Windows 10 Enterprise Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC)

Windows 10. Windows as a Service (WaaS)

Windows 10 & 11 are very different from previous versions of Windows. Windows 10 & 11 will make regular incremental improvements to the operating system. Some of these changes might not be desirable in a mission-critical system. Because of this, the Windows 10 or 11 Enterprise Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) Edition is worth consideration.

Long-term Servicing Channel

“Specialized systems—such as devices that control medical equipment, point-of-sale systems, and ATMs—often require a longer servicing option because of their purpose. These devices typically perform a single important task and don't need feature updates as frequently as other devices in the organization. It's more important that these devices be kept as stable and secure as possible than up to date with user interface changes. The LTSC servicing model prevents Enterprise LTSC devices from receiving the usual feature updates and provides only quality updates to ensure that device security stays up to date. With this in mind, quality updates are still immediately available to Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC clients, but customers can choose to defer them by using one of the servicing tools mentioned in the section Servicing tools.” quoted from the following article:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/deployment/update/waas-overview

As the Microsoft TechNet article explains, Microsoft recommends the Windows 10 or 11 Enterprise LTSC Edition for a mission-critical system using Windows 10 or Windows 11 in Retail, Manufacturing, and Pharmaceutical. We designed Secure Desktop for these same industries.

Win32 Windows application and the Universal Windows Program (UWP) app

We designed Secure Desktop for Win32 programs (e.g., COM, Win32, WPF, WinForms, etc.).

A Universal Windows Program (UWP) app is a new kind of app designed for Windows 10 and Windows 11. A Progressive Web App (PWA) is a website that can appear to the user like a traditional application.

The Windows Explorer shell and the Secure Desktop shell both provide the ability to run Win32 programs.

In Windows 10 and Windows 11, UWP and PWA apps need the Windows Explorer shell. The Windows Explorer shell has to be running to launch and run a UWP or PWA app. This design is an unfortunate architectural choice.

Secure Desktop provides security by replacing the Windows Explorer shell. When setting the Secure Desktop program to be the Windows shell, the Explorer shell is not running. Because the Explorer shell is not running, Secure Desktop can not run UWP or PWA apps in any Edition of Windows 10 or Windows 11.

Browsers

Secure Desktop has always been able to launch Win32 browsers such as Internet Explorer, Chrome, Brave, Firefox, and Opera. Other Win32 browsers will run “as is,” or you could control slightly using the Windows Wizard.

Secure Desktop can not launch UWP browsers like the original Microsoft Edge browser. The newer Microsoft Edge browser is a Win32 app and, therefore, is compatible with Secure Desktop. We do not recommend using Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer 11 has been retired and has gone out of support on June 15th, 2022.

If you are currently using Internet Explorer, please read the following Microsoft document about Internet Explorer and the Microsoft Edge Browser:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/edge-learnmore-neededge

If you are using the new Microsoft Edge browser, please read the following Microsoft document about the new Microsoft Edge browser policies:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/microsoft-edge-policies

Our Windows 10 & 11 Recommendation

Although Secure Desktop is compatible with many editions of Windows 10 and Windows 11, we strongly recommend consideration of the Windows 10 or 11 Enterprise LTSC Edition before making a final decision. Regardless of the Edition of Windows 10 or 11 you choose, Secure Desktop can not run UWP or PWA apps. Our research shows that Windows 10 or 11 Enterprise LTSC Edition may be the most secure and stable in a mission-critical system.

Microsoft TechNet Evaluation Center for Windows 10

Microsoft TechNet Evaluation Center for Windows 11

Other Windows 10 and Windows 11 Versions

Secure Desktop is incompatible with Windows 10S, Windows 10 in S Mode, Windows 11S, or Windows 11 in S Mode. Secure Desktop 11 or 12 will work on Windows 10 on ARM in emulation mode, but Secure Desktop 10 will not. Secure Desktop 11 or 12 has not been specifically tested on Windows 11 on ARM at this time. Still, it should be fully compatible with emulation mode.

Announcing the availability of Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise on Surface Hub 2

The Microsoft Surface Hub 2S has always shipped with Windows 10 Team, which runs Microsoft Store apps only. You may now install Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise on the Surface Hub 2. Please read more from Microsoft here: techcommunity.microsoft.com

Secure Desktop 10, Secure Desktop 11, Secure Desktop 12, Secure Utilities 11, and Secure Utilities 12 should all work in the environment of Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise on Surface Hub 2. Secure Desktop 11 or 12 and Secure Utilities 11 or 12 should work in Windows 11 Pro and Enterprise environment on Surface Hub 2. We have not tested these environments, but Secure Desktop should be fully compatible.

Windows 11

Secure Desktop 10 is not specifically designed or tested in Windows Server 2022 or Windows 11.

Secure Desktop 11 or 12 is specifically designed and tested for Windows Server 2022 and Windows 11.