Company Promises to Patch Win10 After End of Life
Microsoft has competition in the market for extending Windows 10 after its scheduled end of life. An independent company is promising simple-to-use security updates - with a cost.
Officially, Microsoft will stop issuing free security updates for Windows 10 after October 14, 2025, just over 10 years after the system was released. That's not got a great reaction given Microsoft heavily implied there would be no new version after 10, and that it has arguably made Windows 11 an unnecessarily difficult upgrade through new hardware security requirements.
If all goes to plan, anyone wanting to keep Windows 10 machines running safely through official means will need to pay for the Microsoft Extended Security Program. This is set to be available for three years.
Microsoft Program Is Stopgap
It will cost $61 per device each year for business users. There will be a consumer version, presumably at a cheaper rate, but the cost has yet to be confirmed. Microsoft warns this should only be used as a stopgap rather than a long-term solution.
Now an independent company, 0patch, says it will offer a rival service. It's already done the same for Windows 7, though that likely had less of a market given people had fewer reasons to still be using that system after it's "end of life" date.
No Reboot Necessary
The 0patch service is so named because it doesn't require changing any of the underlying Windows files or even a reboot after installation. Instead, its fixes run in the computer's memory. That also means they can be removed without any problems.
It says it will not only issue the same fixes as Microsoft, but will also create its own fixes for zero day bugs where a vulnerability is publicly known but an official patch isn't yet available. It also claims to offer patches for problems Microsoft refuses to fix, plus patches for some popular third party software such as Adobe Reader and WinRAR. (Source: 0patch.com)
The service will cost the equivalent of $37 per device each year for medium and large businesses and $27 per device each year for small businesses and consumers. Unlike Microsoft, 0patch says it will provide Windows 10 patches until at least 2030. (Source: neowin.net)
What's Your Opinion?
Would you trust a third-party patching service? Is price a key point when comparing this to the Microsoft program? Do you think Microsoft really will stop free updates for Windows 10 next year?
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Comments
I don't know if MS will
I don't know if MS will actually stop free updates or not... but I know it's frustrating to think that 5 computers in my home will need physically replaced to run the new OS. None of which are cheap devices or easy to replace considering everything installed/running on them. Some of which have lifetime licenses for things that I don't know will transfer to a new OS/computer without paying the expensive fees again.
I guess I'll keep W10 as long as I can while I save up a $3K-$4K for new computers that can run the new OS and spend the weeks it will take to get them all setup properly.
win 10 to win 11
I bought into the opportunity to get a Win 11 pro machine. It's been well over a month and I still haven't ported all my programs and data
Software licences
There are tools, I think 1 might be called Speccy, that can locate licence numbers.
But given that we are all told to reduce, re-use and recycle, should MS be forced to keep updating for say 20 yrs, given how long PCs can last now? Or at least charge a more reasonable amount?
Given I bought my latest 2 PC
Given I bought my latest 2 PC's in the past 5 years at actual stores (microcenter), it's a bit frustrating for me.
not a rosy upgrade
I bought into the opportunity to get a Win 11 pro machine. It's been well over a month and I still haven't ported all my programs and data
I have been using 0Patch for
I have been using 0Patch for years for my computer, just because I am not as fast as Microsoft wants me to be at upgrading my OS, plus I get many other security "patches" before Microsoft releases them. It only costs me $23 per year.
Need More Info About 0Patch
It would be good to have some more information about the reputation and reliability of the 0Patch company. There are so many FAKE reviews (Astroturfing) reviews out there these days, it's difficult to tell which reviews are real and which are Astroturfed reviews.
("Astroturfing" is a term referring to FAKE Grassroots upswells on websites and social media, put out or hired out by companies to promote their own agendas. Search for a TED talk about this.)
I have a Win10 machine that will not accept the Win11 upgrade, and it still works great, so I am very interested in the 0Patch updates.