If any of your computers still run Windows 10, the deadline you've been putting off is about to matter. Support for the operating system already ended, and the temporary safety net that has kept it patched runs out this October.
This is the kind of risk that's easy to ignore because nothing breaks on the day. The machines keep turning on, Word keeps opening, and the danger builds quietly in the background. Here's what's actually happening and what a small business should do about it.
The dates that actually matter
Microsoft ended support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025. From that day, the operating system stopped getting free security updates. To soften the landing, Microsoft offered Extended Security Updates (ESU), a paid program that keeps the patches coming a little longer. For consumers and the smallest setups, that bridge is one year only, and it ends on October 13, 2026. Businesses can buy ESU for up to three years (through October 2028), but the price climbs each year, so it gets more expensive the longer you lean on it.
One point that trips people up: your Microsoft 365 Office apps on Windows 10 will keep getting security updates until October 10, 2028, and that makes it tempting to think you're fine. You aren't. Office staying patched does nothing to patch the Windows underneath it, and those apps stop receiving new features along the way. The operating system is the exposed layer, and after this October the cheap way to keep it patched is gone.
Why this is a real risk, not just a nag
An unsupported operating system is a soft target, and attackers know exactly which machines to look for.
- Every month without OS patches adds known, unfixed holes. When a new Windows vulnerability is found, supported systems get a fix and unsupported ones just stay vulnerable, on a list that only grows.
- Plenty of businesses are still exposed. Reports suggest roughly half of businesses were still running Windows 10 well after support ended, which means this is a widespread problem, not a rare one.
- It can cost you on insurance and contracts. Cyber-insurance applications and customer security questionnaires increasingly ask whether you run supported software. "We're still on Windows 10" can raise a premium or fail a control you needed to pass.
- The easy bridge disappears soon. Consumer ESU ends this October, so the lowest-effort way to stay patched is about to close.
Your options, cheapest to most expensive
- Upgrade eligible PCs to Windows 11 for free. If the hardware meets the requirements (roughly an 8th-generation Intel or Ryzen 2000-series chip or newer, with TPM 2.0), the upgrade costs nothing. Microsoft's PC Health Check tool tells you which machines qualify.
- Replace the machines that can't make it. A PC that can't run Windows 11 is usually old enough to be due for replacement anyway. Budget it now, on your schedule, rather than after an incident forces your hand.
- Buy ESU as a short bridge. If you genuinely need a few months to plan and pay for the change, ESU buys time. Treat it as a bridge, not a destination, and remember the price rises each year.
What to do in the next 30 days
You don't need to solve this today, but you do need a plan before the fall. Inventory every device and its Windows version, then sort each one into upgrade, replace, or bridge, and set a hard cutover date before this October. The machines that bite you are the forgotten ones: the reception PC, the back-office laptop, the single computer running one old line-of-business app. Find those now, while it's a planning exercise and not an emergency.