How to Stay Secure on Windows 10

You probably know of the recent discontinuation of support for Windows 10. You've probably been told by one person or another to upgrade to le heckin' better, more secure alternatives like Windows 11, or one of the million Linux distros out there. Although Windows 11 is usable, and Linux on the desktop is improving by the day, these options aren't ideal for a multitude of reasons that I won't get into, as delving into these flaws isn't within the scope of this article.

The Micro$shaft™ APPROVED™ Methods™

If you (for some reason) care about the TOS for a massively popular, profitable product by a massive corporation who doesn't even care if a relatively small group of users (us) decide to activate their shit through unofficial means (Seriously, who gives a fuck?), you can use one of the following methods to get a year of ESUs:

1. If you're in the EU, just make sure you're logged into a Microsoft account, and you'll get the ESUs.
2. Sync your PC's settings with a Microsoft account and follow the wizard
3. REDEEEEEEM 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points
4. Pay $30 USD (why would you do this)

After following one of these methods, you'll get support until the 13th of October, 2026. That's a day under 1 year. Not great, but it may be enough for you if you plan on upgrading or switching soon.

The Massgrave Method

Installing Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021

This is a special long term service (LTS) edition of Windows intended for embedded devices. Mainstream support is guaranteed until January 12th, 2027, and extended support is guaranteed to last up to January 13th, 2032.^[1] Unfortunately, you VILL have to do a clean install if you're coming from a standard (GAC) edition of Windows. If you don't want to reinstall Windows, you're best off using the Microsoft Activation Scripts mentioned in the Massgrave section to get 3 years of ESUs without reinstallation.

There's no real way to activate this version of Windows without employing certain methods 🏴‍☠️ such as the Microsoft Activation Scripts. Fortunately, using MAS to permamently activate Windows 10 is incredibly easy. Just enter this command into an Administrator-elevated Powershell window:

irm https://get.activated.win | iex

From then, you can simply press 1 on your keyboard to run the HWID activation.

This version of Windows comes with far less bloatware, and almost no UWP system utilities. Internet Exploder is still available, and is installed by default. The Microsoft Store isn't available out of the box, but you can use this command to install it:

wsreset -i

Although being nearly identical to Windows 10 22H2, a small percentage of software may not run (at least not without workarounds). So far I've only had issues running certain modern versions of Adobe Creative Cloud apps. This isn't a big deal in my eyes as you can just use a slightly older release of these programs. On top of that, cracked versions of modern Adobe products tend to be pretty unreliable (they can randomly deactivate).

Sources

1. Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 - Microsoft Lifecycle | Microsoft Learn - Retrieved on October 13th, 2025. ↑