Google Chrome will stop working properly on millions of Windows PCs next week

Business owners and employees still using Google’s Chrome browser on an older version of Windows will need to upgrade pronto.

That’s because Google is set to stop technical and security support for the browser running on Windows 7 next week.

Google initially had plans to halt support on July 15, 2021, but due to Covid-19, it pushed the deadline back first to January 15, 2022 and then to January 10, 2023.

‘Chrome 109 is the last version of Chrome that will support Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1. Chrome 110 (tentatively scheduled for release on February 7th, 2023) is the first version of Chrome that requires Windows 10 or later,’ explains Google’s Chrome Support Manager.

‘You’ll need to ensure your device is running Windows 10 or later to continue receiving future Chrome releases.’

Windows 7 may be old, but it’s still used by millions of PCs around the world. According to statistics from NetMarketShare.com, 14 per cent of global Windows devices were still running Windows 7 in December 2021.

Google added: ‘Older versions of Chrome will continue to work, but there will be no further updates released for users on these operating systems. If you are currently on Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1, we encourage you to move to a supported Windows version to ensure you continue to receive the latest security updates and Chrome features.’

Many small businesses may have avoided the transition to Windows 10 while larger organisations may not be willing to pay the cost of an upgrade.

Microsoft itself stopped support for Windows 7 in January 2020.

The company said at the time: ‘If your PC is running Windows 7, it will no longer receive security updates. Therefore, it’s important that you upgrade to a modern operating system such as Windows 10, which can provide the latest security updates to help keep you and your data safer,’ the company said on its support website.

‘If you continue to use Windows 7 after support has ended, your PC will still work, but it will become more vulnerable to security risks and viruses.

‘Your PC will continue to start and run, but you will no longer receive software updates, including security updates, from Microsoft.’

Now it appears that Chrome will suffer a similar fate.

In November of 2020, Max Christoff, the engineering director at Google Chrome explained: ‘Migrating to Windows 10 was a part of many organizations’ roadmap for the year. But as new priorities for IT teams emerged, we’ve heard that 21% of organizations are still in the process of migrating to Windows 10.

‘While the past few months served as a catalyst for technology investments and digital transformation initiatives for many organizations, for others, some planned IT projects may have had to take a back seat.’

Source