Yes, it can be done.
I know it’s a controversial position that not everyone agrees with, but I believe it’s quite possible to keep using Windows 10 safely.
There are two things you need to do. Both are things you should be doing already.
Using Windows 10 safely
You can still use Windows 10 safely after support ends by doing two things: practicing safe computing and using good security software. With smart habits and good tools, even without new updates from Microsoft, your PC won’t suddenly become unsafe.
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First, practice safe computing
This is the single most important thing you need to do to keep using Windows 10 safely.
In fact, it’s something you should already be doing.
What does that mean? From my most important article:
- Use good security software. (More on this below.)
- Keep your other software up-to-date.
- Secure your online accounts.
- Educate yourself.
- Secure your home and mobile connections.
- Remember physical security.
- Back up.
Why? More people are compromised by skimping on those things than they are by some random unpatched vulnerabilities.
For most unpatched vulnerabilities to be exploited and cause you grief, the malware has to make it past you. In other words, if there is something that Microsoft doesn’t patch, your good habits are what protect you.
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Second, use good security software
I continue to recommend Windows Security (Windows Defender) as a solid security solution built right into Windows. It’s already there, and you’re probably already using it.
Microsoft has stated that they will continue to provide security definition updates for Windows Security until at least 2028. Thus, even on Windows 10, where Windows itself will not be updated after the end-of-support date, the security software will remain current.
Two-step protection
With those two things, you are generating two-step protection.
- Your good habits prevent malware from reaching your machine.
- Up-to-date security software detects and thwarts most everything else that might make it through.
But aren’t operating system updates critical?
Keeping all your software as up to date as possible has always been important, and that hasn’t changed. However, security — all security — is about playing the odds and stacking the deck in your favor. There’s no such thing as perfection, even with Windows security updates.
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Looking at it a different way, all nine of these things have to be true for something bad to happen to your computer1.
- There must be a bug in Windows.
- That bug must represent a security vulnerability of some sort.
- Hackers need to know about the bug.
- Hackers need to devise a way to exploit the bug for malicious purposes.
- There must be a way for hackers to get that exploit to you: typically as malware.
- You have to “allow” the malware onto your computer, usually through a download of some sort, which includes attachments.
- Your security software must miss the fact that malware has been downloaded to your computer.
- You have to “run” the malware, meaning you run a download or open an attachment.
- Your security software must miss the fact that malware is running on your computer.
Thwarting any of those items means that the malicious vulnerability will not affect you. Ongoing security updates deal only with #1, and even then, only if #2 is deemed “important enough”.
Malware still has many hoops to jump through before it impacts you.
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Most bugs are introduced as software is changed. Windows 10 isn’t changing anymore. The rate at which Windows 10 vulnerabilities are being introduced should be at a near standstill. The only potential concern would be vulnerabilities that have gone undetected for a long time, which by definition should be nearly none.
We have experience
As I’ve said in a few places, we’ve been here before. We have experience with exactly this scenario.
Just as there are people who want to stick with Windows 10 today, some folks kept on using Windows 7 safely after its end of support. How? By following the two-step protection I outlined above. Some are still using Windows 7 today!
The wildcard: third-party software
One fly in the Windows 10 ointment might not be Microsoft at all. At some point, the software you use from other sources may stop supporting Windows 10.
This is another path we’ve been down previously. After Windows 7 support ended, most software from other sources kept right on working. In fact, many continue to work and be updated on Windows 7 to this day.
But not all. At various points in the years since, some software vendors decided to stop supporting Windows 7. In most cases, though, it was several years after Microsoft’s Windows 7 support ended.
Do this
Upgrade to Windows 11 if it makes sense for you, meaning that both you and your hardware are compatible with Windows 11.
If that’s not you, however, you can keep using Windows 10 safely by following the two-step process I outlined above. Those two steps should already be what you’re doing anyway.
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Footnotes & References
1: Not including non-operating-system-related stuff. For example, “something bad” could still involve phishing, which has nothing to do with Windows or Windows Security Updates.
2: Some, maybe, but relying on so many to keep a secret for that long, particularly when exploiting such a vulnerability could lead to short-term gain, just doesn’t seem reasonable.
