Microsoft Office 2010's Users Need to Upgrade

Microsoft Office 2010 is currently a decade old. Despite being considered already old in the tech world, it is still fairly reliable and does its job much like its Windows XP and Windows 7 cousins. Sure, it doesn't have the flashy and streamlined look of newer versions like Office 2016. But Office 2010 has that rustic charisma that newer versions don't currently have. Using it may seem cramped and cluttered but the learning curve isn't that steep. Once you get the hang of things, it becomes easy to use. Even most home users like elderly people and students still rely on Office 2010 especially if they don't have regular access to software updates.

Microsoft Office 2010: What happens once support ends?

But all things do come to an end. Office 2010's support will soon come to halt. Fans and users would need to update to a more recent version or look somewhere else.

Fret not, you will still be able to use the old versions of PowerPoint, Excel, and Word even after Microsoft officially ceases software updates and security fixes for Microsoft Office 2010. However, this would really be a risky move. Having no more support would leave your computer, and even the network it's connected to, vulnerable to certain exploits and hacking attempts.

Macro viruses are one problem in particular. They are malicious codes written in the same language that some Office 2010 programs use. Once you downloaded and attempt opening a file that has an embedded Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macro, you'd be presented with two options. You can either allow or deny the macro from being executed. Though the options are there, there is a chance that you or someone else might accidentally click the "OK" button.

If you're unsure if your system has Office 2010 installed, worry not. The next time you open a document, there's a high chance you'd see the warning below.

"Support for Office 2010 ending Oct 13, 2020. Stay supported by moving to a current version of Office."

Microsoft Office 2010 alternatives

The normal route is to upgrade to Microsoft Office 365. This is the company's subscription-based service that provides consistent security and updates all throughout the year. You could even transition to using Microsoft Office Online. It would require an active internet connection but it's free.

If you want to go a different route, there are alternative open-source office suite programs. Nowadays, most of them offer most of the features that Microsoft Office 2010 has. You don't even have to worry about compatibility issues since most of these freeware office suite programs can open Office 2010 docs. They too can save in .doc or .docx formats. If you're interested in checking out these options, we've got you covered. We've written a piece about some free-to-use versions like LibreOffice. You can find the list here.