Microsoft Offers $30 Windows 10 Security Extension for Home Users

[MacZ]

MS is doing this because they have a serious issue they refuse to address: they have purposely decided to maroon a sizeable chunk of the populace on computers that cannot run 10, and they severely underestimate how many people that adds up to. So they're gonna offer this to support the huge population using 10, because if they dont and security issues start coming out, we'll have another XP botnet scenario, but MS cant brick those PCs to keep them offline because the outrage would be deafening.

I expect they will extend this offer repeatedly after they see that the people who cannot afford new PCs still cant afford new PCs next year.

Yes.

A lot of people have old systems (not the people here) that work just fine for the light "workload" they use it for. Microsoft requires them to buy a brand new computer that will do exactly the same things with no improvements.

It makes absolutely no sense, and apart from the natural attrition of these computers dying, I think a lot of people will stay with 10. It will be a problem for Microsoft.

People on PC are not like Apple customers, in a cult and desperately trying to find new ways to give Apple more money.

And a lot of them don't care/don't know about malware.

 

[AGlezB]

I'll make a snarky educated guess as well: You're a programmer who has fallen for the fallacy that many programmers do, that because they understand one very complicated thing (programming) that they therefore understand ALL complex things, like financing or budgets or business decisions.

And here I am again wishing TPU had a facepalm reaction.
Did it bother you that much that it was obvious to someone that you had no experience or knowledge whatsoever about the subject matter?
You certainly are entitled to your opinion but be aware people tend to notice when you argue a subject you know nothing about. I know because I've put my foot in my mouth more times than I care to count so it's easy to tell when I'm on the other side of the argument, but it feels like talking to small children so it's not something I particularly enjoy.

I highly doubt that maintaining security updates for windows 10 costs as much as active development of windows 11.

Another facepalm here. Don't care enough to explain.

IF it did, they would not be offering an "educational" $1 update fee, that would be a huge loss on their part.

No it would't. It's a hook for the education sector to continue investing in the MS ecosystem. If anything this will net them a lot of profit long term.
The scariest thing in the world for Microsoft is a market as big as Education saying "Let's try Linux next".

Besides the fact, of course, that the multi TRILLION dollar microsoft has been maintaining security updates only for two years on windows 10 already while updating 11. Gonna guess it isnt breaking the bank right now.

Also, no, windows 11 is NOT a viable replacement for the tens of millions of individuals and businesses with intel 7th gen or earlier PCs, of which there are tens of millions of worldwide. In much of the world that is not USA/west europe, people are often still rocking core 2 era hardware, and their upgrade coming up will be used haswell-skylake era hardware which cannot run 10. Even stateside there are plenty of people or businesses that bought skylake hardware that still has plenty of life left in it that cannot run 11, not because they cannot physically do it, but because Microsoft arbitrarily decided to not let 11 run officially on said hardware. As I've said before, there are 3 7th gen CPUs that can run 11, and the rest cannot, despite all fo them having the same core arch, same security, and being identical to 6th gen skylake. Totally arbitrary.

What MS has done here is create another XP scenario where their obsolete OS continues to be used by a huge chunk of the populace, now backed up by hardware restrictions. The fallout is gonna be fun to watch.

This is such a bizarre 5G enabled conspiracy theory. MS offered the same package with windows 7 and with windows XP. The only difference is this time a consumer can buy it. Somehow this equals windows 365 for all?

MS is doing this because they have a serious issue they refuse to address: they have purposely decided to maroon a sizeable chunk of the populace on computers that cannot run 10, and they severely underestimate how many people that adds up to. So they're gonna offer this to support the huge population using 10, because if they dont and security issues start coming out, we'll have another XP botnet scenario, but MS cant brick those PCs to keep them offline because the outrage would be deafening.

I expect they will extend this offer repeatedly after they see that the people who cannot afford new PCs still cant afford new PCs next year.

For some reason you seem to think it's Microsoft's responsibility to keep supporting old hardware. It's isn't.
It's in the label: Microsoft Corporation, not Microsoft Charity or Microsoft The Good Guys or Microsoft Will Make You Happy.

We all get a kick from blaming megacorps but the fact is software is the same as hardware: it comes with a waranty which says "for this X period of time we'll hear you out if something happens and afterwards you're on your own".

• Can't afford to replace you very obsolete hardware? Not a MS problem.
• Want to use a secure OS in your very obsolete hardware? Not a MS problem. Try Linux.
• Don't want to create more e-waste? Not a MS problem.

The list goes on and you BTW can replace Windows with Android and MS with Google and the result will be exactly the same but with a worse turnaround because most Android devices don't get updates for more than a couple of years.

 

[MacZ]

We all get a kick from blaming megacorps but the fact is software is the same as hardware: it comes with a waranty which says "for this X period of time we'll hear you out if something happens and afterwards you're on your own".

• Can't afford to replace you very obsolete hardware? Not a MS problem.
• Want to use a secure OS in your very obsolete hardware? Not a MS problem. Try Linux.
• Don't want to create more e-waste? Not a MS problem.

The list goes on and you BTW can replace Windows with Android and MS with Google and the result will be exactly the same but with a worse turnaround because most Android devices don't get updates for more than a couple of years.

Since Microsoft is annoucing a Windows 10 Security Extension for Home Users, it shows that they do, in fact, care. The proof is in the pudding.

 

[AGlezB]

Since Microsoft is annoucing a Windows 10 Security Extension for Home Users, it shows that they do, in fact, care. The proof is in the pudding.

Sure, a long as you don't forget they're not doing it for free.

 

[AusWolf]

Now that they're making Copilot basically mandatory across both W10 and 11, they've suddenly decided to offer extended security support for W10... for a price?

This is the kind of scumbaggery that made me switch to Linux recently.

Since Microsoft is annoucing a Windows 10 Security Extension for Home Users, it shows that they do, in fact, care. The proof is in the pudding.

If they really cared, they'd offer it for free, or at least for a symbolic price (let's say $2), without the extra hassle that Windows comes with these days (Copilot).

 

[MacZ]

If they really cared, they'd offer it for free, or at least for a symbolic price (let's say $2), without the extra hassle that Windows comes with these days (Copilot).

I think that, over the cost of maintaining W10, they still want to nudge people to W11. So it has to be a bit painful. Still less than buying a new machine to do the exact same thing.

But it shows that they understand that they will still have hundreds of millions of W10 PCs after the end of life.

 

[Easo]

I wonder how many here knowingly (and not) mixes up licenses for end-users and for things like Embedded OSes? Or Enterprise licensing...?

Why should it be made obsolete? It's not very environmental of them, there's plenty of PCs that MS will not allow to run 11 because reasons, but run 10 just fine. Forcing those machines to retirement is not good at all.

There's no technical reason they *need* to stop at 10 years. 10 and 11 are shockingly similar under the hood.

So tell me - should Microsoft still support Windows XP for consumers? Or maybe even 3.11?
No line at all? If there is one, then where should it cut?

 

[MacZ]

So tell me - should Microsoft still support Windows XP for consumers? Or maybe even 3.11?
No line at all? If there is one, then where should it cut?

What is problematic is that Microsoft tries to force the e-wasting of perfectly capable PCs, and not in small numbers, for dubious reasons.

I think the political power should intervene to solve the problem if it were serious about climate change, biodiversity and all that good stuff.

Of course, if all that was a real and pressing problem, they wouldn't put tariffs on EVs and solar panels and rather try with all their might to electrify as fast as possible. And also promote cooperation in face of a serious global problem rather than full spectrum confrontation.

Which they don't.

 

[Jacky_BEL]

Why can't MS make a secure OS in the first place that doesn't need constant security updates?
Why do users need to pay 30$ for MS past fuck-ups?

 

[AGlezB]

Why can't MS make a secure OS in the first place that doesn't need constant security updates?
Why do users need to pay 30$ for MS past fuck-ups?

There is no such thing as secure software. It doesn't exist. Period.
The reason is simple: code is written by humans and humans are fallible. We have AIs that can write code but they're trained on code written by humans so the end result is pretty much the same.
A secure OS might exist in the not too distant future when AIs are in charge of writing the code and there isn't a single human left who remembers what a line of code looks like, but not today and not tomorrow and not within the next 20 years at the very least.

 

[Arctucas]

Testing the waters for future monthly subscription-based Windows.

 

[Wirko]

What is problematic is that Microsoft tries to force the e-wasting of perfectly capable PCs, and not in small numbers, for dubious reasons.

I too don't like MS's policies but try to look on the bright side. Microsoft is trying to force users of perfectly capable PCs away from Microsoft, and not in small numbers.

I also think MS won't just sharply cut off any support for Windows 10 in October 2025. Lessons from distant history: XP received a couple fixes for the largest security holes even after April 2014, and my install of Windows 7 Ultimate is still getting these two regular antivirus updates, although I never even tried to hack in ESU from the embedded version:

* Security Intelligence Update for Microsoft Security Essentials - KB2310138 (Version 1.xxx.xxx.0) - Current Channel (Broad) - this one arrives daily
* Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool x64 - v5.129 (KB890830) - this one I get every month but I have to manually choose to install it, then it runs for a couple minutes, so apparently it does some disk scanning.

Not something to rely on, and I'm aware it doesn't plug security holes in EXEs and DLLs, but it's better than nothing... I guess it's all derived from Windows 11 updates, so if some malware is discovered on 11, and by coincidence it's able to infect 7 as well, the updated scanner will detect it.

 

[Tek-Check]

The key problem for Microsoft is that Windows 11 has only ~35% of adoption rate, three years after rolling out. Windows 10 is still hugely popular and many people do not want to switch to Windows 11 for various reasons. If it's not broken, why change...

For example, my main reason for staying with Windows 10 is this. I have an ultra-wide monitor and appreciate every bit of vertical real estate space. Windows 11 does not allow taskbar to be moved on left or right side, which is frankly ridiculous in this day and age. I will never switch to Windows 11 until this nonsense is sorted out. Windows 10 allows positioning of taskbar on a side. Simply, but important feature for ultra-wides.

Microsoft is desperate to move people over, while not ironing out basic viewing experience, such as inflexible taskbar. They also try to force people to move by resticting some features to Windows 11 only, such as WiFi 7 support. I call this petty BS!

Windows 11 reaches 35% market share, but Windows 10 still leads by a wide margin

Microsoft's Windows 11 is finally gaining significant traction in the market, nearly three years after its initial release. According to recent data from Statcounter, Windows 11 reached...

www.techspot.com

Sure, a long as you don't forget they're not doing it for free.

They will have to offer it for free, because Windows 11 does not have a good adoption rate, as seen above.
In a meanwhile, MS must iron out basic viewing features in Windows 11 to encourage more people to switch, like myself.

 

[Wirko]

For example, my main reason for staying with Windows 10 is this. I have an ultra-wide monitor and appreciate every bit of vertical real estate space. Windows 11 does not allow taskbar to be moved on left or right side, which is frankly ridiculous in this day and age. I will never switch to Windows 11 until this nonsense is sorted out. Windows 10 allows positioning of taskbar on a side. Simply, but important feature for ultra-wides.

Not just for ultrawides. I had the taskbar at the left in Windows 98, 2000 and XP, and I used 4:3 CRTs of various sizes and a 4:3 LCD (1600x1200) back then. I could set its width to my liking, which is simply unimaginable today (works in 7 too).

In a meanwhile, MS must iron out basic viewing features in Windows 11 to encourage more people to switch, like myself.

You can keep telling MS what to do all you want, they will keep removing features from UI. As I mentioned here earlier, the option to set taskbar icon size (small-normal-large) through registry editor was removed not long ago. But hey, you'll never get that 3D Notepad and AI Calculator if you insist to stay on Win 10!

 

[AGlezB]

They will have to offer it for free, because Windows 11 does not have a good adoption rate, as seen above.

No, they won't.

Windows adoption rate figures are mostly useless for this argument because you can't tell appart the "can't" from the "can but won't".

In the retail market the vast majority of users upgrade by buying new hardware that comes with the new OS pre-installed. The percentages you're seeing are 3 years of hardware sold with Win 11 pre-installed vs 6 years of hardware sold with Win 10 pre-installed.

In the bussines market you have the companies that haven't yet made the migration to Win 11 and will wait until the very last second to do it and likely will not have finished in time for the EOL. That happens because as a company Win 10 EOL is a tomorrow problem, meaning they don't have to spend a cent licensing Win 11 for another year and they can use that budget for more immediate stuff. A year from now you'll see a jump in adoption rate, mostly from the medium to big companies. SMBs usually behave more like the retail market because they either don't have the budget/personnel to upgrade or just don't care about it and will keep using what they have until it breaks.

 

[Tek-Check]

Windows adoption rate figures are mostly useless for this argument because you can't tell appart the "can't" from the "can but won't".

It does not really matter. MS did not help by making the access to new OS restrictive hardware-wise, plus all shenanigans with demanding LAN/WiFi connection to install the system and Microsoft account. They made the process PITA and are directly responsible for slow adoption rate and lack of enthusiasm.

 

[AGlezB]

MS did not help by making the access to new OS restrictive hardware-wise,

It doesn't matter to most people. Only a very very very little fraction of the tech community cares about that.

plus all shenanigans with demanding LAN/WiFi connection to install the system and Microsoft account. They made the process PITA

The account thing isn't new. They've been requesting it since Win 8 and the only difference is they've made it harder to avoid it in Win 11 Home/Pro editions. Not that it matters to most users because they're trained to click "Next" so they'll do that and the installer will say "Ooopsies! The email is required." so they type the email and click "Next" again.

slow adoption rate and lack of enthusiasm.

I've heard the same opinion repeated over and over again by people who read it somewhere and actually have no idea what adoption rate is or how it differs from marketshare.
There is the main question you need to ask yourself: Slow adoption compared to what?
Adoption will always be slow compared to Microsoft expectations and if you compare Win 11 to 10 there is a 20% difference reported at the 2 year mark (source) that reflects that 10 was released only 3 years after Windows 8, compared to 6 from 10 to 11 and that 8 and 8.1 were universally disliked. Win 10 had the fastest adoption rate in history (source) so everything else is, by definition, slower.

Beware of echo chambers.

 

[Tek-Check]

It doesn't matter to most people. Only a very very very little fraction of the tech community cares about that.

Not at all. There are hundreds of millions of PCs globally in daily use that do not qualify for OS upgrade.

 

[AGlezB]

Not at all. There are hundreds of millions of PCs globally in daily use that do not qualify for OS upgrade.

That's another echo of an echo. You'll find any number of articles from a lot of sources including very reputable ones citing numbers based on estimations on hardware sold in the last 10 years.

Here is what you need to know: there is only one company in the world that has accurate data about how many devices are using Windows and how many of those meet Win 11 requirements and AFAIK they haven't released the data. What's more they decided those requierements based on the data they have. That alone tells you that the number of users that have concerns about the requierements isn't significant. You can kick and scream all you want and nothing will change.

On a side note: having hardware that doesn't qualify doesn't mean you can use it for Win 11. This is what Ars Technica has to say about it. Then again this is only relevant to a few techie people.

 

[Wirko]

SMBs usually behave more like the retail market because they either don't have the budget/personnel to upgrade or just don't care about it and will keep using what they have until it breaks.

Or upgrade to Win 11 on unsupported PCs anyway.

 

[Tek-Check]

Here is what you need to know: there is only one company in the world that has accurate data about how many devices are using Windows and how many of those meet Win 11 requirements and AFAIK they haven't released the data. What's more they decided those requierements based on the data they have. That alone tells you that the number of users that have concerns about the requierements isn't significant

They can release such data now and show it to the public. What's the issue with not releasing data?

You also operate in theoretical domain, which doesn't make counter-arguments any more valid.

They will try to scare and coerce, but it will not work.

 

[MacZ]

Or upgrade to Win 11 on unsupported PCs anyway.

What is more secure ? W11 without TPM or W10 at EoL ?

The forcing of this makes no sense.

And a lot of W10 users won't switch to Linux either.

The Security Extension for Home Users is proof they understand they have a problem.

 

[windwhirl]

Not at all. There are hundreds of millions of PCs globally in daily use that do not qualify for OS upgrade.

Looking at my boss that still hasn't upgraded two machines running Windows 7 and Server 2008 respectively despite being fairly capable of running Windows 10 and whatever the Server equivalent is.

So... you have the people that can't upgrade and the people that don't give two shits about upgrading, with those two circles also overlapping a bit.

Windows 11 does not allow taskbar to be moved on left or right side, which is frankly ridiculous in this day and age. I will never switch to Windows 11 until this nonsense is sorted out.

Considering that hasn't changed two years down the line, it won't change until a future version of Windows (Windows 12 or whatever they may call it) or it just straight up won't change. UI personalization has dwindled since the Windows 7 days, and pretty much anything they removed never came back.

They will have to offer it for free, because Windows 11 does not have a good adoption rate, as seen above.

Windows doesn't make that much money directly, so I doubt it will happen.

In the bussines market you have the companies that haven't yet made the migration to Win 11 and will wait until the very last second to do it and likely will not have finished in time for the EOL

Also, hasn't that been the case since forever? Companies not leaving XP until the last moment, then again with 7, and again now with 10.

And I'd bet it happened too with Windows 2000 (perhaps to a lesser degree since XP launched barely two years later).

MS did not help by making the access to new OS restrictive hardware-wise,

Honestly, I get Microsoft saying "your machine should meet these requirements". It's a lot of systems to support. But, I don't think it should have been enforced. I'd allow people to install Windows 11 and if their machine can't upgrade to 24H2 because they don't have POPCNT, well, just throw an error message about it and call it a day. Up to the user if they want to keep using that machine or upgrade it. Chances are most didn't bother installing W11 to begin with because the system doesn't run as well as they'd like with W11 on top, or they straight up didn't know or cared about W11 to begin with.

 

[_roman_]

Why can't MS make a secure OS in the first place that doesn't need constant security updates?

They do find a lot of issues in gnu linux regularly. I do rebuild a lot of those system libraries kinda often. I do check why there is a new "revision" package for my ~1400 packages in my gnu gentoo linux.
Sometimes I read about it, sometimes I see it on another webpage why that package got a revision bump.

What is more secure ? W11 without TPM or W10 at EoL ?

Windows 11 24h2 iso which i used for updating enforced TPM. Before and after that update my Windows 11 Pro is running without TPM.

And a lot of W10 users won't switch to Linux either.

I got a new gaming laptop. 3 days Windows Vista made me dual boot Arch Linux and Gentoo linux. I still use that gentoo installation from 2006. Arch linux was used for over a year until i ditched it.
Well I wanted Windows XP and i got something what i did not want to be honest.

--

History just repeats

outdated existing operating system -> new operating system no one wants
Windows XP -> Windows Vista
Windows 7 -> Windows 10 / 11.

--

Some people do not even know about windows updates or that windows will end support in october 2025.

I had a month ago a Windows 10 laptop in my hands which did not work with the new internet "box".
No windows update were made for over a year. A 3rd Generation Intel Core Notebook.

I told them just to get a new device in around a year because it's old, slow and soon without updates. HDD as system disk and one monthly windows update did over half an hour or longer to complete.

--

I really wonder how they want to distinguish a security update with a upgrade license? They need to build in some mechanism to refuse to install the security updates when you do not pay for it.
In my point of view the user does a piracy of those windows updates than when he does not have the security update license.

..

Want to use a secure OS in your very obsolete hardware? Not a MS problem. Try Linux.

I regret that I did not look also into FREEBSD / BSD stuff in 2006. I'm basically now locked into gnu gentoo linux with my setup. File system / encryption / backup of my files ...

 

[johnspack]

So glad I don't rely on windows any more. Win11 won't install on my dam threadripper. I know it's old, but it's far more powerful than a browsing only machine. However... you can install
with ventoy or rufus, and it will fix the hardware requirements stuff easily. For the more knowledgeable there are scripts to modify an iso again, easily. Or if you have some money... you can
get win11 iot enterprise, which has no hardware requirements and expires in 10 years. Also someone mentioned the taskbar... yes you can easily move it to the left side using windows settings.
Well that's enough positive about windows... I got some linux stuff to do now!