0Patch promises to provide security updates for out-of-support Office 2010
Support for Microsoft Office 2010 ended in October 2020. Microsoft released a last batch of security updates for Office 2010 on the October 13, 2020 Patch Day before it changed the status of the application to unsupported.
Not all Office 2010 customers will stop using the software program, and it is possible that Office 2010 vulnerabilities will be detected in the future that could leave the systems open to attacks targeting unpatched vulnerabilities.
Microsoft does not offer an Extended Security Updates (ESU) for Office 2010 that extends support for Enterprise and business customers. Windows 7 customers could extend support by up to three years after support ended on January 14, 2020.
0Patch, a security company that has created a micro-patching solution, has pledged to deliver security updates for Microsoft Office 2010 after support end similarly to it releasing security updates for Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 systems after support ended.
The company plans to offer the service to paying customers only; this is different from the Windows 7 micropatches that it pledged to create as some of these were published without charge to free users. The FAQ reveals that specific patches may be released for free, e.g. to "help slow down a global worm outbreak".
The requirements for receiving post End of Service updates for Office 2010 are:
- A fully patched Office 2010 installation.
- Installation of 0Patch Agent on devices running Office 2010 and registration of the Agent with the 0Patch account.
- 0Patch Pro or 0Patch Enterprise licenses. (a Pro license starts at €22.95 + tax per computer and year, and it is available to Home users as well).
- Allow the Office 2010 device to connect to the 0Patch server.
0Patch plans to support Office 2010 until October 2021 in the beginning, but it may extend support if there is enough customer interest.
The company uses several sources to determine whether Office 2010 is affected by a vulnerability. From checking if newly discovered vulnerabilities for in-support versions of Office affect Office 2010 to collecting vulnerability information from the security community, public sources, and its partners. Not all security issues will be patched, as vulnerabilities need to have a high risk associated with them in the company's assessment to warrant the creation of micropatches.
Closing Words
Home users may use the service but it is certainly of more interest to companies and Enterprise customers who still have Office 2010 installations on company hardware. Extension of security updates may help extend the migration period to a new version of Office or another Office solution.
Now You: do you use Microsoft Office? If so which version?
Are comment line breaks occurring in the middle of non-hyphenated words for anyone else? Did Ghacks start using some new line-breaking standard that Pale Moon hasn’t caught up with? This is new and weird behavior.
LibreOffice works for me – and it’s FREE!
Its a good solution for some but not for those wedded to VBA. Another free option is Microsoft 365. Many seem unaware you have access to basic online office programs via live logon.
https://www.office.com/
Again, no VBA – you need a paid version for that.
Google is another free option and automation is available (with a steep learning curve but plenty of online resources).
https://docs.google.com/
Filter the following for you operating system and you will find a lot of other alternatives that may better suit individual needs
https://alternativeto.net/software/microsoft-office-suite/
You can also filter fro free or open source (but not both at the same time).
@screaming in the dark:
Ditto.
If you’re a garden-variety MS Office user, switching to LibreOffice is pretty easy (*especially* if you grew up on Office’s old non-ribbon interface, though LibreOffice now offers alternative, ribbon-like interfaces, too). If you’re an *advanced* MS Office user, the adjustment can be more frustrating in certain areas … but it’s doable.
Bonus: LibreOffice opens old or somewhat corrupted MS Office files much more reliably than newer versions of MS Office itself does.
Downsides: Some of LibreOffice’s bells and whistles are less polished than MS Office’s, a few are missing, and LibreOffice isn’t “exactly like” MS Office.
Still, it’s free to try, free to update, free to upgrade, and free to use on as many computers as you want, so it doesn’t cost you much to run LibreOffice side by side with MS Office while you decide whether it meets your specific needs. The installer is even well-mannered enough to not to make LibreOffice the default application for compatible MS Office documents if it detects that you already have MS Office installed — it lets *you* decide if that’s what you want to do. (Do donate, however, if you feel the project is worthy and you can afford it. And even if you’re not a coder, you can contribute in kind by filing high-quality, actionable bug reports.)
Microsoft still include information for activating old versions of office. That implies, if you bought your software via a legitimate channel, you should be able to activate the license.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/activate-office-5bd38f38-db92-448b-a982-ad170b1e187e#bkmk_activateoffice
This is not official advice but is based on experience installing my legitimate copy of Office 2010 on a new machine about two years ago where it activated without issues. My older machine did stop updating office, telling me updates are already installed but the licence agreement indicates the cause is unrelated.
Warning: There are a lot of scammers claiming to sell Microsoft licences cheap (vie eBay etc). Personal research indicates the licence may or may not activate or if the licence does activate, it may cease at any time. Research, research, research if you plan to by a copy of Office second hand. The attractive deal may be a massive waste of cash.
Happy to be corrected if I misinterpret anything above.
Great news! I still use 2010. There is nothing in the newest versions worth getting. The only thing we get is more telemetry and bloat.
I am using Office 2010 on a Windows 7 system. I do practice safe hex but (or should that be ‘and’) have been prevaricating about 0path on Windows 7 since attempting to pay one day and my browser stumbling on the payment page. I will attempt to pass whatever was the obstacle to payment again.
Thank you for the advice.
I’m still on 2010 Pro.
Can I buy an old used version of 2013 or 2016? Will MS allow me to register it?
https://office-watch.com/2019/buying-old-versions-of-microsoft-office/