Unless the unexpected reversal, Windows 10, which still represents 45.65% of Microsoft operating systems installed worldwide, according to Statcounter, will no longer be updated by the Redmond giant since mid -October. The end of this long -standing technical support, awakens the criticisms of the associations and concerns of many users who fear having to completely change their computers. What will be the consequences of this purpose of support?
What will happen on October 14?
As of October 14, computers operating with Windows 10, a version that appeared in 2015, will stop receiving updates from its developer, Microsoft.
These corrections intended to “regularly update the operating system, since it had become the objective of many cyber attacks,” Martin Kraemer, a specialist in security awareness within the US company Knowbe4, explains to the AFP.
The operating system and computers will always be functional, but then they will become potential objectives for computer pirates.
What do Microsoft recommend? What do consumer defense associations say?
In an online note, Microsoft advised users to go to Windows 11, available from 2021.
But some computers are not compatible with this transition. The latest Microsoft operating system requires the presence of a physical security module on the machine.
Microsoft offers an extended update formula, at a rate of 30 dollars per link and for a period of one year.
A situation denounced by consumer associations.
In the United States, the Association of Consumers Reports deplored the fact that “computers that could not operate Windows 11 were still available for sale in 2022 and 2023”, and it is likely that they will become obsolete three years after their purchase.
In France, a coalition of 22 associations, led by Stop for Planned Warsencile (HOP) and the UFC-Que Choisir launched a petition to request free updates until 2030. It already has more than 37,000 signatures.
Microsoft remains silent, since it did not respond to an official letter sent by the Hop Association last June. Requested by AFP, the American giant refused to indicate how many users would be affected.
According to Hop and Public Interst Research Group (PIRG), an American consumer defense association, up to 400 million computers would be incompatible with Windows 11 and, therefore, could not be updated. According to the Consumer Reports, almost 650 million people worldwide used Windows 10 in August.
What are the risks?
For users who cannot go to Windows 11 and who would continue to use Windows 10 without subscribing to the extension of Microsoft updates, vulnerabilities against Cyberattacs will increase.
“Not receiving is no longer protected against more recent cyber threats,” said Martin Kraemer.
If the danger is “very difficult” to quantify, according to the specialist, it is certain that Windows 10 users will become privileged objectives for cyber attacks in search of security defects.
The applications are also affected, elevates Paddy Harrington, an analyst at the American firm Forrester.
“Application suppliers count on the operating system provider to guarantee certain functions and if they are not updated, the application provider cannot ensure that their application continues to work correctly,” he says.
More or less in the long term, application developers will also stop taking their programs to this operating system, depriving users of their daily tools. Including tools used to ensure your computer.
“While your applications admit this operating system and its administration and security tools admit it, it is a good option,” says Paddy Harrington.
What alternative options?
When asked about the efficiency of antivirus software, experts highlight their insufficiency against an unvotable operating system.
“There is a limit to the protection they can offer (…). It is much better than doing nothing, but it should be a temporary solution, it is time to find a permanent solution,” said Paddy Harrington to the AFP.
There is the possibility of changing for another operating system, maintaining your computer. Free software, such as GNU/Linux, can be used, but must be installed by the user. Some distributions are now very easy to access.
Ultimately, this purpose of support raises two main problems. The first is economical and requires that users invest again on a computer, while their current machine is fully functional. The second is ecological, in addition to the machines that must be recycled, it is also necessary to take into account all the raw materials necessary for the manufacture of new computers. As part of its request, HOP estimates that this will represent no less than “70 million tons of greenhouse gases” emitted, or the equivalent of “32,000 eiffel rounds in extracted raw materials” …
An unjustified ecological disaster that could be avoided if Microsoft returns to its decision and continues to make free updates from Windows 10 to 2030.
Source: BFM TV
