Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2008
R2 have reached their end of life, as Microsoft has stopped delivering all
updates for the aging operating systems.
Microsoft has been warning users about the impending end
of life for Windows 7 and Windows 2008 for a long time, and the January 14,
2020 date was written in stone. Starting today, Windows 7 users no longer
receive security updates for the OS, no matter how important they might be.
Companies can continue to receive patches for their
Windows 7 products, for a price, with the help of the Extended Security Updates
(ESU) program, under an annual subscription. This program won’t be available
for regular users.
There’s a time limit on Extended Security Updates (ESU)
as well, and the support through this channel is scheduled to end January 2023.
Microsoft will continue to support the Edge browser for the same length of
time.
What doesn’t this mean, in practical terms? Users won’t
notice anything out of the ordinary, as the operating system will continue to
boot. The problem is that, as time goes on, Windows 7 will become more and more
vulnerable.
The only course of action that regular users can employ,
if they want to continue using Windows 7, is to install a security solution
that still offers support for the operating system.
Despite the marketing push from Microsoft to get people
to upgrade to Windows 10, the true and tried Windows 7 continues to occupy
around 30% of the entire market.