China is finally pulling Windows 10 from government machines — and says that's ahead of schedule
Chinese government moves ahead with Windows 10 replacement Heavily customized Windows edition will be replaced by domestic alternative Windows 10 official end of life was October 14, 2024 The. . .
Chinese government moves ahead with Windows 10 replacementHeavily customized Windows edition will be replaced by domestic alternativeWindows 10 official end of life was October 14, 2024The Chinese government has revealed plans to finally removeWindows 10from its systems as it looks to move towards home-made alternatives. A report fromBloombergclaims the Chinese Ministry of State Security has told some state-linked entities to start uninstalling the software as part of a multi-year plan to remove dependence on Western technology. The version of Windows 10 is developed by C&M Information Technologies Co (CMIT) which was formed in 2016 as a joint venture betweenMicrosoftand the state-owned China Electronics Technology Group Corp in a bid to make sure Windows 10 was compliant with the government's security requirements. A welcome change?There's no official confirmation as to why the decision has been made now, with CMIT reportedly planning to retire the software in February 2027, in line with a government campaign to curb the use of foreign technology. Bloombergnotes the move comes just weeks before US President Donald Trump is set to meet with Chinese premier Xi Jinping, where security concerns will no doubt be high. “Microsoft is not aware of a security incident affecting this product, which continues to receive regular security updates,” a spokesperson for the US company told Bloomberg. “We have nothing further to share. ”Windows 10 famously saw its end of life in October 2024, as Microsoft retired the software in order to focus on newer editions. Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed!However some users were initially able to get extra support until 2026, a deadline which was surprisingly extended even further recently, withMicrosoft's Extended Security Updates (ESU) scheme now indicating support will run through to October 2027. The move was slow to catch on, as a study in July 2026found one in six PCs still ran the older softwareas opposed to 78. 8% forWindows 11- with healthcare and pharmaceuticals (23%), consumer and retails (23%) and manufacturing (18%) among the industries most likely to still be running Windows 10, with SMBs (21. 4%) more likely to be running the outgoing OS compared with enterprises (16. 6%). This is especially concerning as the average Windows 10 device has around three times as many active CVEs (1,903) as a Windows 11 devices (652). Follow TechRadar on Google Newsandadd us as a preferred sourceto get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.