Windows 10 refuses to go gentle into that good night

Rage, rage against the dying of the free security updates

With just days remaining until Microsoft discontinues free support, Windows 10 still accounts for 40.5 percent of the Windows desktop market, At the same time, Windows 11 adoption remains at just 48.94 percent.

The figures come from the Statcounter tracking code, which is installed on more than 1.5 million sites. While not comprehensive, they represent the best indicator in the absence of official figures from Microsoft.

Despite Microsoft's relentless push to migrate users, Windows 10 remains remarkably resilient, however, the trend line does show movement. A year ago, Windows 10 held 62.75 percent market share while Windows 11 languished at 33.42 percent. This shift hasn't been nearly steep enough. After October 14, a number of users will no longer receive free security updates.

For those who remain on Windows 10, the end of support brings a bitter trade-off: no more monthly anxiety about what Microsoft might break — but also no assurance that vulnerabilities will be patched.

Microsoft claims to put "security above all else," yet will deliberately leaving millions of customers without security protections if the latest market share figures are correct. Petitions – in Europe and the US – urging the company to extend updates have been met with only limited concessions for specific consumer segments.

Windows 10 devices won't suddenly stop working on October 14. However, the date will mark the end of updates, and only the most ardent Microsoft apologists would claim the OS is without vulnerabilities.

Hundreds of millions of users find themselves unable or unwilling to make the move to Windows 11. For enterprises still on Windows 10, the decision should already be made: pay for Extended Security Updates (ESUs). For consumers bombarded with full-screen Windows 11 advertisements, the path forward is far less clear.

The latest market share figures indicate that Microsoft's tactics to force a hardware refresh have fallen short of expectations. The company now risks businesses and users remembering the heavy-handed tactics when making IT decisions in the future. ®