Windows 7 No Longer Safe to Use in 2020 - Here's Why

January 2020 marks the end of extended support for Windows 7 from Microsoft. This means Windows 7 users have just one year left to upgrade to either Windows 8 or 10 (or an alternative), before their systems become a major security risk.

Support for Windows 7 comes in a two-stage process. The first is known as mainstream support, which means the system is under warranty and Microsoft offers free technical support over the phone and its online forums. During this time, Microsoft also continues developing new features, and users can get hot fixes which patch any performance or security problems.

During the second phase, known as "extended support," Microsoft only patches security flaws and significant performance glitches - but it also stops offering free technical support for the operating system. (Source: bt.com)

Update 20200116: I'm getting a lot of emails from folks asking for help upgrading their machines to Windows 10. If you need help with this ASAP, send me an email and don't forget to leave your phone number. I will call you back as soon as possible.

Ten Year Schedule In Play

The general pattern is that mainstream support lasts for five years, followed by five years of extended support. The Windows 7 support period will actually work out between three and six months longer than that, depending on how you count its release date (whether it's to manufacturers or retailers).

The big thing to note is that once extended support ends, Microsoft's official policy is to no longer patch security issues. That means if hackers and other cybercriminals find a security flaw in the operating system, they'll effectively have free reign to exploit it.

This is a massive security problem. Here's why -

It's estimated that one third of all Windows PCs are running Windows 7. In some cases that's down to people not bothering to upgrade, while others users either didn't like the significant changes in the user interface of Windows 8 and then Windows 10, or their machines aren't best suited to an upgrade. (Source: statcounter.com)

If a Windows 7 system becomes infected with malware, it could become part of a botnet. In this case, thousands or hundreds of thousands machines can be used to propagate viruses or crash websites (as an example). In other severe cases, an unpatched Windows 7 machine could be infected with ransomware, then spread the ransomware through a network an infect other machines.

Microsoft Could Come Under Pressure

This all means that Microsoft faces a tough choice. If there's a large proportion of people running Windows 7 without security support, that translates to a large number of unpatched PCs that could be controlled by malware. In turn, Microsoft could get the blame, whether or not patching the unsupported systems seems "unfair".

It's reminiscent of a similar situation with Windows XP where users were reluctant to upgrade for various reasons including its successor Vista being unpopular and a global financial downturn putting people off "unnecessary" spending. The truth of the matter is that Windows XP is quite possibly the most dangerous operating system on the planet and is easily infected by malware, making it incredibly dangerous to operate.

Microsoft was so concerned about unprotected Windows XP computers that it delayed the ending of extended support until two years after the expected deadline. That created something of a chicken-and-egg situation where it didn't want to cut security patches while so many people were running XP, but people running XP felt less pressure to upgrade while it was still supported.

What's Your Opinion?

Do you still run Windows 7? If so, would losing security patches persuade you to make the upgrade? Do you expect Microsoft to delay the deadline if a lot of people are still using the system?