Hundreds of orgs to Microsoft: don't axe free Win10 updates

"With Windows 10 support set to expire on October 14, hundreds of repair shops, nonprofits, and advocacy groups are urging Microsoft to extend free and automatic security updates instead of stranding hundreds of millions of PCs. The letter, organized by consumer activist non-profit US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), was signed by 382 repair businesses and nonprofits worldwide, as well as 83 elected representatives, 19 librarians and school officials, and 49 consumer advocacy and environmental organizations."

"They're all worried that they, and many other PC owners, stand to lose big if Microsoft follows through with its plans to end support for Windows 10 in less than two weeks. "About 40 percent of PCs currently in use can't upgrade to Windows 11, even if users want to," the letter reads. "That means when Microsoft stops providing security updates for Windows 10, those computers will either be insecure and unsafe to keep using, or else turn into junk and get thrown out.""

"Critics argue Microsoft's Windows 11 push is worsening the world's growing e-waste problem. As we've noted before, the supported upgrade path requires PCs to have Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 - a hardware-based security component found in many machines shipped over the past five years - along with other modern hardware. Unofficial bypasses exist, but they aren't supported and may break in future updates."

Hundreds of repair shops, nonprofits, elected officials, librarians, and consumer and environmental groups seek an extension of free automatic Windows 10 security updates beyond the planned October 14 end of support. The campaign includes a letter organized by PIRG signed by 382 repair businesses and nonprofits, petitions with tens of thousands of signatures, and advocacy from organizations like Stop Planned Obsolescence. Advocates warn that roughly 40 percent of active PCs cannot upgrade to Windows 11 and that Microsoft estimates about 400 million machines fail to meet Windows 11 requirements. The Windows 11 hardware requirements, notably TPM 2.0, risk making many devices insecure, obsolete, or discarded, worsening global electronic waste.

Read at Theregister