Microsoft has officially announced the “End of Life” date for Windows 7. It will come on January 14, 2020. Windows 7 was introduced in 2009 and is one of the most popular versions of Windows. Around 40% of Windows OS is 7. So, if you are one of these Windows users, read this blog to understand how this end-of-life announcement impacts you and what you should be doing.
What is End of Life?
End of life means, beyond January 2020, users of Windows 7 will not get any updates, security patches, or any support from Microsoft. Does this mean you need to scrap all your devices that run on the Windows 7 OS? Technically, the answer is no. You can continue to use your existing computer with this Windows OS, but it won’t get the free security patches and updates. This makes your computer and possibly your whole IT network vulnerable to malware and other IT security threats. Plus, as a business, running Windows without the security patches and updates is not an option as it creates liabilities in data theft. Also, you may be inadvertently violating regulations by using an OS that’s officially declared vulnerable to security threats. In short, running this version of Windows without support is not an option for businesses.
So, what should you be doing? First off, make sure you download Microsoft’s most recent Windows update because if you don’t run the most recent update, you will lose Microsoft support six months earlier–in July 2019. You can download the update here.
Apart from this, you can buy extended support for Windows 7 from Microsoft. The comprehensive support will be available until 2023. Wahaya IT can tell you more about this option and the pricing, in particular.
However, you will have to migrate to a newer, supported version of Windows in the long run.
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