Ever since the release of Windows 10, Microsoft has really pushed to get it installed on as many desktop and laptop computers as possible, even offering a free upgrade for the first time ever (when initially released) to existing Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 customers. But if you’re like one of the many people out there still using Windows 7 and very happy with it, why should you upgrade?
Microsoft Windows 7 was released on July 22nd, 2009 and was the followup to the very unpopular Windows Vista. The Windows 7 Operating System is often compared to Windows XP in the way that it’s simple, stable, and generally liked by most consumers and businesses. It offered compatibility for older applications using “XP Mode”, a virtual machine that runs on top of the OS to support older applications that can’t run on Windows 7 natively, is fairly lean and for the most part just “worked”. For these reasons, it was the “go to” OS for new computers, especially in businesses.
Security Concerns
After 10 years of support, Microsoft announced that it will no longer offer any support for Windows 7 as of January 14th, 2020. You may be thinking, “I never called Microsoft for support anyway, so what’s the big deal?”, but support doesn’t just mean getting help, but rather that they will no longer offer security updates through Windows Update.
The main issue with this is that even with security software such as firewalls, anti-virus and malware scanning packages installed, there will still be exploits available allowing hackers to gain access to your computer and data. Normally when an exploit is discovered, either by Microsoft or reported by a third party, a security patch is put into place to fix the issue and keep your computer safe, but without these patches, and as more and more exploits are discovered, you put yourself at risk of being hacked.
Hardware Upgrades
So we’ve identified that you’re at risk without security updates, but this isn’t the only reason to update to Windows 10.
If you were considering a new computer, you may have no choice but to update to Windows 10. Of course, new computers will ship with Windows 10 pre-installed, but you could always install Windows 7 yourself, right? Not necessarily.
Intel’s 6th generation processors known as “Skylake” originally did not support Windows 7, however, some OEM’s were able to get past this and ship newer desktops and laptops with Windows 7. With Intel’s 7th generation architecture “Kaby Lake”, this was removed. This isn’t only an Intel specific issue, as AMD’s new Ryzen lineup also does not support Windows 7.
The Risk for Businesses
Businesses are typically the worst when it comes to upgrading to a new Windows OS because they need more time to verify that their applications will work on the new Operating System. For this reason, rollouts of Windows 10 is generally slow and only happens when new computers are purchased.
Not only is support for Windows 7 ending, but Windows Server 2008 (Built on the Vista Core) and Windows Server 2008 R2 (Built on the Windows 7 Core) will also lose support as of January 14th, 2020. The same idea applies, but is a bit more difficult to upgrade compared to a desktop. This is means that IT staff will need to migrate applications and infrastructure services to a newer version of Windows Server to keep critical company data secure.
If a business is required to comply with various security compliance regulations such as PCI, ITAR, etc, having these systems in place can put them at risk of losing their compliance status and even fines.
Lastly, the scale at which some businesses deploy Windows 7 based machines makes it more difficult and costly to update. For example, many kiosk machines were running Windows XP embedded before support was dropped, then they were upgraded to Windows 7 embedded. These machines are widespread geographically, which can make it very difficult to update.
Okay, I get it. So What Do I Do?
First step is to get familiar with Windows 10. There are plenty of written and video tutorials available on the web for you to skim through and make yourself comfortable with Windows 10. To me, it’s not a huge learning curve to get started with the basics. A tip that I always give is if you can’t find something, click the Start Button and type what you’re looking for, and most of the time it will pop up.
You can try and upgrade your existing computer using Microsoft’s Media Creation Tool which allows you to create a USB flash drive for installation, or you can update your PC directly. Even though the free upgrade offer ended, I have found that Windows 7 is still updated and activated as Windows 10 without issue.
If you do need to purchase Windows 10, you can purchase it from any major retailer.
If you need a USB copy of the software:
Windows 10 Home on Amazon – $109.99
Windows 10 Pro on Amazon – $147.99
If you want to download the software and use your own USB flash drive for installation:
Windows 10 Home on Amazon – $106.05
Windows 10 Pro on Amazon – $189.00
Of course, your last option is to buy a newer computer. Chances are if you’re still using Windows 7, you may be due for an upgrade anyhow.
