On the other hand, another big problem awaits around the corner for a vast majority of the world’s PC user base, who continue to run Windows 10, which might enter its end of support lifecycle, hitting the point of no return when security updates stop being issued only in a short few years on October 14, 2025. This transition period has significant security ramifications for users who risk being caught in an impossible bind if they elect to keep using a platform that’s more antiquated than ever. If you’re going to need to continue using your version a bit longer, you can get a year’s worth of extension from Microsoft for just $30. There is also the ability for businesses and organisms to pay for double the years at a higher level. That said, the best and cheapest option is still a free upgrade to Windows 11, which remains a free download for qualifying Windows 10 devices. So if you have a pretty recent computer, then you may need or want to upgrade with Windows 11 to enjoy these amazing enhancements, but unfortunately Microsoft set some very stringent hardware requirements, so a lot of users are being left behind. Microsoft has reconfirmed this week its stance that a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 is a debatable, aka non-debatable, requirement for Windows 11. A TPM (Trusted Platform Module) is specific to security because a TPM’s primary function is to securely hold encryption keys and perform essential cryptographic operations. That is because the OS module is what Windows uses to perform the decryption of a PC’s disk when a PC boots and therefore builds a strong layer of authentication.
This means that while these unsupported devices should continue to operate, end users will run into the major problems of being blocked from major updates, and Microsoft can always, and they will, eventually pull the updates all together for these systems whenever they want. That aside, users can look forward to similar performance as Windows 10 running on these machines. Overall, as we come closer to the point at which no more Windows 10 support will be forthcoming (for most), users ought to reconsider their hingeability or lack thereof and whether or not Microsoft’s seemingly-obsessed TPM 2.0 requirement for Windows 11 matters regarding whatever they’re going to be upgrading to Windows.
