Windows 7 Officially Dies As Last Extended Security Update Ends

Windows 7 has finally reached end of life, with Microsoft officially pulling the plug on security updates for the aging, venerable operating system on Jan. 10, 2023.

Technically, support ended on Jan. 14, 2020, as Microsoft promised 10 years of product support when Windows 7 was launched in 2009. But Microsoft continued to offer the Extended Security Update (ESU) program to companies relying on Windows 7, allowing them time to migrate to newer solutions.

The ESU program was available only for specific volume licensing programs for Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise and Professional for Embedded Systems editions and not for regular consumers.

“Support for Windows 7 ended on January 14, 2020. Even though Windows 7 is no longer supported, we’ve decided to continue to provide you with security updates for Microsoft 365 for the next 3 years, until January 2023,” wrote Microsoft on its website.

“We’re doing this to give you additional time to make the transition from running Microsoft 365 on devices running Windows 7 to a supported operating system, such as Windows 11 or Windows 10. But, during that time, as long as the device is still running Windows 7, Microsoft 365 won’t receive any new features updates.”

Now, it’s finally time to pull the curtain. Just because Microsoft doesn’t offer support doesn’t mean the OS will stop working though. It does mean, however, that new vulnerabilities that pop up won’t be fixed. Devices still running Windows 7 will become increasingly vulnerable as time passes.

Further complicating matters, many devices still running Windows 7 likely don’t meet the necessary requirement to upgrade to Windows 11.