So, we know that Windows 7 will hit the end of life on January 14th 2020 but how will that affect people who are still using the operating system past that date?
Windows 7 was launched in 2009 making it over 10 years old by the time Microsoft ends support and has been a much-loved OS for consumers and businesses alike. Although its age, according to Netmarketshare as of June 2019, 38.06% of users still run Windows 7.
What is ‘end of life’ & why does it matter?
Many products have a life cycle, this is to allow manufacturers to remove support for older versions of their software, as they launch new versions. When January 14th arrives, you will still be able to use the outdated operating system, but Microsoft will stop providing security updates or support for it. The absence of security updates means your device(s) are more vulnerable to cyber threats. With the above figures showing just how many people are still using Windows 7, hackers will see a great opportunity here come January next year. What’s more, Microsoft will not take responsibility for any security breaches that could happen to Windows 7, after the end of life date. With this in mind, you are in danger of breaching GDPR, as you are putting your data at risk.
Since 2015 Windows 7 hasn’t received any new enhancements making it already very much outdated.
Moving to Windows 10
We advise those on Windows 7 to upgrade to Windows 10 which has proved to be a far more substantial Operating System than its predecessor Windows 8 and 8.1 which is clear from the percentage of people using Windows 10 compared to 8 and 8.1.
Aside from the security improvements that Windows 10 brings, there are also several other benefits including greater performance and improved user experience.
How we can help
We can upgrade your Laptop, Desktop or all in one PC to Windows 10 for you and also offer you opportunities to upgrade your machine’s memory and add an SSD to get the maximum speed out of your machine at the same time. To discuss further please give us a call on 01925 924430