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Windows 7 Support - What You Need to Know
Question:
Microsoft has discontinued support for Windows
7 as of January 2020, and my computer runs that operating system. What should I
do?
Answer:
The short answer is that you don't need to do anything for the foreseeable
future. Windows 7 computers will continue to run securely and trouble free,
likely for several years, without Microsoft's updates.
We went through this same scenario with Windows XP, and with Windows 98 before
that. People were able to continue to use computers running those "obsolete"
operating systems with no problems for up to four years after Microsoft
stopped supplying updates for them.
Windows 7 is still a very popular operating system. Many individuals, institutions, and corporations have resisted upgrading to Windows 10 because they prefer Windows 7, and some that did upgrade to the new operating system, had problems or were otherwise unhappy, and reverted back to Windows 7. With Windows 7 still being used almost as widely as Windows 10, and with Windows 10 sales sagging, Microsoft felt they had to do something drastic to force sales of computers equipped with the "new" operating system. The only way they could get away with it, especially in terms of placating corporations that did not want Windows 10, was to promise to continue to provide updates for Windows 7 computers, but only if they were paid enough, So, it isn't that they aren't writing updates for Windows 7, its just that the average computer owner can't afford to pay Microsoft enough to get the updates. How's that for feeding your sense of cynicism about their motives?
Windows 7 is also a very mature and stable operating system, which simply
means it does not need anything in the way of updates anymore. Updates are
most important in the first few years of the life cycle of an operating
system. After that, and after the first services packs, which are a package of
updates bundled together, updates become much less important, except for very
specific relatively unusual circumstances which don't apply to the ways
average computer owners use their computers anyway.
The claim that lacking fresh updates for Windows 7 puts computers at greater security risk does not hold water either. Security has never been the responsibility of the operating system, and has always been in the hands of other internet security providers like Norton, and browsers like Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. In fact, the best way to know for sure that it is time to stop using an operating system is when those browser and internet security software writers stop supporting it. We went through that with Windows 98, which was widely used for several years after Microsoft stopped supporting it, and are now beginning to see it with Windows XP. Although the internet security software companies continue writing versions that will run under XP, third party browser writers no longer provide updates for their software running under that operating system.
It would be a different story if
there was an advantage to Windows 10 in terms of functionality or security,
but there isn't. The big difference between Windows 7 and Windows 10 is the
underlying philosophy behind what they wrote it to do. With Windows 7, the
underlying philosophy is empowerment of the computer owner, but with Windows
10 the underlying philosophy is finding opportunities for continuous revenue
streams for Microsoft and its partners. They do that in part by collecting
tons of data on computer users, what they are doing on the computer and
internet, what they are buying, etc, and sharing that information with other
companies.
So, the take home message is that you don't need to do anything or be
concerned about it for the foreseeable future, except to make sure you are
running decent internet security, and that you use either Firefox or Chrome as
your default browser and that your browser is up to date.
In addition to running the best internet security and web browsers, Windows 7 computer owners will also want to shut off automatic updates and "Action Center" alerts about it.
Here are the steps for doing that:
1. Click Start button (lower left
corner).
2. In the start menu, click Control Panel.
3. Double click Windows Update.
4. Click "Change Settings" (upper left side).
5. At Important Updates, change the setting to "Never check for updates..."
6. Click OK.
7. Click "Control Panel Home" (upper left)
8. Double click "Action Center"
9. Click "Turn off messages about Windows update".
10. Close the window, and you are done.
If you do decide to ever "upgrade" your computer to Windows 10, make sure your
hardware is capable of running that operating system. One of the most common
complaints I hear from people who upgraded from Windows 7 to 10 is that the
computer actually runs slower than it did before, which is obviously an
unwelcome side effect.
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