Windows 7 End of life

You may have been presented with this message on your Windows 7 operating system machine and it's not something you should ignore.

It's not unknown that Windows 7 is coming to its end of life, it has been coming for a while now and we have seen multiple new operating systems released by Microsoft since Windows 7 was released on July 22nd 2009. We've seen Windows 8 through to Windows 10 which is the newest at this moment in time.

Most Windows 7 users hopefully know but if you didn't, Microsoft will cease support for the operating system in January 2020, but what you might not realise that if you failed to install some critical patches in July you’re likely to not receive extended support.

The patch that arrived in March marks a security up upgrade for Windows 7 and means that Windows updates will only use the SHA-2 hash algorithm to sign and authenticate patches. This is to make sure they come directly from Microsoft and haven't been tampered with. Before, OS updates were dual-signed using both SHA-1 and SHA-2 algorithms. However, due to weaknesses in the SHA-1 algorithm and to ensure industry standards, Microsoft state they will only sign Windows updates using the more secure SHA-2 algorithm exclusively.

The March updates laid the groundwork for this but the actual move to SHA-2 didn’t happen until July. SHA-1 and SHA-2 might not mean too much to the general user but ultimately, if you haven't got SHA-2 support in place, then you won't get any further Windows updates. As you can imagine this means you could be vulnerable to security issues and, especially if you're still running Windows 7 operating system in a business environment, it could cause abundant issues.

This is something you would have to do manually by visiting the Microsoft website and download/install. Luckily for Windows 10 users they don't have to worry about anything as this change will happen automatically without any user action.

Doing this manual update will make sure you keep getting Windows updates until the end of life date. However, it's only something to get you by for the time being.

What happens after the end of life?

When Windows 7 reaches its End of Life phase on January 14 2020, Microsoft will stop releasing updates and patches for the operating system and you won't be able to download them manually. It's also very likely that they won't offer help and support if you encounter any problems.

However, it doesn't mean that Windows 7 will stop working on January 14 2020 - you'll still be able to use Windows 7 for as long as you want. So, the only good news is that you'll be able to wake up and still find your Windows 7 PC booting and working.

But just because you can continue using Windows 7 doesn't mean you should!

Upgrading

While you have the time until the End of Life, the best option would be to start upgrading. We are offering a short time service as to where we will be performing Windows 7 to 10 upgrades. Bring your PC / Laptop in with us to upgrade to Window 10, we keep all the files/folders the same as they are – We do a full back up before the upgrade and it keeps the license and programs installed.

Bring it to our offices we will only charge £50.00 (per device).
If you wish for us to come to your home/office and do this we will charge £60.00 (per device).

Upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10 has a number of benefits. For a start, because both operating systems are made by Microsoft, the upgrade process is relatively easy and you can keep your files on your PC. It means you are covered with latest Windows updates and security updates. You are able to run the latest apps and programs that require Windows 10. Touch screen PCs/Laptops make it easier to navigate round due to the new design look of Windows 10

Here’s the minimum specification for Windows 10: