Microsoft will provide another year of free updates for Windows 10
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Microsoft is offering Windows 10 users another year of free security updates 鈥 but only if they鈥檙e willing to back up their settings to the cloud.
Windows 10 support is due to end in October, potentially leaving hundreds of millions of PC owners without security updates. Microsoft had previously announced that it would offer consumers Extended Security Updates for one year for a fee of $30. Now, however, it鈥檚 announced a way that consumers can get those updates without paying a cent.
How To Get Free Windows 10 Updates
The company says that Extended Security Updates will be offered to Windows 10 users through an 鈥渆nrollment wizard鈥 鈥 a screen that pops-up and guides you through the process.
Consumers will be given three choices to enroll in the security updates:
Use Windows backup to synchronize your Windows settings to Microsoft鈥檚 cloud to receive the updates for free
Redeem 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points to receive the updates for free
Pay $30 to receive the updates
Using the first option will require users to sign up for a Microsoft account. Some Windows 10 users have refused to move to Windows 11, precisely because it practically insists that you sign up for a Microsoft account to log in to the operating system. Microsoft is arguably using the promise of free security updates as bait to get people to sign up, giving the company an opportunity to reach those people with marketing messages.
Those who enroll will receive the Extended Security Updates until October 13, 2026. Microsoft has previously claimed that it will only offer consumers Extended Security Updates for a year, although business customers can pay for extended updates for up to three years. There鈥檚 a stiff financial penalty for businesses that do cling to Windows 10, however. The first year of updates will cost businesses $61, and that fee doubles in year two and doubles again in year three.
Will Windows 10 Stop Working Without Updates?
Even if you decide not to take the free Extended Security Updates, Windows 10 won鈥檛 suddenly stop working on October 14, when support comes to an end.
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Although users will likely be barraged with unavoidable pop-up messages warning them of the dangers of running an unsupported operating system, Windows 10 will still work. However, there is undoubtedly greater risk in running an operating system that is not receiving patches for known security flaws, which could be exploited by malware gangs.
Those risks could be lessened by continuing to run up-to-date security software. It鈥檚 highly likely that antivirus firms will continue to update their software beyond the October cut-off, as they did for several years after Windows 7鈥檚 support came to an end, so users won鈥檛 be left completely unprotected.
It鈥檚 also likely that many software firms will continue to update their products for Windows 10 beyond October, including browser makers.
The long and short of it is that Windows 10 is going to be with us for a good while yet. Given that it鈥檚 still the most used version of Windows, according to the latest Statcounter figures, Microsoft鈥檚 hopes of shoving Windows 10 into retirement this fall are looking ever more unlikely.
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