Thousands of users at risk by still using Microsoft Office 2010 - but this company offers a fix

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There's a way to stay secure and keep using Microsoft Office 2010

Microsoft Office
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Microsoft brought formal support for Office 2010 to an end last month, meaning that anyone still using the software is in danger of being targeted by new malware exploits. That is unless they sign up to a new security service being offered by 0patch.

0patch “security adopted” Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 earlier this year when they reached the end of their formal support programs, and has offered micropatches for 21 high-risk vulnerabilities since then. Most notably, 0patch provided a fix for the Zerologon vulnerability that was being exploited by ransomware gangs.

The micropatch service offered by 0patch works by collecting vulnerability information for Office 2010 from a multitude of sources and checking to see if newly discovered bugs affecting later versions of Office still affect the 2010 iteration. At that point, 0patch assesses whether the vulnerability should be classified as high-risk and then gets to work creating a micropatch.

Hard to say goodbye

In order to gain accesses to 0patch’s Office 2010 support, individuals and businesses need to sign up to the 0patch PRO subscription, which is priced at €22.95 (plus tax) per computer, per year. Discounts for high volume subscribers are also available.

“So what do you have to do to protect your Office 2010 installations with 0patch? You need to make sure all Office 2010 updates are installed, create a 0patch account in 0patch Central, install 0patch Agent and register it to your account, then purchase a PRO subscription for a suitable number of licenses or ask sales@0patch.com for a free trial,” Mitja Kolsek, co-founder of 0patch, explained. “We will initially provide security patches for Office 2010 for 12 months, and then extend this period if faced with sufficient demand.”

When official support for a piece of software or operating system comes to an end, it can be difficult to move on to a new version – there may be compatibility issues or you simply may prefer the old iteration. Still, using unsupported tech is risky business, so 0patch offered a secure way of sticking with your favourite software solutions.

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Barclay Ballard
Barclay Ballard

Barclay has been writing about technology for a decade, starting out as a freelancer with ITProPortal covering everything from London’s start-up scene to comparisons of the best cloud storage services.  After that, he spent some time as the managing editor of an online outlet focusing on cloud computing, furthering his interest in virtualization, Big Data, and the Internet of Things.