As of Tuesday Microsoft officially pulled the plug on Windows 10. Its successor was released four years ago, and by now you (and I) should have made our way to it. Windows 10 is, after all, a decade old, so it's ancient technology at this point. I haven't updated, though, and I don't plan to until I build myself a new PC, and that's whomst knows how far away.
The choice to stay on a dead operating system would normally leave one vulnerable to exploits found after a support cutoff date. Microsoft themselves have been sending out emails for months now alerting everyone still on Windows 10 that their support for it is ending soon and they're not responsible for whatever happens to your machine should you refuse to upgrade.
But as with many things in life, there are options. One of those options is to pay Microsoft $30 to join their Extended Security Updates (ESU) program which will give you access to three more years of security patches for Windows 10. That's nice, I suppose, because it means this thing's not actually dead yet. But maybe you're strapped for cash after a year of unemployment or simply don't want to pay for the "privilege" of using an outdated operating system.
Enter your savior: Microsoft Activation Scripts. These open-source scripts guide you through the process of activating Windows and other products without you forking over your cash better suited for, you know, staying alive in a country that seems to want you dead.
The U.S. is the only developed country without a system of universal healthcare, and a significant proportion of its population lacks health insurance. The United States spends more on healthcare than any other country, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of GDP; however, this expenditure does not necessarily translate into better overall health outcomes compared to other developed nations.
The bold emphasis is mine because it's so stupid that the supposedly richest country in the world is like this. But that's a post/rant for another day.
Is activating your Microsoft products this way legal? Well, not exactly, but Microsoft doesn't seem to care so long as you're not a business and therefore a potential enterprise client. You and me? We're krill in an ocean being fished for whales. Microsoft even owns GitHub where the scripts are hosted and shown to the world. If they cared about us krill they could have put a stop to this a long time ago. Besides, us simply being in the Microsoft ecosystem when other very good options exist still benefits them.
So, how do you get on the ESU and safely put off Windows 11 for possibly another three years? It's stupidly simple and only takes up to a few minutes. It might only take you some 15 seconds depending on your system's situation.
- Open PowerShell via the Start menu.
- Copy-paste
irm https://get.activated.win | iexinto it and hit Enter. - Hit yes on the access control popup.
- This will get you to the menu shown above.
You'll want to be on the Professional edition of Windows, so that's the first order of business. You can check yours using item #6 Check Activation Status. If it's not already Professional, you'll have to use #7 Change Windows Edition to switch it. After that you go to #3 TSforge which will give you a bunch of options for activating various things. Hit #2 for Activate - ESU and it'll go on its merry way through this script and enroll you into the program. It'll actually register you for six years, but only the first three are guaranteed by Microsoft.
And with that you're done. I don't think you even need to restart your machine. You've stopped Windows 10's descent into its grave for at least three years, and you don't have to move on to Windows 11 until you're good and ready. I don't even particularly like this version of Windows; if I had my way I'd still be on Windows 7 which just felt and looked so much better. I'll get onto Windows 11 eventually, but until then at least I don't have to risk my machine being full of security holes.