Windows 7 End-of-Life Coming Soon

Windows 7 launched in late 2009 with a 10-year commitment from Microsoft to provide product support for the operating system. The end of this support commitment is fast approaching, with an official end-of-life date set at January 14, 2020.  

What End-Of-Life Means

What does it mean if your computer runs on Windows 7 after that date? To start, any machine running Windows 7 will no longer receive the latest security updates from Microsoft. This has the potential to leave those machines vulnerable to security threats moving forward. We’ve seen this be the case for previous operating systems – they get targeted. It also means that Microsoft’s customer service team will no longer provide any technical support for those machines.

Staying Up-To-Date

In most cases, moving to a new device with Windows 10 installed is the recommended course of action from Microsoft. Computers with Windows 7 installed can be upgraded to Windows 10 as well, but it’s important to consider that the hardware in those older machines might not be fully compatible with the upgrade. Some will still be new enough that compatibility won’t be an issue. We will help Safety Net clients make that determination.

Simply put, in order to ensure your organization’s data is secure, it’s advised to start the upgrade process from Windows 7 to Windows 10 as soon as possible. It is best to begin planning now to avoid what could be a huge last minute demand for new machines resulting in manufacturer supply shortages and delivery delays.

We can also recommend safe ways to dispose of e-waste resulting from the replacement of unsupported hardware.