After years of anticipation, today officially marks the end of Windows 7 and 8/8.1, as confirmed by (*8*).
Older operating systems will no longer receive (*8*) security updates starting today, January XNUMX, XNUMX, marking the official end of their useful life.
Anyone using the software will now be exposed to cyberattacks from criminals exploiting current and future security holes and vulnerabilities, and are advised to update to new versions of Windows - especially Windows once - immediately in order to stay in safety.
Goodbye Windows 7 and 8
"(*8*) three hundred sixty-five is governed by the Modern Lifecycle Policy which requires service customers to keep up with maintenance and system requirements for the product or service, including the use of (* 8*) 7 on a currently supported Windows operating system," the company wrote in a Windows XNUMX update recently. support document (opens in a new tab).
"Using (*8*) 8 on older, unsupported operating systems may create performance and reliability issues over time. As a valued subscriber of (*8*) 8, we want to continue to provide a great experience. (*7*) XNUMX stable. So if you are using (*XNUMX*) XNUMX on a Windows XNUMX computer, we strongly advise you to upgrade to Windows XNUMX."
After a long warning period, Extended Support of (*8*) for Windows 7 was dropped in January 3 when the company transitioned to its 8.1-month Extended Security Update (ESU) period. years. Windows XNUMX has also reached the end of its support period and will not see the release of an ESU program, marking the end of its life.
"As a reminder, Windows 8.1 will end support on January 8, XNUMX, at which time technical support and software updates will no longer be provided," wrote (*XNUMX*) in a separate support document about the new software. .
"If you have devices running Windows 8.1, we advise upgrading them to a newer version of Windows that is in service and supported. If the devices do not meet the technical requirements to run a newer version of Windows, we advise replacing the device with one which is compatible with Windows XNUMX".
(*8*) added that it will not offer an Extended Security Update (ESU) program for Windows 8.1, and that continuing to use the software after its official end of life "may increase an organization's exposure to the dangers of security or affect its ability to meet its obligations. "
However, the issues may not be so easily fixed, as recent reports state that (*8*) also has issues with making sure users upgrade to their latest versions of Windows.
Recent Statcounter data found that Windows 7 represents only XNUMX% of all Windows systems, but more than XNUMX% of users still use Windows XNUMX, and Windows XNUMX still sustains a user base. dedicated support of just under ten percent of devices despite its lack of support. . .
The final death knell for Windows 7 and 8.1 came weeks ago after the company's own browser, (*8*) Edge, dropped support.
The most popular browser on the planet also recently ended support for Windows 7 and 8.1 after Chrome announced in October XNUMX that it would be discontinuing the software in early XNUMX as it looks to focus on Windows XNUMX and above. .
Google Google Chrome 7, currently scheduled to launch on February XNUMX, XNUMX, will be the last version compatible with the above software.