It"s the end of an era. Today"s date, January 14, has been on the books for years now, and it"s the day that support ends for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008. More specifically, extended support is ending for Windows 7 Service Pack 1, and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 and 2.
What you need to know is that if you"re running any of these operating systems, your PC is now considered to be unsecure. Of course, the last Patch Tuesday security updates are also rolling out today, so you do have some time (we"re talking no more than weeks) before you really have to worry. Obviously, it"s recommended that you move to Windows 10 or a modern version of Windows Server.
There are, of course, workarounds. Microsoft is offering Extended Security Updates (ESUs) for those willing to pay up, and it"s only available for Windows 7 Professional and Enterprise. The price is going to be per-machine, and it will double every year. In other words, if you"ve got a business with multiple Windows 7 PCs, it"s going to be costly to keep them on the legacy OS. ESUs will be available for three years. You can get ESUs through volume licensing or through Microsoft 365.
Google also announced last week that its Chrome browser will be supported for at least another 18 months. Microsoft"s new Chromium-based Edge browser is supported too, especially since it doesn"t even come out until tomorrow.
After today, users will begin seeing full-screen notifications, letting users know that they"re running an unsupported OS. The warning will actually suggest buying a new PC, rather than just upgrading your existing one. After all, Windows 7 hardware is about a decade old, and the PC hardware market has come a long way since then.