Is your PC now at risk?

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The more things change, the more they stay the same. And so it is with Microsoft’s controversial decision to end-of-life Windows 10 despite its hundreds of millions of users. The Oct. 14 deadline has been and gone, but Windows 10 users have not. And now there’s a new deadline to worry about, even as cyber threats intensify.

The latest data — covering most of November — suggests Windows 10 usage has settled at around 550 million PCs, down from 880 million in January. All those are eligible for the extended security update option, either in its enterprise or consumer guise.

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“If you need more time to move to Windows 11,” Microsoft says, “enrolling in ESU can give you peace of mind by helping protect your Windows 10 device until the program ends on Oct. 13, 2026.” As things stand, that deadline is set in stone.

While business users can extend support for three years, consumers have a strict 12-month stay of execution before they’ll need to move to Windows 11 or completely fall off support. That’s assuming they’re enrolled in the ESU. Not all users will have done so.

Oct. 14 was billed as a “security disaster” for anyone falling off support. In reality, that risk didn’t kick in until this month. All users were eligible for October’s update, but November’s update — complete with active zero day threats — is just for ESU enrollees.

Microsoft says “the ESU program delivers critical and important security updates for enrolled Windows 10 PCs after the last day of support for Windows 10.”

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That last day is now Oct. 13 next year. It will come around quickly, and right now there are no likely back-up plans for Windows 10 hold-outs. Little surprise that Microsoft is pushing out upgrade warnings, emphasizing the benefits of Windows 11.

We don’t know how many of the 550 million Windows 10 users have the ESU, we also don’t know how many have PCs eligible to upgrade it Windows 11. If you have one that’s not, then you have until next October to buy a new PC.