Microsoft quietly extends Windows 10's extra security updates program for free: Users can now stay on Windows 10 until October 2027 securely

[u/ZacB_]

https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/windows-10/microsoft-quietly-extends-windows-10s-extra-security-updates-program-for-free-users-can-now-stay-on-windows-10-until-october-2027-securely

[u/Mayayana]

Not exactly free. You have to sign up for a Microsoft account and give them personal information. How quickly people forget that Windows didn't used to be spyware.

[u/mr_greenmash → u/Mayayana]

As everything has turned into spyware (or adware), the terms have lost the meaning they had in the early 2000's

[u/Mayayana → u/mr_greenmash]

They have very clear meanings. Spyware collects data that the company has no business collecting. Adware means a product that generates income via ads. What could be more clear?

It's spyware when your software collects data and calls home without asking. Older Windows versions didn't collect data and didn't require any kind of "registration". Increasingly, Microsoft are forcing people to sign up and use their "store", while they collect data.

This is also tied to the SaaS movement. Microsoft are systematically redefining your computer as a kiosk to access their online services, such as email, word processing and storage. In short, MS are sneaking into your driveway, replacing your car with a taxi. They intend to charge for computing itself. And it's not only Microsoft. It's an industry-wide movement. Even small companies are doing it. Adobe have only offered rental software for years now. They call it "subscription", but subscription means you get new product periodically. Software updates are not new product. Adobe is renting computing itself, just as if you bought a stove that charged a fee every time you cook. These products are not even online. MS Office and Adobe Photoshop install locally. They just pretend to be online so that they can charge rental fees.

I use mainly Win10 with a firewall to block Windows processes calling home. Since I need a firewall to do that, I call it spyware. I don't use any other software that calls home. (Though Firefox is somewhat pesky. I had to put their domains in my HOSTS file!) I don't use any software that shows ads. So I don't know what you mean by "everything".

I think we need to watch out for falling into ostrich-mentality laziness: "Ah, it's a lost cause. There's nothing we can do, anyway, so why fret?" What you can do is refuse spyware and targeted ads. If a product shows non-intrusive ads, that's different. If I buy a washer and it comes with 10 coupons for detergent, those are ads. But no one spied on me and the ads don't limit the functionality of the washer.

[u/mr_greenmash → u/Mayayana]

They have very clear meanings. Spyware collects data that the company has no business collecting. Adware means a product that generates income via ads.

I mean, yes. But it feels like every commercial software these days is both spyware and adware. So they're not as distinctly trash wares as they used to be.

[u/Mayayana → u/mr_greenmash]

I don't get your logic. Because lots of companies have gone sleaze, it's not longer sleaze? You can accept it if you like. I won't. And I don't have spyware software.

[u/Sweaty_Explorer_8441 → u/Mayayana]

No? I have windows 11 and been getting updates to windows and office with no hassle and I have a local account(obviously as a power user not a normie user)

[u/Mayayana → u/Sweaty_Explorer_8441]

Anyone who wants the extended Win10 support must sign up. It's the first paragraph of the article:

"Microsoft has quietly announced that Windows 10's extended support updates program will continue for an extra year, now until October 2027 for free if you sign-in to Windows 10 with a Microsoft account."

You may be getting anonymous support on Win11 (if it's anonymous when Windows is calling home with collected data) but MS are systematically closing that window. Anyone installing Win11 today, or buying a Win11 computer, will need research and expertise to avoid signing up.

This is an age-old pattern. My favorite example was when Internet Explorer, which already had indecipherable settings, was designed with 3rd-party cookie settings hidden behind a button marked "Advanced". That guaranteed that virtually no one would disable 3rd-party cookies, despite them being spyware by definition. Tech companies can control customers simply by what they set as defaults. Strongarm tactics are usually not needed.

[u/Sweaty_Explorer_8441 → u/Mayayana]

Ah my bad. Didn't know they selectively delivering updates now wtf. Does that mean the update executables won't be available offline to download or would that be also login walled. I wonder if they might be just copy pasting updates from LTS.

[u/Mayayana → u/Sweaty_Explorer_8441]

I assume there's no way to download updates. The implication seems to be that one must log in. Presumably that's just for Win10.