Beginning January 10, Windows 7 Professional and Enterprise editions will no longer receive extended security updates for critical and significant vulnerabilities as per reports.
Although there is still demand for Windows 7 updates, Microsoft no longer provides them, which means that users might have to upgrade their operating systems soon.
Microsoft Recommends Replacing Windows 7 With The More Recent Windows 11 Support
The tech company launched the legacy operating system Windows 7 in October 2009, which has become the base OS support computers run on in recent years.
After that, it reached its initial end of support in January 2015 and its extended end of support in January 2020, Bleeping Computer notes.
Customers who needed to continue using legacy Microsoft products on Windows 7 computers after their support ended had to turn to the Extended Security Update (ESU) program.
This is due to the fact that the majority of Windows 7 devices will not be able to support Windows 11's hardware requirements.
Instead, compatible Windows 7 computers can update to Windows 10 by getting and installing the complete version of the program, according to Microsoft.
However, the company warns users to keep in mind that Windows 10 will reach its end of support date in October 2025 before spending money on an upgrade.
It is also important to note that it will not be a good idea for users to upgrade their systems to Windows 8.1 since on the same day, every version of Windows 8.1 will also reach end-of-support.
WIth that, Microsoft advises users to switch to Windows 11-compatible devices if their current ones do not support the operating system in order to take advantage of the newest hardware features.
Currently, Windows 7 is used on more than 11% of all Windows computers globally, whereas only 2.59% of Microsoft's customers run Windows 8.1.
Read More: Microsoft Ends Service for Multiple Windows 10 21H1 Editions Today
Some Web Browsers Are Also Discontinuing Support For Windows 7, WIndows 8.1 Soon
Microsoft Edge 109, the web browser's final version to support Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, will also be released by Redmond following the company's announcement of its last ESU for the aforementioned operating systems.
Additionally, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Server 2012 R2 will no longer be supported by this version of Microsoft Edge.
Google made a similar warning in October, stating that version 110 of its Chrome web browser would probably stop supporting Windows 7 and 8.1 as of February 2023.
Despite this, legacy operating systems will continue to be supported by Microsoft Edge 109 and Google Chrome 110.
However, they won't any longer get bug patches and security upgrades, putting their users at risk, Bleeping Computer reports.
It can be remembered that before Windows 7 stops receiving security patches, other companies have already stopped supporting it.
For example, NVIDIA has stopped supporting Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 operating systems since last year, a step which began in October 2021.
With such developments, Microsoft has extended its help to users in finding a new PC that will fit their needs and budget, yet still support the latest versions of its operating systems through this link.
Related Article: Microsoft Edge's Latest Update Disables Internet Explorer in Feb. 2023
