What to do as Windows 7 Extended Security Updates expire this week?
January 09, 2023 By Monica Green
(Image Credit Google)
Microsoft's Windows 7 Extended Security Updates are expected to be discontinued this week, or more precisely on January 10.
Therefore, Windows 7 Professional and Enterprise customers will no longer have access to upcoming security patches in a few days, potentially leaving them vulnerable.
The last extended security update for Windows 7 will be released in January.
According to a report, Windows 7 actually made its debut more than ten years ago when Microsoft released it.
Due to this, the Remond-based company stopped providing maintenance for it a few years ago, possibly in January 2015.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1280"]
Image credit- Help Net Security[/caption]
However, because to the extended security updates, millions of users continue to utilise the outdated operating system. The well-known tech juggernaut began the postponed end of support in January 2020.
According to the reports, millions of customers continue to run Windows XP, which was released more than ten years ago. In fact, according to Statcounter GlobalStats, 11% of PCs worldwide still run Windows 7.
And as of right now, this Tuesday marks the final day of the extended security updates support. Around 2.59% of users are still using Windows 8.1 right now. It is important to note that Windows 8 users were also impacted by the termination of extended security. Additionally, it concludes on Tuesday or January 10.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="810"]
Image credit- PCMag[/caption]
What to Do: Upgrade to Windows 10 or Windows 11
Users must uninstall these operating systems since Microsoft is ceasing support for its older platforms.
A Windows 10 upgrade is one of the options, which most likely supports even older PCs. Microsoft claims that it simply requires a CPU running at 1 GHz or faster, as well as 1 GB or 2 GB of RAM, depending on whether the system is 32- or 64-bit. Finally, 32 GB of internal storage would be adequate.
Also Read: Is Google to Become the NFL Sunday Ticket's New Home?
Microsoft warns that beginning of October 14, 2025, support will no longer be provided.
With that said, you might want to think about buying a new PC if your current one's specifications are no longer compatible with Windows 11. A Windows 10 update is merely a stopgap measure, after all.
The computer should have a minimum of a 1 GHz processor with two cores and 4 GB of RAM. Internal memory must be 64 GB or more. A graphics card that supports DirectX 12 or later and is compatible with Windows 11 is also required.