This is already common for businesses, and for the first time, individuals will have the option to pay for extended security updates for Windows operating systems that are no longer supported.
Windows 10 will stop receiving free updates, including security fixes, after October 14, 2025; this is the official end of support date. But there’s good news for Windows 10 holdouts: In addition to the expected announcement that large organizations will be able to purchase Windows 10 Extended Security Updates for up to three years, small businesses and home users will be able to pay for up to three years of extensions. Security updates. Years of operating system security updates.
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What is Microsoft’s Extended Security Update Program?
When a Microsoft software reaches end of support, it means it no longer receives monthly security updates, bug fixes, updates for new features, time zone and daylight saving time changes, or technical support. Microsoft’s Extended Security Update Program doesn’t replace all of these options; ESU only provides monthly security updates from Windows Update, and only covers vulnerabilities that Microsoft classifies as critical or important, meaning that if Microsoft doesn’t make changes to Windows, then There’s no way to mitigate security issues you can’t mitigate. ESU is available for three years after support ends.
ESU is common for server products such as Windows Server and SQL Server. ESU is also occasionally available for desktop versions of Windows; Windows 7 ESU doesn’t end until January 2023.
You must pay the ESU fee on an annual subscription; in the past, this meant having a Windows volume license with Software Assurance, such as Enterprise Agreement, Enterprise Agreement Subscription, Education Solutions Registration, or Server and Cloud Registration. ESU is also available to enterprises with SPLA or server subscriptions.
The difference this time is that individuals will be able to purchase an annual ESU subscription for their Windows 10 PC.
How to get extended security updates for Windows 10?
Large organizations will get ESUs using the same mass licensing system as in the past, but there will be a new subscription option for individual users to get ESUs for Windows 10; you only pay for one year, and you can pay for up to three years.
Microsoft has yet to announce how much ESU will cost for small businesses and home users without large licenses, or how subscriptions will be sold. However, in the past, Windows authorized upgrades could be performed through the Microsoft Store in Windows, and this seems to be a possible mechanism.
ESU becomes available on the date the Windows version ends support. Previously, companies could register ESUs in advance and activate them a month before support ended so that systems would not be vulnerable to attacks.
Setting up ESU for a server can be complicated, but with Windows 10, once an ESU subscription is set up, updates will be delivered through Windows Update, in the same way as monthly security updates.
Do all versions of Windows 10 require ESU?
Version 22H2 is the last version of Windows 10 Enterprise, Education, Pro, and Home editions. There are specific versions designed for specialized devices such as ATMs, cash registers, and controlling industrial machinery or medical equipment, which are constantly updated – Windows 10 IoT Enterprise Long Term Servicing Channel and Windows 10 IoT Enterprise – but these versions are not suitable for use as standards Windows desktop.
Is ESU on Azure free?
To encourage organizations to run older versions of Windows and Windows Server in the cloud, Microsoft can ensure they are automatically patched to make them as secure as possible — which is even more important for operating systems that are no longer actively developed — Microsoft has previously provided support for virtual machines running on Azure. ESU is provided for free on machines (including Azure Stack). This includes Azure Stack Hub, Azure Stack Edge or Azure Stack HCI, all of which can run on your own hardware and network.
This also applies to cloud PCs running Windows 10, but it works slightly differently depending on which cloud virtualization service your organization uses.
If you run Windows 10 virtual machines on Azure Virtual Desktop, these VMs can use ESU for free. If you’re using Windows 365, you’ll get a free ESU for your physical Windows 10 computer to access your Windows 11 cloud computer. It’s unclear whether ESU will also be available for free to organizations using Windows 10 on Windows 365 Enterprise (even if it’s not available by default, it’s still available through custom images); we hope Microsoft clarifies this soon.
ESU gives Windows 10 users breathing room
Microsoft is naturally keen to move users to Windows 11, which is finally getting much-needed features like the ability to turn off the News gadget. But two years after its release, Windows 11 adoption appears to be slower than Windows 10. Microsoft has yet to release official figures for Windows 11 usage, but internal documents seen by Windows Central claim there are 400 million active devices per month, and that number is expected to grow to half that, with Windows 10 users reaching 1 billion by early 2024 , reaching the 400 million mark a year later.
While the end of support for Windows 10 will push large organizations to upgrade to Windows 11 over the next two years, Windows 10’s continued dominance explains why it’s getting new features like Windows Copilot and support for new standards like Wi-Fi7 .
ESUs won’t provide you with technical support or new features that Windows 11 will continue to receive, but they provide you with a way to continue using Windows 10 if Windows 10 is your preferred operating system or you’re not ready to move to Windows) 11 yet and remains fairly secure.
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