After ten years, Microsoft is pulling the plug on Windows 10 and ending support for the aging software.

Millions of personal computers in Germany urgently need an update. On October 14, Microsoft will retire the world's most popular PC operating system – Windows 10. This means there will no longer be free updates for Windows 10 to fix newly discovered vulnerabilities. With the end of support, users risk becoming victims of undiscovered and unfixed security holes if they do not take action beforehand.

Although the software giant announced the end of support for Windows 10 over four years ago, most PCs in Germany still run on the potentially insecure operating system.

According to calculations by the security company Eset, 27.4 million PCs in private households, companies, government agencies, and organizations in Germany are still equipped with the outdated Windows 10. This corresponds to almost 57 percent of all Windows computers.

In addition, there are around one million computers running the ancient operating systems Windows 7, Windows 8, 8.1, and Windows XP, which have been insecure for years. 17.9 million PCs already have Windows 11 installed, eight percent more than in November 2024.

ESET's German branch in Jena based its calculations on its own telemetry data. The results were also compared with the statistics service StatCounter.

Alexander Opel, IT security expert at Eset, warns of the potential consequences: "Anyone still using an outdated operating system is playing Russian roulette with their data!" Millions of private users, as well as many IT managers in companies and government agencies, have understood the warning and protected their computers in time. "Everyone else must act now before it's too late. Cybercriminals are already poised to exploit targeted vulnerabilities as soon as support ends."

Upgrading to Windows 11 often requires purchasing a new PC because Microsoft has set comparatively high hardware requirements for the new operating system. For example, Windows 11 requires a special security chip, a so-called Trusted Platform Module (TPM), which isn't present on many older computers.

Against this background, the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) not only recommends a timely upgrade to Windows 11, but also recommends switching to another operating system such as macOS for Apple's Macintosh computers or the free Linux system.

The end of support should actually bring a special boom to PC manufacturers. According to a forecast by market research firm Gartner, this is not the case. Increased economic and geopolitical risks have led to a "pause of uncertainty" in the purchase of new PCs, said Ranjit Atwal, Senior Director Analyst at Gartner.

Given PC manufacturers' warehouses are full, Atwal expects distress sales in the second half of the year. "Suppliers are trying to reduce their excess inventory, partly because new tariffs and ongoing uncertainty will further dampen market activity."

Those who refuse to upgrade have another alternative, and Microsoft is charging a good price: The company is offering private and business users an additional year of Extended Security Updates (ESU) for $30 (around €27). This is a first: Until now, Windows support extensions were only available to businesses.

However, IT security expert Opel from Eset doesn't think this is a good idea: Extended support simply postpones the transition to the near future. "It's high time for companies to upgrade, too." The cost of support is likely to outweigh the benefits for many organizations. "At the same time, it's irresponsible to run your own company with outdated systems. This opens the door for hackers to launch successful cyberattacks."