Windows 7 is Approaching End-of-Life

If you’re reading this on a computer that’s currently running Windows 7, I have some bad news: the End-of-Life date for this version is approaching. What does this mean for your business and the workstations that support it? Read on to find out.

End-of-Life?
Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean that your computers are suddenly going to stop working on January 14, 2020. What it does mean is that Microsoft is going to end their extended support of the Windows 7 operating system.

The mainstream support for Windows 7 ended on January 15, 2015. This means that (assuming that Service Pack 1 was installed) the operating system will not receive any updates that add new features, but security updates are still being implemented. Once extended support ends, however, these security updates will no longer be released.

What This Means
There is effectively an arms race being waged over your computer’s security. Hackers and other malicious entities are constantly coming up with new ways to undermine your system’s defenses, while software developers are constantly coming up with better defenses and patches to thwart these new threats. When Microsoft ends support for a particular operating system, they are effectively conceding the battle to cybercriminals, so they can focus their energies on protecting newer, more up-to-date systems.

As a result, once the end of support date passes, any computer running Windows 7 will be vulnerable to attack. It will still work, but with the constant and very real risk of intrusion.

What You Should Do
Frankly, install Windows 10 as soon as possible. To do so, your computer needs to meet the following requirements:

Processor: 1GHz processor or faster
Memory: 1GB RAM for 32-bit; 2GB for 64-bit
Hard disk space: Up to 20GB available
Required video card: 800 x 600 screen resolution or higher. DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM driver

If your computer can’t support these requirements, it is probably time to upgrade that as well.

For assistance with managing your technology and keeping it up-to-date, try BNMC. Our managed services will ensure that your equipment is optimized and operational as much as it can be. For more information, call us at (978) 482-2020.