Technology Advancements

Microsoft ends support for Office apps on Windows 10 in October

As of the latest updates, Microsoft has clarified its stance on the support for Microsoft 365 apps on Windows 10.

End of Support: Microsoft 365 apps will no longer be supported on Windows 10 devices after October 14, 2025, when Windows 10 reaches its end-of-support date. Users are strongly advised to upgrade to Windows 11 to continue using Microsoft 365 applications without any performance or reliability issues3.

Here are the key updates for Microsoft Office from October 2024:

Version 2410 (Build 18129.20158): Released on November 12, 2024, but relevant to the October context, this update is part of the ongoing security and quality updates for Office 2024. It includes various fixes and security patches, although specific details for October are not isolated in this release4.
Version 2411 (Build 18227.20152): Released on December 5, 2024, this update continues the trend of security and quality improvements. For the exact changes in October, one would need to refer to the specific build notes for that period, which are generally included in the broader update history4.

Vulnerability Fixes: Microsoft addressed 159 vulnerabilities in the January 2025 Patch Tuesday updates. This includes critical fixes for Hyper-V and other components. Specifically, there were security feature bypass vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office 2016 (both 32-bit and 64-bit editions) that were patched2.

Security and Quality Rollups: The January 2025 updates also included security and quality rollups for .NET Framework versions 3.5, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, and 4.8. These updates are crucial for protecting systems against identified security issues and are applicable to various Windows Server versions5.

Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel: The latest version, Version 2408, released on January 14, 2025, includes security updates and resolves several issues, such as a compatibility issue with the @azure/msal-browser library in Office add-ins and an issue in PowerPoint where the digital signature of the VBA project was not being persisted after applying or changing sensitivity labels1.

Upgrade to Windows 11: To avoid performance and reliability issues with Microsoft 365 apps, users are recommended to upgrade to Windows 11 before the Windows 10 end-of-support date on October 14, 20253.
Regular Updates: Ensure that all Microsoft Office applications are updated to the latest versions to incorporate the latest security patches and feature improvements1 4.
.NET Framework Updates: Install the latest security and quality rollups for .NET Framework to protect against identified security risks5.