Still using Windows 7? Now may be the time to upgrade. Beginning January 14th, 2020 Microsoft will no longer offer support or security updates for Windows 7. This means that any issues with Windows 7, including security holes will not be able to be fixed by Microsoft after that date.
While other software company’s antivirus tools may still be available, they won’t be enough to stop larger threats, and although not right away, these will gradually stop supporting Windows 7 as well. To give an idea of the expected timeline for support to end, Microsoft’s support for Windows XP ended in April of 2014. However, Chrome didn’t stop supporting it until April of 2016, and Mozilla Firefox didn’t stop until June 2018.
There is also a chance that new hardware will no longer work on your system since manufacturers will stop creating hardware drivers for out-of-date operating systems. In fact, the latest Intel CPU platforms already do not support Windows 7 or 8.1, although the operating systems technically remain on “extended support.”
It’s no secret when Microsoft ends their support for its software products. They have a well-defined life cycle and recommend upgrading to newer versions to maintain the highest level of security possible. Therefore, to best protect yourself from security breaches, it is recommended that you upgrade as soon as possible. If you have any questions or concerns about upgrading or Windows in general, feel free to give us a call at 703-790-0400, or shoot us an email at info@optfinity.com.
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