End of Windows 7 support, what it means and what to do

More than a decade after its release, the end of Windows 7 support has come and it officially ends on January 14, 2020 .
Windows 7, which arrived on October 22, 2009, eight years after Windows XP and after Windows Vista, was a really important operating system for the history of computers. While Windows XP is still fondly remembered by its users, Windows 7 has improved so many things compared to its predecessor, that it has become a standard for the whole world, a planetary success that has made computers more beautiful to look at and easier to use. Just think of the semi-transparent graphics, ease of configuration of file and printer sharing and improved security, all weak points of XP (just think that in XP every user was a computer administrator and a malware could easily take control of the computer without that it was possible to notice).
Many of the best features of Windows 7 were not really new because they had already been introduced with Vista, a system that has been ignored by most users (perhaps because it arrived too early and with some initial stability problems), a bit like it is occurred with Windows 8 and Windows 10.
And it is right after the release of Windows 8 (three years later) that Windows 7 was really appreciated. Microsoft made a big mistake in removing the Start menu and has push for applications that opened in full screen and not in windows. Windows 7 users (including me) therefore refused to update to Windows 8 and many of the craziest changes, such as the lack of a Start menu and the attempt to put the classic desktop in the background, were quickly restored to Windows 8.1, while other changes, such as the ability to run applications on the desktop, have materialized in Windows 10.
The end of Windows 7, even more than when in 2014 there was the end of support for XP, will therefore be difficult to digest, both for companies and offices, which will have to renew licenses and train employees to use the new system operational, both for the many loyal users who still have no intention of moving to Windows 10. Just think that today, on the eve of the end of support, even more than 25% of computers are used with Windows 7.

What does end of support mean>> best free antivirus).
Another program that cannot be used is Internet Explorer, which will no longer be updated in Windows 7. Fortunately, Google has announced that Chrome will be supported and updated on Windows 7 at least until July 2021 and will be able to defend the computer against any attacks from sites with viruses.
Another program that will be terminated by Microsoft is the Office 2010 version, which will have to be replaced to avoid security risks.
As for the end of support notification that appears to alert the user to update the PC, even if there is an option on the box itself to hide it, it can be removed entirely with a trick, by changing the register HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ EOSNotify, changing the value DiscontinueEOS with 1.

Windows life cycle

To get a clear view of the life cycle of Microsoft systems, you can go to this page and do a search. You will notice that the support for the Windows 7 Embedded version is longer.
For the main systems, remember, that the duration of support and the life cycle for Windows 10 and Windows 8.1 is:
- January 10, 2023 for Windows 8.1 (Windows 8 is no longer supported).
- 18 months from the release date of the version of Windows 10 (in practice if you do not update Windows 10 for 18 months, the version installed on the PC no longer has support and will be considered at risk).

Companies can continue to use Windows 7

In order to meet the difficulties of companies in replacing Windows 7 on many computers, the possibility is given to extend support to Windows 7 for a maximum of 3 years. Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Enterprise users have the option to purchase extended security updates ( Extended Security Updates or EoS program ) until January 2023 at a cost of $ 350. On this page of the Microsoft site, the guide to extended security updates.

What to do after Windows 7 support ends

Windows 7 is a simple operating system and, therefore, still appreciated today. Compared to Windows 10, Windows 7 has always remained the same, without advertising, without the obligation to use a Microsoft account and, above all, without that feeling of control on the part of Microsoft that you have when using Windows 10. It is not surprising that so many people refuse to switch from Windows 7 to Windows 10, even though Windows 7 has come to the official end of support.
As mentioned above, you can still use Windows 7 for some time, maybe even for a year, but accepting the risk of security problems.
Personally I recommend those who still use Windows 7 to take advantage of this moment when it is still possible, in an unofficial but not illegal way, to update your PC to Windows 10 for free, which you can do even if Microsoft doesn't say so. The license of Windows 7 is in fact converted into that for Windows 10 without having to pay and completely automatically and this works even if the copy of Windows 7 used is pirated and not regular .
We have seen in another article the guide to install Windows 10 over Windows 7 without losing personal data, in a fairly smooth and easy way, without the need to change computers, even if this must meet the minimum requirements for Windows 10.
In another article we also described some programs like PCMover to migrate from Windows 7 to Windows 10, in an easy way, bringing programs and files from the old PC to the new one.
Nothing always remains the same in technology, therefore, sooner or later, change is inevitable. Windows 10 is a much more advanced and powerful operating system and those who have snubbed it up to now should rethink and find out how much its numerous features make it superior to Windows 7 (for example the connection with the phone, Windows Sandbox, the integrated antivirus, the possibilities of automatic recovery and much more).
READ ALSO: Continue to use Windows 7 in 2020 safely
For any other doubts about the end of Windows 7 support, I refer to the Microsoft guide dedicated to the matter.