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Get free Windows 10 security updates through October 2026: 2 ways

Don't want to fork over $30 for a one-year subscription to Windows 10 Extended Security Updates? Microsoft is offering a couple of ways to avoid the fee. But there's a catch.

Anyone willing to try out Microsoft's cloud-based Windows Backup or spend a few minutes per day with the Bing search engine over the course of a week can avoid the $30 tariff and get that subscription for free using the enrollment wizard shown here. The option will also be unavailable on any PC that is joined to an Active Directory domain, Entra ID-joined, or registered with Mobile Device Management software such as Windows Intune. The new ESU options won't change the end-of-support date for Windows 10, but they do offer a one-year reprieve for price-sensitive consumers and a chance for Microsoft to soften the inevitable PR hit it will take at the end of 2025.

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