Windows 7 Extended Support will be gone soon

by Stephen Richards IT Security Consultant

Windows 7 extended support ends on 14th January 2020.

“An unsupported version of Windows will no longer receive software updates from Windows Update. These updates include security updates that can help protect your PC from harmful viruses, spyware, and other malicious software which can steal your personal information. Windows Update also installs the latest software updates to improve the reliability of Windows—such as new drivers for your hardware”. – Microsoft.

When Windows XP support ended in 2014 there were plenty of warnings about the risks, and true to form it wasn’t long before a serious exploit of the final version hit thousands of users who hadn’t migrated to a new version of Windows.

Windows 7 extended support ends on January 14, 2020 so if you are still using Windows 7 then you should seriously look at your options sooner rather than later (like today).

Upgrading

Because there is no direct upgrade path to Windows 10 you will need the help of an IT Support expert if you want to move all of your data and applications without losing data.

Typically this will involve:

Identifying licence numbers of software that has been installed (this require the original packaging).
Backing up all of the user(s) profile and any data stored outside the profile as a minimum, a full disk backup is highly recommended.
Disk wipe.
Perform the nstallation of Windows 10, followed by updates.
Installation of Anti-Virus
Then install your software
Restoration of data backed up previously

If you really can’t move away from Windows 7 then you should look at the recommendations of the NCSCs Obsolete platforms security guidance.