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How to Survive with Windows 7
Microsoft is threatening to discontinue support for Windows 7 as of the middle of January 2020. What this will mean for computers running that most popular of operating systems remains to be seen. With history as a guide, we can pretty much assume it will make very little difference to Windows 7 computers for the foreseeable future, and can confidently ignore their “scare-em and sell-em” tactics. For more information about the Windows 7 support question, please reference my article on the subject here: Windows 7 Support.
We also know from history, however, that we can expect Microsoft to play games as that deadline nears, pushing out updates that could cause problems with Windows 7 computers, in an effort to compel PC owners to upgrade to Windows 10 or buy new computers. For those wishing to continue to use Windows 7 past the support deadline, which reflects a significant number of PC owners, there are a handful of precautionary steps everyone can take to prevent problems and keep using Windows 7 safely for years.
1. Download and install the operating system updates manually on or before January 14th, but only the important or critical ones. Recommended and optional updates should remain disabled. To do this, click Start > Control Panel > Windows Update > Change Settings, and make sure there are no check marks in front of any of the other choices listed below “Important updates”, and click OK. Then click “Check for updates” and let it download and install any that it finds. If any updates fail, don’t worry about it.
2. Shut off automatic updates. This sounds more drastic than it is. Windows 7 is a mature operating system, which means updates are much less important now than when it was much earlier in its life cycle. To do this, click Start > Control Panel > Windows Update > Change Settings; click the little downward pointing arrow in the “Important updates” field and change the option to “Never check for updates…”, and then click OK. Next, you’ll want to turn off notifications about automatic updates by clicking Start > Control Panel > Action Center and then click “Turn off messages about Windows Update” so that the Action Center doesn’t bug you about it.
3. If you haven’t done so already, ditch Microsoft Security Essentials and Windows Defender, and install a good third-party internet security program. Microsoft’s security utilities were completely useless, and will likely turn against computer users if support for Windows 7 is discontinued. They can be either uninstalled or disabled from the control panel. Internet security is something of a moving target so what is recommendable can change over time. Current web reviews can help computer owners find good internet security software, but read more than one. IT support people won’t all agree on what’s best at any point in time.
4. Likewise, install something other than Internet Explorer as your default web browser. Internet Explorer is terribly clunky and a big security hole. Download and install Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome instead. Between the two, Firefox presents less of a privacy compromise than Chrome, as Mozilla doesn’t collect and share data to the same extent that Google does.
5. Consider replacing Microsoft Office with good free downloadable productivity suites, like LibreOffice. Microsoft Office, especially newer versions, will likely stop working correctly or at all under Windows 7, and LibreOffice seems to have evolved into a great productivity package that is fully Microsoft Office compatible, meaning it will open Word and Excel files, etc. For an email management program to replace Outlook, try Mozilla Thunderbird, which works better than Outlook once correctly installed and configured.
For a first impressions review of Windows 10, please reference this article: Windows 10
As always, if you would like additional information or assistance with these or any other computer related topics, feel free to contact us.
Phone: (608) 235-4738
Email: info@housecallcomputer.com