Microsoft Releases Final Security Update for Many Windows 10 Versions

Windows 10 Home, Pro, Pro Education, and Pro for Workstations versions reached their end-of-life 10 years after they were released.

Jack Phillips

Published: 10/15/2025, 5:02:01 PM EDT

Microsoft Releases Final Security Update for Many Windows 10 Versions — Microsoft offices in Mountain View, Calif., on July 31, 2025. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Microsoft released its final update for many versions of Windows 10 on Tuesday, months after it started warning users to upgrade to Windows 11 or face a lack of security updates in the future.

In its release notes, the company said it fixed issues with its PowerShell remote management system, a Chinese language input method editor, some edit controls, and removed a driver, among dozens of other security concerns.

“Windows 10 launched in July 2015, and after nearly a decade, support will end on Oct. 14, 2025,” the company said earlier this year. It applies to the Windows 10 Home, Pro, Pro Education, and Pro for Workstations, the company said.

Tracking website Statcounter shows that 40 percent of all computers worldwide are still using some version of Windows 10, while nearly half of all users are using Windows 11.

Before the Oct. 14 update, Microsoft for months was sending warnings that users should either upgrade to Windows 11, purchase a new computer with Windows 11, or sign up for extended security updates (ESU) for Windows 10 that would allow users another 12 months’ worth of security upgrades.

One version of Windows 10, Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021, will have security updates until January 2032, according to a Microsoft website. Released in 2021, the version is considered a specialized operating system for dedicated devices like kiosks or factory automation devices, and it was designed with long-term support in mind.

Notably, Windows 11 will not run on every type of hardware. Several minimum requirements are needed in order for it to work at full functionality, including a processor with two or more cores, at least 4 GB of RAM, a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) at version 2.0, a graphics card compatible with DirectX 12 or later, and more.

Microsoft Senior Product Manager Steven Hosking indicated in a 2024 statement that the company would not back down from the TPM 2.0 requirement because it provides greater security than previous versions of the module.

For some users who cannot upgrade to Windows 11, Microsoft says it is offering ESUs for $30 but it only provides security updates. Other types of fixes, product improvements, and other services will not be provided, and it does not come with technical support.

Eligible devices must be running Windows 10 version 22H2, the company stated. That holds true for the Home, Professional, Pro Education, and Workstations editions of the operating system, Microsoft has said.

Windows 10 users also have the option of installing another type of operating system such as Linux. Popular choices include Fedora, Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Manjaro, MX Linux, CachyOS, and more.

Since Microsoft will stop releasing critical security updates and fixes to a number of Windows 10 computers, those devices are likely to become more vulnerable to malware, ransomware, and other attacks, according to the company.

Companies and users still running Windows 10 may “find it challenging to maintain regulatory compliance with unsupported software,” said Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s consumer chief marketing officer, earlier this year in a blog post that called on people to update to the latest operating system.

Some third-party programs and applications that currently run fine on Windows 10 might also stop being supported in the future, the company warned, and some apps may see decreased functionality as a result.

From The Epoch Times