Microsoft Warns 200 Million Windows Users—Do Not Update Your PC
Do you need to ditch your PC?
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Timing is everything. Just as a serious new warning hits Windows users, with between 200 and 400 million users “vulnerable to cyber attacks,” Microsoft warns those users not to update Windows, even though that would secure their PCs.
The warning courtesy of Consumer Reports accuses Microsoft of hypocrisy in “arguing that Windows 11 is an essential upgrade to boost cybersecurity” while restricting which PCs can upgrade and “charging consumers $30 for a mere one-year extension.”
Microsoft has been clear with users: “Windows 11 minimum system requirements remain unchanged.” If you have installed Windows 11 on a device not meeting Windows 11 system requirements, you should “roll back to Windows 10 immediately.”
Consumer Reports suggests “200 million to 400 million PCs worldwide cannot be upgraded to Windows 11. This is an incredibly high number of stranded Windows 10 machines” that are “vulnerable to cyber threats, such as malware and viruses.”
Now as spotted by Windows Latest, “Microsoft wants you to recycle or trade-in your Windows 10 PC if it can’t be upgraded to Windows 11.” If you don’t opt for the ESU, “you should either get Windows 11 or just recycle or trade in your old PC.”
This comes by way of a new “Learn about options to trade-in or recycle your PC” that has appeared on the Windows Update page on PCs. This is the page that has become a major focus, it’s where the “Enroll Now” button for the Windows 10 ESU appears.
That button which leads to the paid/free options highlighted by Consumer Reports is rolling out but hasn’t yet reached all Windows 10 users. Microsoft assures it will get to everyone before the October 14 deadline, when Windows 10 official retires.
The new link to get rid of your PC “opens the Microsoft Store Online Trade-in Program, where you can either trade in the Windows 10 PC for a specific value or ‘recycle for good’. This is an option when the trade-in request is not approved.”
You’ll see it even when the trade-in program “does not exist in your country, but the link won’t open. Microsoft says you should locate a ‘recycling service in your region to help divert electronic waste from landfills’ and dump your old Windows 10 PC.”
With less than 30 days to run, it’s looking ever less likely that Microsoft will blink before the deadline and simply extend security for all. What we don’t yet know is the take-up of the ESU. We do know that more than 600 million users are yet to move away from Windows 10. It’s a major security threat and it’s approaching fast.