![\"Windows](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1759857488_395_960x0.jpg\")
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Are you now at risk?<\/p>\n
NurPhoto via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Republished on October 7 with new warnings for consumers as Microsoft\u2019s support cutoff is now just one week away. <\/p>\n
Microsoft has a \u201csecurity disaster<\/a>\u201d on its hands. Some 400 million Windows users<\/a> must now brace for a \u201cuniquely troubling\u201d threat that leaves their PCs suddenly at risk. If this warning affects you, you\u2019re running out of time to act. Do not leave it too late.<\/p>\n New data suggests Windows 10 is still running on 41%<\/a> of all PCs. That\u2019s a sharp drop from the 46% market share at the end of September. But it\u2019s too little too late late. In 10 days, security updates will end for users not enrolled in Microsoft\u2019s extended support option. This means paying $30 or ticking the right boxes to snag an extension for free.<\/p>\n That 41% equates to almost 600 million PCs. Of that, it is assumed up to 400 million cannot upgrade to Windows 11 given mandatory hardware hurdles. Older PCs without the right components can\u2019t upgrade. Not without a green-fingered workaround. <\/p>\n ForbesSamsung Issues \u2018Final Update\u2019 For Millions Of Galaxy SmartphonesBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cBy contrast,\u201d advocacy group PIRG says in its warning, \u201cwhen support for Windows 8 ended in January 2016, only 3.7% of Windows users were still using it. Only 2.2% of Windows users were still using Windows 8.1 when support ended in January 2023.”<\/p>\n This follows similar warnings from Consumer Reports<\/a> and EuroConsumers<\/a>, with the latter pointing out Microsoft is \u201cphasing out Windows 10 on a much shorter timeline than in the past.\u201d Just four years after the launch of Windows 11.”<\/p>\n PIRG describes the scale of the impact here as \u201cstaggering,” and says it \u201ccan be traced to the popularity of Windows 10 and Microsoft\u2019s decisions to impose strict hardware requirements in order to upgrade to Windows 11.\u201d<\/p>\n PIRG\u2019s original focus was the e-waste of hundreds of millions of PCs<\/a> rendered useless. Although enterprising secondary marketeers are pushing Linux and Chromebook OS alternatives for otherwise good-enough hardware for which Windows is closed.<\/p>\n PIRG echoes warnings from the cybersecurity community. \u201cWhen there are no more updates, quickly-addressed exploits become open doors.\u201d Which means \u201cransomware gangs and other malicious actors will be rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of millions of unpatched \u2013 and unpatchable endpoints \u2013 after October 14.\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019m going to assume this is a blip in the data, but the latest Windows breakdown also suggests a surge in Windows 7 usage just ahead of Windows 10\u2019s decline. StatCounter reports almost 140 million PCs now running an OS that was retired in 2020.<\/p>\n Windows 10 deadline is almost here.<\/p>\n StatCounter<\/p>\n If you\u2019re running Windows 10, whether at work or at home, you must act before Oct. 14 \u2014 if you have not done so already. You are now at risk from security updates ending. <\/p>\n Enroll in the free ESU, which requires a Microsoft and a OneDrive account<\/a>. Or accept the inevitable and upgrade to Windows 11. This has not proven a popular OS, and it has taken this deadline to move the needle on its install base. But it is what it is. Don\u2019t take the risk with your own PC and data security.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Windows Central<\/a> reports that \u201ccalls to extend Windows 10 support are piling up for Microsoft.\u201d This relates to the European carve-out not being extended to other regions, as much as the more acute issue of support ending and such a large number of users being cut off just one week from now.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile users in the European Economic Area will have access to Microsoft\u2019s ESU program due to their law, users in the U.S. and other regions weren\u2019t as lucky. Repair.eu’s campaigner Cristina Ganapini says Microsoft’s move is a step forward, and proves that it’s possible to extend support for Windows 10 beyond the set cutoff date.\u201d<\/p>\n According to this latest report, \u201cthe Restart Project, which helped co-develop the End of 10 Toolkit to help support Windows 10 users after Microsoft pulls the plug on the OS, seemingly echoed these sentiments, indicating that the ESU program feels like a last-minute snooze button, which only acts as a band-aid on a bleeding system.\u201d<\/p>\n ForbesDo Not Use These Free Apps On Your iPhone Or Android PhoneBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n