Microsoft is asking for 30 of your American dollars to keep Windows 10 safe for a year after it's put out to pasture

Windows 10 will finally lose official support from Microsoft on October 14, 2025. But if you just can't stomach making that update to Windows 11, you can still get critical security updates, for a single year with a fee.

As revealed in the Windows Blog, the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program will be rolling out to consumers for the first time ever. This has traditionally been an offer exclusively to businesses, to allow those with older rigs to access security updates without having to update to Windows 11 immediately.

Critically, one of the biggest reasons to upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 when support ends is Microsoft won't continue to give updates against security concerns like technical issues and malware as part of its usual service.

Under the ESU program, you can pay $30 to get access for a year and this will be available "closer to the end of support in 2025".

A business might not want to upgrade because the infrastructure of their digital systems works on a certain operating system that they may not have the time or money to rebuild on a new service. However, this is not the only reason one might not want to upgrade.

There is a hardware limitation in place right now, with Windows 11 only working with rigs that have a Trusted Platform Module (TPM). If you want a Windows 11 PC that also supports Copilot, Microsoft's AI tool, you need 16 GB of DDR5 RAM, a compatible processor, and 256 GB of SSD storage too. However, there is a way around the Windows 11 system requirements with either Flyby11 or Rufus.

With a little technical know-how, there's not really much of a reason not to upgrade, unless you simply prefer the feel and aesthetic of Windows 10, or don't much like the implementation of Copilot (I feel for you there).

It's important to note that, as pointed out by Microsoft, "Extended Security Updates are not intended to be a long-term solution but rather a temporary bridge."

Consumers only get a year of protection and businesses looking to apply for the ESU will play exponentially more each year.

"The price will double every consecutive year, for a maximum of three years. If you decide to jump into the program in Year Two, you'll have to pay for Year One too, as ESUs are cumulative."

Though it might be a bit pricey, at least there's a way of keeping Windows 10 secure without relying on community solutions, or a cybersecurity book, for now.