The October date is the last security update for Windows 10 and when most people should find a way to move to Windows 11 to ensure that they stay secure.

Vole is offering a reprieve for those who want or need to stay on Windows 10: three additional years of security updates, provided to those who can pay for the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program.

The initial announcement, written by Windows Servicing and Delivery Principal Product Manager Jason Leznek, spends most of its time encouraging users and businesses to upgrade to Windows 11 rather than staying on 10, either by updating their current computers, upgrading to new PCs, or transitioning to a Windows 365 cloud-based PC instead.

The details are broadly like the programme Microsoft offered for Windows Seven: three additional years of monthly security updates and technical support, paid for one year at a time. The company said, "Pricing will be provided at a later date.”

For the Windows 7 version of the ESU program, Microsoft upped the cost of the programme each year to encourage people to upgrade to a newer Windows version; the cost was also per seat, so what you paid was proportional to the number of PCs you needed updates.

One difference this time is that Microsoft told us it would be offering Windows 10 ESU updates to individuals, though the company didn't offer particulars. More details should be available on Windows 10's lifecycle support page soon. Leznek reiterated that Windows 10 22H2 would be the final version of Windows 10 and that the operating system would not receive any additional features during the ESU period.