT) 2019, with support until ~2029 , or can pay for up to 3 years of ESU
Do not worry, your company will be fine. Worry about your home computer, and your families' home computers.
1 year of ESU will get you to 2026, and an aditional year of 0patch will get you to 2027, after that, you will have to sail the 7 seas, or bend the terms of the license so much that it will either resemble a pretzel or break. IA
lmfao (Score:1)
I'd pay Microsoft $30 just to turn updates off (Score:3)
I find updates intrusive, problematic and cause lots of issues.
The idea that windows critical functionality gets turned off to force you to update is just wrong... Notice your computer won't launch some programs, or some functionality is missing? Sound gone? Devices don't show up? Then magically everything works after the update, but it also worked before the update was pending so it's not the update that fixed the issue.
Heck, I'd even make that $50 just to turn off updates and make them completely manual.
Microsoft knows this market exists, but strangely has never offered this service.... I wonder why.
Re: (Score:3)
It's not too difficult to disable automatic updates in Win10. Not *fun* but not super difficult. It requires going into the registry and taking permissions control of specific registry keys, which prevents Windows from accessing them entirely. Since Windows can't access these keys, the services functionally no longer exist and so can't be run. They don't even show up in the Services list. You can restore functionality by restoring the permissions.
This does break the Microsoft Store but really that's kind of
Re: (Score:2)
Look for WUB (Windows Update Blocker) (from sordum.org)
Another post about Windows getting more awful (Score:2)
As long as they don't brick the OS after end of life, but I suspect it will fail under its own accord because of its dependence on internet-based services.
I must admit if there was an option to pay not to get features I would consider it, it seems almost a better deal, the OS has always been vulnerable to attack, it was a good middle ground of user friendliness, large software catalogue and ease of use that made it attractive in the first plac
Full system backup .. won't backup to USB (Score:4, Informative)
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Why won't Windows 10 allow the creation of a bootable full system backup on a USB device?
As long as it backs up to an iSCSI target with a drive letter, all is ok.
More seriously, microsoft is always under scrutiny (and for good reason) for anti-monopolistic practices. When microsoft even hinted about putting a native antivirus on Windows (defender), every antivirus company cried and garnished teeth in front of the FTC, DoJ and Europe. The onus was on microsoft to convince the regulators to allow them to put it.
that's why you/we often time do not have some apps out of box, or get eunuch versions
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All I want to do is create a bootable recovery image on a locally connected USB drive.
$30 for the convenience (Score:3)
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of getting the update through Windows Update. I'm pretty sure you can just manually download the file from somewhere free of charge.
For people and companies acustomed to the 7 seas, no biggie, but for people or companies with liability or certification concerns, better do it on the up-and-up.
Open Source Windows 10 (Score:2)
Why can't Microsoft release the source code of this old OS so that the community could maintain it without any cost to Microsoft?