Posted on 06/27/2025 9:33:59 PM PDT by fireman15
No Copilot, no ads, no bloat, no AI — and seven extra years of official support. It sounds too good to be true, but there's a reason most haven't heard of it.
Microsoft won't advertise it, and you're highly unlikely to stumble across it by accident, but there's a version of Windows 10 that drops the ads, the AI, and will be officially supported for years to come — long after most are forced to upgrade to Windows 11.
For those unaware, Windows 10 is due to be retired by Microsoft on October 14, 2025. Beyond this date, the operating system will lose access to any technical support, future feature drops, and vital security updates.
While your computer will run as normal, and you don't actually need to leave Windows 10 behind, any potential system vulnerabilities discovered after the end-of-support date will remain exploitable forevermore. It'll be open season on your data, hardware, and privacy, and your copy of Windows will be about as secure as a piñata at a party packed with sugar-lusting Little Leaguers.
Microsoft's ideal solution is for Windows 10 users to upgrade to Windows 11. Those whose devices don't meet the operating system's minimum specs can alternatively opt into the company's Extended Security Updates (ESU) program, which offers regular consumers an extra year of security updates for $30.
((Paragraphs cut to make the body of thread short enough.))
It's the version of Windows 10 Microsoft never wanted you to use, and, even though it's entirely capable, it was never designed to run your laptop or desktop machine. Still, that doesn't mean you can't do it anyway.
(Excerpt) Read more at laptopmag.com ...
“Use brave instead.”
I have Brave on my system. Changed Settings to make it the default, with no luck. I’d even take Chrome. Yet Edge takes over.
Ping
Such as? When MS transitioned from XP to Windows 10 I bought all new computers. I'm not sure about the OP's info, yet, but what security app are you talking about?
My Windows 11 laptop runs MS SQL Server Express 15 and MS Visual Studio 2013 and the Brave browser. What else can a man want? lol
Maybe in 2099 they will make a computer that won’t need to be upgraded every few years it upgrades it self.
You listening HAL?.
Thank you.
As you should be... You may note that in my original post I said, “I am not associated with anyone involved in this including the sometimes shady operators who sell license keys. I would use Paypal or a “virtual credit card” to pay for it even with the place I have purchased a lot of them from over the years...”
There is an extremely high likelihood that whoever you purchase a license key from who is not Microsoft is at the least violating some aspect of Microsoft's licensing agreements. I have no idea how these types of businesses actually acquire the license keys that they sell; one should spend some time trying to find out what other customer's experiences have been when considering a purchase.
TrustPilot, Reseller.Ratings and other sites should be used to try and determine whether a retailer is legitimate... Can these ratings sites be manipulated... yes, but the big ones not as much, and all of them?
Is there a chance that these license keys will stop working sometime in the future? Absolutely! I have purchased many software licenses directly from the software developers which produced them which were not supposed to be time limited which have stopped working within a couple of years. In some cases, I spent large sums of money on these software package. Sometimes I have been able to get this corrected, other times not. This has usually been because the original software companies had been sold to competitors who decided not to honor the original company's obligations. The entire software business is dog eat dog and it is often hard to say who the good guy actually are. So yes, there is always a chance that these types of license keys will stop working and you will be throwing away your $21.
Like so many aspects of modern life I do not know the finer points of the actual mechanics at play. People who claim that they do... typically do not know either. It is almost all speculation.
As far as people worrying about Microsoft's wellbeing... this entire situation has been completely engineered by them and is despicable in most ways. The decision to try and turn a Billion devices worldwide into “e-waste” is completely motivated by profit. It is monopolistic and is immoral on so many levels. It gives the idiots among us such as Bernie Sanders, AOC and the rest the ammo they need to try and trash our economic system.
From Grok, “Computerworld, reported in June 2025 that Windows 10 accounted for 72.2% of Windows-only machines in October 2024, implying a higher figure closer to 1.08 billion PCs”. Whatever Microsoft's lawyers have written into their nearly indecipherable and constantly changing user's agreements that everyone is forced to acknowledge to install their products... are basically monopolistic and immoral on many levels.
In truth, I believe that the huge advances in computers and information technology that we have witnessed in the last 50 years especially have been remarkable. In most ways I am happy with these incredible advancements. Microsoft's contributions to this have been substantial. I have known dozens of people including close friends and family who have worked for them and in some cases profited greatly from the experience. I have even spoken directly with and shaken the hands of two of the key players, Steve Balmer and Paul Allen and found them to be very pleasant and interesting people.
I am very thankful for all of the Microsoft products that I use on a daily basis along with the products that I use developed by others. This includes the owner and others who developed this website years ago which we all are very fortunate to still have this platform which gives us the opportunity to have honest and open discussions about many topics. Very few of us have any concept of how much these people and businesses have contributed to our wellbeing.
I use software Start11 by Stardock that helps Windows 11 look more like 7 and it does the job.
Thanks
Bookmark
bookmark
You are Welcome! My intention here is to be helpful to others and let them know how to have a Windows 10 operating system that is essentially indistinguishable from what they are using now which will keep taking security updates until 2032. This is not completely without risk.
But if you do nothing 4 months from now as the article I highlighted to start this thread says, “While your computer will run as normal, and you don't actually need to leave Windows 10 behind, any potential system vulnerabilities discovered after the end-of-support date will remain exploitable forevermore. It'll be open season on your data, hardware, and privacy, and your copy of Windows will be about as secure as a piñata at a party packed with sugar-lusting Little Leaguers.”
And this will not be remedied by most of the huckster organizations that will be hawking security solutions that will likely be more expensive than just paying Microsoft $30 a year for their security updates. If this solution which currently costs about $21 works for just a year... you will still be money ahead.
At this point I have installed and licensed Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 2021 LTSC 5 times, 2 of these installs were done using the technique above which resulted in systems essentially identical but actually boot faster and run cooler than before. Why? I don't know, but it is probably because there was some system corruption that had occurred over time. I have purchased 2 more licenses which will be installed today on my last 2 Windows 10 computers that plan to continue using. One is used as a media server, and one is used as a travel computer that has almost no value to thieves and has very little info stored on it.
I now have three computers that came with Windows 11 on them. I am perfectly happy with Windows 11. Why do I have so many computers? Because I am retired and this is a hobby for me. My wife and I use them for various purposes. I have also setup a very small “home server lab” which is primarily used as a learning tool for me.
I have been a digital electronics and computer enthusiast since I was a young teen many decades ago, but I am still learning. There are others on this forum far more knowledgeable and more intelligent than myself who have been very helpful to me. This is an attempt to pass some of the kindness they have shown to me and knowledge on to others.
Really? That’s odd. Edge us on my system too because I can’t delete it. But Brave is what I use and it is always there
I open Brave and use it all the time. But if I click on a link on FR or elsewhere it opens in Edge. Grrrr
Indeed. It's interesting for sure. OTOH it's a lot more work and potential trouble than I would ever want to do or recommend to a FRiend, so I don't think I'll spam the Windows Ping List about it, since that implies recommendation.
I like Windows 7. IMO it is the best Windows release ever, and I still have a VM of Win7 Ultimate that I run a few old programs with (without an internet connection, of course).
Win10 disappointed me, but I had to use it and support it in my job, so I got used to it. I actually got to the point where I liked it, although not as much as Win7. And there's the concern about spyware, but it could be disabled.
Win11 grosses me out with its ads and other annoying BS, but again, I have to use it and support it. With the addition of OpenShell and a lot of settings tweaking, I can use it without throwing the computer through the wall. Spyware is a greater issue with 11 than with 10. Whenever I finish setting up a fresh install of Win11, I have to take a shower.
But I still wouldn't put myself through the steps this article lays out. Old non-Win11-compliant hardware can run Linux just fine. So maybe I'm just not that motivated, or don't have that much spare time, or maybe I don't hate Microsoft enough. :-)
Nevertheless, thanks for the ping. It made a good Saturday morning read.
Interesting
Your thread has over 50 comments already, looks like a lot of folks are interested. Well done!
So you mean you can click on other links in brave but there are certain ones send you to edge?
I’m on W7 on my desktop and like it - laptop on W10 Pro and like it. I’m staying with them.
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