by Charles Miller

Over the course of the last few months I have received a number of calls from readers in various stages of panic over having received a seemingly urgent warning on their computer. "Support for Windows 10 will end in October 2025. After October 14, 2025, Microsoft will no longer provide free software updates from Windows Update, technical assistance, or security fixes for Windows 10." That message from Microsoft was phrased in a way to provoke a sense of urgency, and certainly has some users frightened. The true meaning of the message is that Windows 10 is now one decade old and from this point on will no longer be improved.

The important thing to understand is that if you are using a computer that runs Windows 10 there is no need to panic. It will not die on October 14. After the "end-of-support" date there will be no new features added to Windows 10, and to that there are quite a few Windows 10 users who will say "Thank goodness!" The users who are saying that are the ones who were not always happy with Microsoft changing things by adding new "features" and now they can look forward to just a few years of Microsoft continuing to provide antivirus updates but no longer adding new features. For new features you will need the new Windows 11.

What is going to happen over the next few years is that the discontinued Windows 10 will die a death by a thousand cuts. At first you will probably not notice any problems, but eventually you will receive a warning message from one program or another saying that the program you want to use is no longer supported for use on the older Windows 10. At that point you will have no choice but to continue with the old version of that program you have installed. For most users this will be their favorite web browser and that inevitably leads to the next "cut."

Your web browser is the software program you use the most, and at least for a while there should be no problem using an unsupported older version of your browser, such as Google Chrome, Firefox, etc. But one day you might try to log onto your bank and receive a message saying something like: "Your Google Chrome is an old version that could have security vulnerabilities and is no longer allowed to access your account at this bank."

A number of readers have asked me how long they can continue using their Windows 10 computers before it becomes obligatory to upgrade. I do not have an answer to that question, but history might offer some clues. Windows 7 was released on July 22, 2009, and Microsoft's support for it officially ended on January 14, 2020. Ten years. Without fanfare, Microsoft continued to provide antivirus updates for the Windows 7 version of its Defender antivirus an additional 5 years until February 2025. That end-of-support for antivirus updates was the final nail in the coffin for Windows 7. It is one thing to put up with the petty annoyance telling you that this or that program is out of date, but it would be extremely unwise to continue using any computer for which up-to-date antivirus protection is unavailable.

For today's Windows 10 users, this means that upgrading to Windows 11, possibly necessitating the purchase of a new computer, is something you will be forced into at some point before 2030. Do I recommend postponing your move from Windows 10 to Windows 11 for five years? NO! By that time Windows 11 will be nearing its own end-of-support date.

The commonsense approach would be to go ahead and accept the free upgrade to Windows 11 as soon as it is convenient for you. If your computer cannot be upgraded to Windows 11 because it does not meet the minimum hardware requirements, then you have the next year or so to watch the sales for good bargains and buy a new computer at the time of your own choosing.

If you plan to continue using Microsoft's Windows into the future, from time to time upgrading to a newer version is de rigueur. The important thing to understand is that this does not have to be done by next Tuesday; you are the one who decides when. Just do not wait too many years to make your move.

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Charles Miller is a freelance computer consultant with decades of IT experience and a Texan with a lifetime love for Mexico. The opinions expressed are his own. He may be contacted at 415-101-8528 or email FAQ8 (at) SMAguru.com.

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