We’ve not yet finished dealing with the fall out of the Windows 7 switch-off and this week Microsoft have started reminding us about the switch-off of Office 2010.
Just as with Windows 7 back in January, Microsoft plan to stop updates and security patches for the Office 2010 suite in October 2020. This means that they will no longer fix any bugs or security holes in the software and therefore users could be more at risk from malware, viruses and compatibility faults; so where does this leave Office 2010 users?
The good news is that it’s not as big a problem as the Windows 7 switch-off, although there is a slightly higher risk of infection for those continuing to use Office 2010. It’s a fairly small risk and this is reduced by using decent antivirus software like McAfee. The support switch-off for Office 2007 was back in 2017 and most of those applications still work fine today and are fully functional. Outlook 2010 should continue to support modern email services for the foreseeable future, or at least until the next big industry-wide improvement in encryption.
If you do want to upgrade, then there are options for you. Many people use the Office 2010 Starter Edition which is the basic free version that replaces Microsoft Works. There is a new free Office option from Microsoft, but it’s web-based so requires a Microsoft sign-in and it isn’t a proper application installed on your PC so therefore requires an Internet connection throughout use. This makes it far from ideal for travellers using portable connections.
As for the paid-for options; you can still buy the software outright, known as a perpetual licence which means that you own the software and can use it forever for the life of the software, which is typically 10 years. Perpetual licences are £119.99 for the home edition or £249.99 for business. Alternatively you can buy a subscription where you rent the software and pay either monthly or annually, known as Office 365 the annual costs are £59.99 for a single domestic computer, £79.99 for up to 5 domestic computers in the same family or household, business subscriptions are £113.76 for a single computer.
Don’t be tempted to buy the cheap licence keys offered by 3rd party sellers on Amazon, eBay or groupon as these are often reclaimed or volume licence keys that are not official and could be turned off at any time. If you buy at less than the Microsoft RRP you risk wasting your money and if your business gets audited you may not be compliant and face a hefty fine.
Two quick reminders: move away from Windows 7, asap, do it now. And also be aware that we’re advising clients away from Norton antivirus this year due to their invasive search and aggressive remarketing techniques. We’re now recommending McAfee and have single, triple, 5 and 10 packs in stock now from £30 p.a. Watch out for more info next month.