Mainstream Support For Windows 7 Is Over, OS Enters Extended Support

[steven36]

For those who still use Windows 7, today is the day that Microsoft begins its five-year goodbye. Last July, Microsoft reminded users that the end of mainstream support for Windows 7 is coming, and it's finally here. Support for Windows 7 ends today, with extended support ending on January 4, 2020.

The huge lineup of Windows 7 versions in the cut-off include Enterprise, Enterprise N, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Professional N, Starter, Starter N, Ultimate and Ultimate N. Windows 7 users won't get the full suite of updates, but the company isn't leaving them completely empty-handed. Security updates are still available for users, as well as paid support.

Windows 7 joins its predecessor, Windows Vista, in the realm of Extended Support, but unlike Windows 7, Vista has a little over two years until Microsoft completely stops supporting the operating system on April 11, 2017.

Windows 7 diehards now have three options: stick with Windows 7, upgrade to Windows 8.1, or wait until Windows 10 arrives. Last month, Windows 8.1 became the second most-used operating system on the Internet with 10.95 percent of the market, according to StatCounter. However, the support for Windows 7 remained strong as it held 50.34 percent of the overall market, so it's unclear how the end of mainstream support will affect Windows 7 fans.

Those who decide to switch to Windows 8.1 will have full support from Microsoft until January 9, 2018, and extended support until January 10, 2023. If anything, the continued dominance of Windows 7 even five years after its initial release shows that users really love the operating system. (Or dislike Windows 8/8.1, perhaps.) During its pre-order window, The Guardian reported that it was the biggest grossing pre-order item on Amazon.

At the moment, Microsoft is focused on developing Windows 10, which as we saw in October includes a whole set of new features that seems to combine the best parts of Windows 7 and Windows 8 to make an entirely new operating system. Additionally, the company is also working on a new browser codenamed "Spartan," which will ship alongside Internet Explorer 11 when the final version of Windows 10 is finished, which is expected to release sometime in Q2 or Q3 2015. More news about Windows 10 and perhaps the Spartan browser is expected to come next week, when more consumer-focused features will be discussed.

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[shamu726]

Hmmm, then nothing much has changed for most users. I only install security updates through WU and since those will be pushed through till 2020, ending mainstream really doesn't mean anything.

[MidnightDistortions]

Doesn't really matter i don't trust Windows updates anyway.

[banned]

Doesn't really matter i don't trust Windows updates anyway.

Windows 7 updates have caused more trouble for me than any XP computer I've patched using the Embedded reg hack. It's also annoys me that it takes much longer (and sometimes even multiple-reboots) to update Windows ever since Vista..

[steven36]

The end of mainstream support for Windows 7. Learn from past mistakes

Hopefully, by now, you have just about managed to eradicate all the Windows XP computers on your corporate network.

After all, creaky old Windows XP hasn’t received any security updates from Microsoft since April 2014 and if you’re still using it you’re a sitting duck for internet attacks.

Your next mission, should you choose to accept it, is to start thinking about your plans to move away from Windows 7.

I know, I know… it’s a pain isn’t it? You feel like your job as an IT helpdesk guy never ends with a constant stream of urgent jobs, emergency patches and telling your users to turn their printers “off-and-on again” to see if that fixes the problem.

But, as you can see with your own eyes on Microsoft’s website, Windows 7 Service Pack 1 has finally exited “mainstream support”.

It shouldn’t really come as a surprise to anyone – consumer PCs with Windows 7 have not been shipped since October 2014, and Microsoft stopped selling standalone versions of the operating system a year earlier.

But, just as we found with the long and lingering death of Windows XP, there are bound to be companies and consumers who are unaware that Windows 7’s days are numbered.

But don’t make the mistake of thinking that the death of Windows 7 is imminent. Although the availability of Windows 7 mainstream support has come to an end, that means that the operating system has transitioned to “extended support”.

The difference between “mainstream support” and “extended support” has confused some, so it’s worth repeating how Microsoft itself describes them:

So, currently, support for Windows 7 is due to expire in five years time, on January 14, 2020.

Mainstream support — Microsoft will offer mainstream support for a minimum of 5 years from the date of a product’s general availability, or for 2 years after the successor product is released, whichever is longer. For example, if you buy a new version of Windows and five years later another version is released, you will still have two years of support left for the previous version.

Extended support — Microsoft will offer extended support for either a minimum of 5 years from the date of a product’s general availability, or for 2 years after the second successor product (two versions later) is released, whichever is longer.

In other words, Windows 7 is going to be receiving any new features from Microsoft, and you won’t be able to call the firm up for free technical support, but you will continue to receive critical security patches for the next five years.

Are you breathing a sigh of relief? I hope not too deeply.

Because even though five years may seem like a long way away, if you’ve only just finished getting rid of the Windows XP computers in your company then you know just how long it can take to move a lot of computers from one operating system to another, checking that software works properly, and (in some cases) upgrading hardware.

If you’re responsible for looking after Windows computers in your company, it’s time to start thinking about your transition plan now. Putting it off until tomorrow only increases the chances of you being caught out when time really is rapidly running out…

Don’t panic. But also don’t get too comfortable. Start thinking now about when you are going to start the process of making sure those Windows 7 machines get upgraded.

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[banned]

After all, creaky old Windows XP hasn't received any security updates from Microsoft since April 2014 and if you're still using it you're a sitting duck for internet attacks.

Your next mission, should you choose to accept it, is to start thinking about your plans to move away from Windows 7.

Too funny! Both XP32 and Windows 7 can be patched for another 5 years.

edit - XP32 requires the "embedded registry hack"

[shamu726]

@banned, you can patch XP however u like, it doesn't change the fact that XP doesn't received any security updates anymore. The updates hacked XP PCs receive are designed for embedded version and won't plug all the holes in XP.

Unless u don't care about security, XP shouldn't be used as your main OS.

Too funny! Both XP32 and Windows 7 can be patched for another 5 years.

edit - XP32 requires the "embedded registry hack"

The hack makes XP look like the embedded version.

For reasons that Microsoft and we have explained repeatedly, Windows XP is not really securable by modern standards. It lacks features like ASLR that prevent many vulnerabilities or at least make them more difficult to exploit. Many steps have been taken in later Windows versions to harden the internals of the operating system against attack. XP, embedded or otherwise, has not gotten these improvements and won't be getting them. If you use Internet Explorer, version 8 is the latest you can run on Windows XP, and it's a pretty crummy browser.

Because of these differences, the fact that Microsoft is not supporting it and the availability of new features post-XP for them to use, many software vendors have ended their own support for XP.

If you're still trying to get your money's worth out of Windows XP, you may think you're really clever and playing with house money. If you get away with it, good for you. Know that you are taking a big risk, one that is getting bigger every day.

Statement Microsoft gave:

"We recently became aware of a hack that purportedly aims to provide security updates to Windows XP customers. The security updates that could be installed are intended for Windows Embedded and Windows Server 2003 customers and do not fully protect Windows XP customers. Windows XP customers also run a significant risk of functionality issues with their machines if they install these updates, as they are not tested against Windows XP."

ZDNet - Hacked Windows XP still updates, still a bad idea

[banned]

If you use Internet Explorer, version 8 is the latest you can run on Windows XP, and it's a pretty crummy browser.

I've actually got IE6. And it's pretty darn safe, since I don't use it ;)

I've been recommending against the use of Internet Explorer since the days of dial-up.

@banned, you can patch XP however u like, it doesn't change the fact that XP doesn't received any security updates anymore.

I've even got the most recent SChannel "Winshock" patch that has been compared to "Heartbleed". I'm fully up-to-date and (for the most part) unconcerned.

If you can actually hack me from this site, it'll be due to some cross-site-scripting exploit that wasn't patched in any version of Windows anyway.

Unless u don't care about security, XP shouldn't be used as your main OS.

I do care about security, and my tin-foil hat is getting thinner with time.