Any bets on Windows extending the deadline or providing free security updates for a while as soon as the first sec vulnerability news hits a significant number of customers?
I work at an ewaste recycling company. Just yesterday, I sold a desktop to someone expressly so that he would have supported hardware for Windows 11 in light of Windows 10 support ending.
I like Linux & Co and do not like Windows accounts etc but "MS wants you buy new computer" is anti slogan. We need new hardware ASAP!
'
Problem is: hardware we want probably do not exists yet :) RowHammer ? Are new Intel cpu arch resistant to speculations or how better it is then HT? "Android GPU speculations" from todays news ?
That MS probably wants to bake two tings at once - some security and a lot of slavery - is totally different problem.
It's far more likely a PC gets physically stolen than rowhammer, spectre or any other advanced hardware specific exploit being used.
Linux is already much more secure than Windows even on insecure hardware by not encouraging downloading proprietary unverified executables from google which on top is infested with malwaretising or even comes preinstalled with them. That is how 99% of malware actually does damage.
I keep telling people they’re not going to get owned just by booting a Windows 10 machine after october 14. Most people visit Google, Amazon, Youtube, Pinterest and Netflix and not much else. If you run sketchy stuff and click sketchy links, you could get owned under support, too. And if the NSA wants to spy on you specifically, Windows 11 isn’t going to stop them. The most pressing (non-compliance) reason to upgrade from Windows 10 is always just going to be that newer software versions may stop working. Perhaps most importantly games and Microsoft’s own stuff.
I think that a lot of hardware which "does not support" Windows 11 actually does after BIOS/UEFI update or reconfiguration. I myself had 2 such examples from like 20 computers in the company.
- A board with AMD Ryzen needed to fTPM enabled
- A different board from Gigabyte I think had wonky Secure Boot support, but after BIOS update everything worked just alright and Windows 11 has installed itself without a problem.
It might be a little sketchy for some, but you can patch the .iso to remove the TPM requirement and get Windows 11 to install on non-compliant computers. I forgot where to download the patch from, it was from some GitHub page I found on the internet. I have done it so on my ancient desktop with Intel i5-3750K without issues.
Given Microsoft created this problem by requiring updated hardware for Windows 11 I suspect this may lead to the same issue that happened with Windows XP. There will be a myriad of ISO's floating around the web with Windows 10 and some slip-streamed updates from paid accounts and who knows what else embedded that people will be using both privately and in their companies to keep things running. This may be a boon for malware distributors and state actors.
If your PC actually can't run Windows 11 (older than Nehalem/Bulldozer) then you should:
* fresh install 10 21H2 LTSC IoT using "methods" - this will keep receiving Windows patches until 2032 (although 3rd party software may end support sooner)
or
* move to a supported Linux distro (Debian 13 with XFCE would be a safe bet)
or
* buy a new computer because 15 years is pretty old for a PC
If your PC can run Windows 11, but Microsoft don't support it (1st-7th gen Intel or AMD FX-Zen 1) then use 11 24H2 LTSC IoT.
If your PC does support Windows 11 but you're finally sick of Microsoft's bullpoop... 11 24H2 LTSC IoT.
Basically use 21H2 LTSC for old machines, and 24H2 LTSC for new machines. I honestly believe MS makes this version available (and so easy to activate) just to keep HN-types happy. Far less crap, still get security updates, and you'll probably reinstall in a few years once software support gets in the way or a new Windows release adds features you want (but won't be pushed because LTSC.) It actually makes Windows acceptable to use and acts like versions before 10 (it's one branch which gets patched, not upgrades every 6 months)
Of course moving to a better platform (Linux or BSD) would be preferred, but sometimes we still need to use Windows...
16 comments
[ 2.4 ms ] story [ 45.5 ms ] threadThat's over 10 years of support. Not bad
This reminds of "Windows is a single platform" rant from some 20 years ago.
' Problem is: hardware we want probably do not exists yet :) RowHammer ? Are new Intel cpu arch resistant to speculations or how better it is then HT? "Android GPU speculations" from todays news ?
That MS probably wants to bake two tings at once - some security and a lot of slavery - is totally different problem.
Linux is already much more secure than Windows even on insecure hardware by not encouraging downloading proprietary unverified executables from google which on top is infested with malwaretising or even comes preinstalled with them. That is how 99% of malware actually does damage.
anything with google adsense is a malware vector
- A board with AMD Ryzen needed to fTPM enabled
- A different board from Gigabyte I think had wonky Secure Boot support, but after BIOS update everything worked just alright and Windows 11 has installed itself without a problem.
* fresh install 10 21H2 LTSC IoT using "methods" - this will keep receiving Windows patches until 2032 (although 3rd party software may end support sooner)
or
* move to a supported Linux distro (Debian 13 with XFCE would be a safe bet)
or
* buy a new computer because 15 years is pretty old for a PC
If your PC can run Windows 11, but Microsoft don't support it (1st-7th gen Intel or AMD FX-Zen 1) then use 11 24H2 LTSC IoT.
If your PC does support Windows 11 but you're finally sick of Microsoft's bullpoop... 11 24H2 LTSC IoT.
Basically use 21H2 LTSC for old machines, and 24H2 LTSC for new machines. I honestly believe MS makes this version available (and so easy to activate) just to keep HN-types happy. Far less crap, still get security updates, and you'll probably reinstall in a few years once software support gets in the way or a new Windows release adds features you want (but won't be pushed because LTSC.) It actually makes Windows acceptable to use and acts like versions before 10 (it's one branch which gets patched, not upgrades every 6 months)
Of course moving to a better platform (Linux or BSD) would be preferred, but sometimes we still need to use Windows...