Microsoft is getting ready to end support for Windows 7, and will begin to push a series of messages to users of the almost 10-year-old version of the operating system. This means that beginning next month, Microsoft will push its first notification to those users, informing them of the support expiration. The company says the popup should appear only “a handful of times” before support ends, but thankfully the user can check “do not notify me again,” if they want to continue using the older version without support.
Should the user decide to continue to use Windows 7 after its support expiration on January 14th, the operating system will no longer receive security updates and could be subject to numerous vulnerabilities and exploits. However, if security is a high concern to you, the pop ups will also recommend newer PCs for users to buy which come with the latest Windows 10 upgrade.
For business users who might not wish to invest in major technical upgrades, Microsoft will continue to offer support and security upgrades to, but only to those who are willing to pay a premium. Starting January 20, Windows 7 Pro users who choose to stay and want to continue receiving security patches will need to shell out $50 per year per devices, and an additional $25 for Enterprise users. That premium will also double each year up to 2023, potentially making a full system upgrade to Windows 10 a more cost-effective option.
For consumers running any edition of Windows 7, Microsoft has a full webpage with detailed information of what the end of support means, along with help articles on how to transfer data from an older PC to a newer one, along with help on using the much newer Windows 10 system.
Further reading: Enterprise, Microsoft, Windows 10, Windows 7
