Governments start warning users about when Windows 10 support will end and how to deal with it

Last month, Microsoft issued a reminder about the upcoming end of support for Windows 10. Microsoft's hardware partners like Asus have also published corresponding guidance, urging users to prepare for a "forced upgrade to Windows 11."

While the upgrade isn't actually mandatory (users can continue to use Windows 10 if they want, at least for a while), governments are starting to give official warnings about the big change coming. The Government of India's (GoI) Computer Emergency Response Team-In (CERT-In) has published guidance on the matter.

Similar to Microsoft, Asus and many others, the Government of India recommends citizens as well as government agencies to upgrade to Windows 11 to ensure system security:

Microsoft has announced that Microsoft Windows 10 will reach end of support on October 14, 2025. After this date, Windows 10 will no longer receive security updates, bug fixes, or technical support from Microsoft. Systems running Windows 10 will become increasingly vulnerable to zero-day vulnerabilities, malware, ransomware, and phishing attacks.

Windows 10 users are recommended to upgrade to Windows 11 to continue receiving important security updates.

For businesses and individual users who need more time to plan for upgrades, CERT-In reminds them of the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program:

Individuals and organizations that need more time to transition to Windows 11 can enroll in the paid Extended Security Update (ESU) program to receive critical patches. The ESU program does not extend the official product lifecycle or provide full technical support after the product ends its lifecycle.

Notably, Microsoft has also extended support for Microsoft 365 applications such as Teams, Word, Excel, Outlook, OneDrive. for another three years.

In parallel, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is expected to soon announce official guidance, similar to what it did with Windows 7. Other regions such as the European Union (EU) are expected to make similar moves in the coming days.

If you don't want to use Microsoft's latest operating system, you can switch to Linux. Recently, the open source office suite LibreOffice also urged users to switch, pointing out the "real costs" of using Windows 11.

David Pac

Update 25 June 2025