If you are still using Windows 10, you have undoubtedly heard about the end-of-support coming for all users on October 14, 2025. For those of you that aren’t computer savvy, that doesn’t mean your computers will brick but you won’t be able to get any updates for security issues that may pop up. I always wished Microsoft would offer a security only update, rather than the BS bloat update. However, something that has been buried in the media is that you can get a one-year extension. Not for $30 but for free.
Of course there is a catch. It’s Microsoft for crying outloud.
I original heard this on Linus’ Tech Tip on YouTube, but since I don’t believe one source by default – I looked it up. It didn’t make the mass market tech sights but more on the niche computer sites like ZDNet. I’m sure it will pop up more as we get close to that October cutoff.
Microsoft shoved it deep in a blog post when praising the technological achievement that is Windows 11. We know that’s not true, but I’m on Linux now so it doesn’t matter to me. There are four options to keep you computer updated and risk free in the coming fall.
One: Switch to Linux. As Adam once said to me, after I told him I already use Firefox, Thunderbird and LibreOffice, “you’re nearly there. Is there a learning curve? Yeah, but getting Cinnamon was the closest OS that is similar to Windows. Yes, not every program (or software) works on Linux. Not every program has a great alternative. For me, Final Draft doesn’t support Linux, which is a drag. Plus, you can run a 10-year-old computer perfectly fine on Linux.
Now, Microsoft won’t recommend that one because – yeah.
Microsoft Offers Free One-Year Windows 10 Updates
Two: You sync your account to the cloud. You use Windows Back-Up to sync your account to the cloud. The downside is that not only will it back up all your files, music, apps, but also your personal data. If you have issues with privacy, then will not be the best option for you.
Also, you will need to bear in mind how much storage you will need. If you have a Microsoft account, you are traditionally given 5GB of storage, which won’t cover much. If you have Microsoft 365, you get 1TB of cloud space, but you can purchase storage options for fairly cheap. Unless you’re like me and have multiple drives, much of my heavier storage eating content like videos, my podcast episodes, and music are on external drives do my main drive only uses about 250GB.
Three: Use your Microsoft points. Those are points you accumulate by using the Edge browser. You will need only 1000 points to get the free option, which doesn’t require much work.
“Microsoft Rewards count is starting from zero, you can quickly cover the bill by downloading the Bing app for mobile and using it for two days (500 points), then doing a series of search-based quizzes, polls, and other silly tasks for a few days to accumulate 100-200 points per day on the Microsoft Rewards site,” according to ZDNet.
Personally, if I still had my laptop, I could use 1,000 of my 2,023 and I would be set.
Four: Pay the $30.
In the end, Microsoft’s decision to force people to upgrade their computer or risk no further protections is nothing new. However, Microsoft believes they are in a strong position, but they aren’t. They are laying off over 9,000 people, which comes as they are pushing to AI. More people are switching to Apple with their Macbooks.
After shifting away from Windows with Linux, I think I will stay with them for the time being. If I decided to go with a major company it would probably be with Apple. The other issue is that people don’t update their PCs or laptops like they used to. Many ride them until they die are getting close to it. I mean, there are still people that are using Windows XP.