Microsoft Makes Significant Changes to Windows 10 Extended Support – and People Aren’t Happy!
Microsoft has just announced two significant updates to its Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) program, and they’re sparking a lot of debate. In this post, I’ll dive into what’s changing, why it matters, and why I believe these updates are unfair to users.
The first change applies specifically to the European Economic Area (EEA). There, users will not be required to pay for ESU or back up their data to Microsoft’s OneDrive service in order to receive critical security updates. This move seems designed to comply with stricter EU regulations around consumer rights and digital markets. But outside of Europe, Windows 10 users remain locked into Microsoft’s paid ESU plan and cloud integration requirements—creating a double standard that feels discriminatory to customers in other regions.
The second change affects all ESU participants: users must now log in with their Microsoft account at least once every 60 days to keep their ESU subscription active. This requirement applies even if you’ve already paid for the service. In my view, this isn’t just an inconvenience—it’s coercive. By forcing frequent logins, Microsoft is effectively using security updates as leverage to keep users tied to their ecosystem and to track account activity.
In this video and post, I argue that these changes cross a line. Security updates should be about protecting customers, not about enforcing corporate strategies or compromising user privacy. Microsoft’s approach risks alienating loyal Windows 10 users and undermines trust at a time when privacy concerns are already high.
If you value your digital freedom and believe customers deserve better, you’ll want to pay attention to how Microsoft handles Windows 10 support going forward.
Check out the video above to learn more about why I feel these changes are unfair, coercive and anti-privacy.
Cool that you’ve got an operational WordPress site. I’m self-hosting my own as well, but that’s because I provide the first secure source for quantum random numbers on the web. You’ll find my server URL in your comment registrant database. We should stay in touch, especially if you’re going to adopt Linux as your regular OS. I chose to do the same after my unsupported Win-7 laptop swallowed the GPU. Both system and data disks from that system live on, as image files in my personal cloud.
Sounds like a cool project! Sorry about the laptop. I’m pretty determined to move away from MSoft, first with my work PC. I’m moving slowly, though, as I can’t afford an accident that leads to downtime.