Windows 10 users urged to upgrade to avoid ‘security fiasco’

Cybersecurity company ESET is urging Windows 10 users to upgrade to Windows 11 or Linux to avoid a “security fiasco” as the 10-year-old operating system nears end of support in October 2025.

“It’s five minutes to twelve to avoid a security fiasco for 2025,” says ESET security expert Thorsten Urbanski.

“We strongly advise all users not to wait until October, but to immediately upgrade to Windows 11 or choose an alternative operating system if their device cannot be updated to the latest operating system Windows otherwise exposes users to considerable security risks and leaves themselves vulnerable to dangerous cyberattacks and data loss.

On October 14, 2025, Windows 10 will no longer receive free security updates for the operating system unless owners purchase Extended Security Updates. This means that Windows 10 users will be exposed to any new vulnerabilities discovered, which could lead to significant breaches and malware distribution.

According to ESET, around 32 million computers run Windows 10 in Germany, which represents around 65% of all household devices. In contrast, Windows 11 only works on 33% of German devices, or around 16.5 million devices.

StatCounter confirms these numbers, and as of December 2024, almost 63% of all Windows users worldwide are using Windows 10, compared to around 34% who are using Windows 11.

The Steam Hardware and Software Survey paints a better picture of Windows 11 gamers, with 54.96% using Windows 11 and only 42.39% using Windows 10 by the end of 2024.

However, gamers tend to be on the cutting edge of hardware, usually upgrading their components and devices to play the latest games with good performance.

On the other hand, businesses and other consumers tend to lag behind because their old computers still work well and there is no real need to upgrade yet.

This Windows version transition is worse than when users migrated from Windows 7, as almost 70% of users were using Windows 10 before Windows 7 reached end of support.

“The situation is more dangerous than when support for Windows 7 ended in early 2020,” says Urbanski.

“Even before the official date at the end of 2019, only around 20 percent of users were still using Windows 7. More than 70 percent were already using the new Windows 10. The current situation is extremely dangerous. Cybercriminals know these figures very well and we’re just waiting for the day when support ends.”

Many Windows 10 users have been hesitant to upgrade to Windows 11 due to the lack of popular features in the newer operating system, performance issues, and the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) hardware configuration that prevents the upgrading some older devices.

The problem is compounded by the fact that many of these older devices are running Windows 10, and likely Windows 11, without issue, but they cannot be used due to a missing TPM.

Microsoft recently said that Windows 11’s TPM requirement was “non-negotiable” because it powers many security features, such as how the operating system stores cryptographic keys and protects credentials, and is integrated with Secure Boot and Windows Hello for Business.

For those who cannot upgrade their devices to Windows 10, Microsoft offers Extended Security Updates (ESU) to businesses and individuals. However, they are not cheap.

Businesses that want to receive extended security updates can do so for three years, for a fee of $61 for the first year, $122 for the second year, and $244 for the third. This brings the total price of ESU on a Windows 10 device to $427 over three years.

Microsoft also offers a consumer ESU program for one year at $30 per device, which is more affordable but can be expensive if you have multiple devices in a household.