Windows 10 is a security disaster waiting to happen. How will Microsoft clean up its mess?

[RV_]

I am buying a new touchscreen all in one desktop with Windows 11 capability and selling my old on I am on now while it has four years of use left. I don't think Linux can run the touchscreen properly but will check. However this article is very important for all Windows users with no Windows 11 capability to read.

Excerpt:

"When Windows 10 hits its end-of-support date in 2025, hundreds of millions of PC owners will have four options, none of them good.

That news shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. The end date is defined as part of Microsoft's Modern Lifecycle Policy, and it's documented on the Microsoft Lifecycle page: "Microsoft will continue to support at least one Windows 10 Semi-Annual Channel until October 14, 2025."

When a Windows version reaches its end-of-support date, the software keeps working, but the update channel grinds to a halt:

[There] will be no new security updates, non-security updates, or assisted support. Customers are encouraged to migrate to the latest version of the product or service. Paid programs may be available for applicable products.

Ho-hum stuff, right? I mean, this sort of thing has happened before, and the world didn't come to an end. Windows XP got a multi-year support extension before it was allowed to die with dignity at the ripe old age of 13.

Likewise, Windows 7 hit end-of-support at the start of 2020, mostly without incident. Microsoft's customers grumbled but found upgrade paths. Microsoft even offered free app remediation services for enterprise customers who encountered compatibility issues.

But in both of those instances, Microsoft could implore its customers to fix the problem by upgrading to a newer version of the Windows operating system.

Read that part again: "Customers are encouraged to migrate to the latest version of the product or service." That's not an option for customers running Windows 10 on hardware that doesn't meet the stringent hardware compatibility requirements of Windows 11. When October 2025 rolls around, those devices will have no Microsoft-supported migration path to a newer version. The owners of those perfectly functional PCs, some less than five years old, will instead have the following options:

1. Continue running the unsupported operating system and hope for the best
2. Retire or dispose of the unsupported hardware
3. Install a non-Microsoft operating system, such as Linux
4. Ignore Microsoft's warnings and upgrade to Windows 11 anyway

Option 1 is unwise. Option 2 is unconscionable. Option 3 is unlikely.

That leaves only the fourth option, which comes with Microsoft's own supersized portion of Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD) in the form of a support bulletin titled "Installing Windows 11 on devices that don't meet minimum system requirements."

Source with more links and info here:

https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-windows-10-is-a-security-disaster-waiting-to-happen/?ftag=CAD2e14604

 

[Ray,IN]

There is a 5th option, Apple. I've been casually looking at that option for 2025 since neither my HP p6 nor my HP laptop qualify for W11.

[Jim & Alice]

Thanks, Derek, for the info on end-of-life for Win10 support.   Very useful.

[podwerkz]

6 hours ago, Ray,IN said:

There is a 5th option, Apple. I've been casually looking at that option for 2025 since neither my HP p6 nor my HP laptop qualify for W11.

Loading an Apple OS on old windows pc hardware is do-able, creating a 'hackintosh' as they are called, but it 'ain't for beginners'....

Linux is much easier to load on old PCs...the hard part is deciding which distro you want.

Edited November 19, 2021 by podwerkz

[Ray,IN]

pod, I intend to buy a new computer when W10 dies in 2025, not hack this now 8 yr old desktop, or my 6 yr old laptop; neither of which was found compatible with W11. Sorry I didn't make that clear in my first reply.

Considering Linux Mint or Ubuntu if I decide to move that way. Who knows, 2025 might have me under the dirt, which makes all this moot.

[durangodon]

12 hours ago, Ray,IN said:

Who knows, 2025 might have me under the dirt, which makes all this moot.

You're not taking a laptop with you?  If you store everything in the cloud, it'll be waiting for you there.

[RV_]

On 11/20/2021 at 6:51 AM, durangodon said:

You're not taking a laptop with you?  If you store everything in the cloud, it'll be waiting for you there.

Sorry I thought you were being facetious with so many folks unable to get broadband most of the time. I realize you were serious and that was a good tip.

Again sorry I misunderstood.

Edited November 23, 2021 by RV_

[RV_]

On 11/19/2021 at 6:43 PM, Ray,IN said:

Considering Linux Mint or Ubuntu if I decide to move that way. Who knows, 2025 might have me under the dirt, which makes all this moot.

Mint with Cinnamon - you'll love it.

Live long and prosper - Don't wear red Star Trek uniform shirts.

Edited November 21, 2021 by RV_

[RV_]

Ray, it is number two in this article and it explains more about Miny Cinnamon. You can just download it and make an "live" ISO for a flash drive and try it on your machine without installing, try it!

However when they say it will run on any hardware they are full of it as I tried Mint 18 with Cinnamon on an old Dell XP machine and when I complained to the guy that said it would run on anything he then said it is a modern OS and needs a modern machine. If you are running Windows 10 no on it the new Linux distros will run fine.

Linux Mint

Best-of-breed desktop Linux

What's a Windows 10 user to do? They should turn to Linux Mint, in particular, the version using the Cinnamon interface.

Unlike Chrome OS, Mint with Cinnamon looks a lot like XP or Windows 7. It uses a Windows Icon, Menu, and Pointer (WIMP) interface much like the one you probably already know and love. It's not a one-to-one match with XP or Windows 7, but most Windows users will find Cinnamon a comfortable fit.

Linux users who grew up with the GNOME 2.x style interface will also love Cinnamon. Another worthwhile alternative for people who are fond of GNOME 2.x, and which is also integrated into Mint, is MATE. While Cinnamon rests on the foundation of the GNOME 3.x desktop, MATE is an outright GNOME 2.x fork. MATE is also available on Mint.

Be that as it may, my current favorite desktop operating system is Linux Mint 20.2. I can highly recommend it to anyone. "

Source: https://www.zdnet.com/article/best-linux-desktops-for-beginners/?ftag=TRE-03-10aaa6b&bhid={%24external_id}&mid={%24MESSAGE_ID}&cid={%24contact_id}&eh={%24CF_emailHash}