In a recent blog post, Microsoft declared 2025 to be the “year of the Windows 11 PC refresh.” That’s because when October rolls around, official support for Windows 10 is going to end and most users will likely need to switch over to Windows 11 when that happens.
However, if you’re planning on waiting until the last minute to make that switch, you might want to think again. According to one security expert, the security risks for all non-upgraded PCs will only continue to get worse between now and then.
Windows 10 is a ticking time bomb
According to Statista, Windows 10 continues to hold about 65 percent of worldwide market share among desktop operating systems, amounting to millions of PCs around the globe.
IT security expert Thorsten Urbanski specifically warns against this impending “security fiasco,” urging owners of Windows 10 PCs to upgrade their “ticking time bombs” to Windows 11 sooner than later.
“It’s five minutes to midnight to avoid a security fiasco for 2025. We strongly advise all users not to wait until October, but to switch to Windows 11 immediately or choose an alternative operating system if their device cannot be updated to the latest Windows operating system. Otherwise, users expose themselves to considerable security risks and make themselves vulnerable to dangerous cyber attacks and data loss.
Companies should plan the switch early. Extending support is costly. Simply letting the devices continue to run is grossly negligent. These outdated systems in particular are more vulnerable to cyber attacks. In the worst case, these computers are the starting point for data loss, espionage and ransomware attacks. In the event of damage, insurance companies can even refuse to pay out because the state of the art was not adhered to.”
In short, there will soon come a time when new security flaws are no longer addressed by Microsoft, as the company will be fully focused on Windows 11. Even if you pay to extend support for your Windows 10 PC, you’re only postponing the inevitable — and you’ll likely be increasingly vulnerable to security issues during that time.
Therefore, the advice is to not wait until October. If you have the option to switch over to Windows 11 now, consider making the switch as soon as you can. Otherwise, you run the risk of falling victim to a cyber attack or losing valuable data in other ways, even if Windows 10 continues to receive security updates until that final day of support.
What if you can’t upgrade just yet?
Unfortunately, due to specific hardware requirements, upgrading older PCs to Windows 11 is a major obstacle for many. The TPM 2.0 requirement in particular, which is essential for the security features of Windows 11, poses a challenge and makes many older PCs incompatible.
If your PC hardware is incompatible with Windows 11, you’ll have to upgrade your hardware or buy a new computer outright. While there are ways to circumvent the hardware lock, doing so is associated with its own security risks. Plus, to install Windows 11 on incompatible PCs, you have to assume liability for any issues that arise and waive eligibility to receive system updates. We don’t recommend doing this.
If you don’t want to buy a new machine, your only real alternative is to switch to Linux. You could keep using Windows 10 despite it no longer receiving security updates after October, but that’d be the riskiest way to go and we definitely advise against it.
Further reading: Hey everyone, it’s time to update to Windows 11
This article originally appeared on our sister publication PC-WELT and was translated and localized from German.