Support for Windows 10 ends in late 2025. A European company wants to continue providing security updates. This is what 0Patch and so-called Micropatches are about.
In October 2025, Microsoft will end support for Windows 10. However, the small Slovenian company Acros Security intends to offer users who want to stay on Windows 10 security updates through its system 0Patch, despite Microsoft’s end of support.
Everything you need to know about the end of support for Windows 10 is summarized in the following article on MeinMMO:
Company wants to deliver security updates even after the end of support for Windows 10
When does support end? Microsoft will end support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2024, and will only offer updates beyond that as a costly paid Extended Security Update (ESU).
What makes 0Patch different? The company describes itself as a micropatch provider and aims to offer faster updates for Windows and other operating systems. Additionally, they promise that updates can be installed directly in the operating system without a restart. This is reported by the English colleagues from TomsHardware.com.
The updates are installed via a proprietary client and not through the official Windows Update. In the 0Patch client, you can see which updates you have installed and which you haven’t.
Is all of this free? It depends on the version of Windows. For the Home version, 0Patch offers free updates, while for the Pro and Enterprise versions, they charge 25 euros (Pro) or 37 euros (Enterprise) per year.
Microsoft’s official Extended Security Update is probably much more extensive and offers more updates, but the prices are also significantly higher, typically amounting to several hundred euros, and the update gets more expensive each year. Moreover, Microsoft only offers the Extended Security Update to businesses and not to private individuals.
What are micropatches anyway? Micropatches refer to security updates that address specific or particularly critical vulnerabilities in a system for which the official manufacturer either takes too long or has already discontinued support. Therefore, these micropatches are unlikely to be as comprehensive as the official Microsoft update or subsequent ESU.
Anyone using such an offer must have a lot of trust in the provider
How safe is this? The biggest problem is, of course, that the updates do not come from Microsoft itself. The colleagues from Medium.com are therefore rather cautious about such offers, as you can never be 100% sure of what you are getting from the provider. Typically, you cannot verify the micropatches yourself.
If you use such an offer, then you have to place a lot of trust in the provider of the micropatch and its security concept. After all, you are allowing another company to make changes in Windows. And you cannot be sure what long-term effects that might have on your system.
This speaks for and against Windows 10: Are you unsure whether you should switch to Windows 11 or prefer to stay on Windows 10? MeinMMO presents you with the advantages and disadvantages of a possible update: 6 reasons why you should upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 and 4 reasons against it
