Microsoft is set to end support for Windows 10 next week, sparking fears that millions of people and thousands of businesses across the UK will be left vulnerable.

From the 14th October, Microsoft will stop offering technical assistance, feature updates and security updates for Windows 10, with users urged to move over to what the tech giant calls a ‘more modern, secure, and highly efficient computing experience’ with Windows 11. 

The killing off of Microsoft’s flagship product after more than a decade has been met with rampant criticism by consumers and enterprises alike. 

Most recently, more than 380 US repair businesses and nonprofits, along with almost fifty environmental and consumer groups, delivered an open letter to Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, calling for the company to extend security updates and support past the October deadline, a petition echoed in France, where more than 43,000 citizens signed in support.

The level of public outcry over this off-the-shelf software is down to its ubiquity. A new report from consumer group Which? found that around 21 million people in the UK still own and use a laptop or desktop computer running Windows 10, while recent data from Kaspersky shows that nearly 60% of corporate users currently use the about-to-be-obsolete OS. 

The figures from Which? highlight a worrying commitment to Windows 10, despite the warnings, with more than a quarter (26%) of users planning to stick with the outdated operating system after Microsoft’s updates stop, even though upgrading to Windows 11 is free.

For organisations, many of which have built their operations around Windows 10, the change could be particularly challenging, with research from digital employee management platform Nexthink finding the cost of carrying on with custom Windows 10 support could reach upwards of $7.3billion (£5.4bn).

While Microsoft have offered a temporary lifeline in the form of Extended Security Updates running until October 2026, Nexthink’s analysis found that around 121 million Windows 10 PCs and devices will still need to be upgraded after official support ends, resulting in a potentially huge bill for enterprises that aren’t enrolled.

It will also leave significant cracks in their cyber armour, with Microsoft’s executive VP Yusuf Mehdi warning over the summer that without security and feature updates, Windows 10 users will be more vulnerable to cyber threats, such as malware and viruses, and face compliance headaches in using the unsupported software.

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“Sticking with Windows 10 beyond October is like leaving your front door wide open in a bad neighbourhood,” said Charaka Goonatilake, CTO at enterprise security platform Panaseer.

“Organisations need a comprehensive understanding of how and where Windows 10 is currently in use, by whom and for what purpose. Once this is mapped out, the next step is prioritisation.

“By combining multiple data sources, security teams can create a risk profile for each system – who uses it, what it connects to, what security controls are in place, and how critical it is to the business. This lets teams focus on upgrading the highest risk systems first, while also identifying where compensatory controls need to be applied.

“Organisations can then make informed decisions on what must be upgraded now, what can be protected in the short term, and what level of risk the business is actually willing to accept.”