[MarkJerling]

Old news,Mark ....
Another newer Windows 7 "Warning" - Will officially become unsupported January 2020. - PentaxForums.com

I'm well aware that it's old news. Hence, my post saying "reminder". I have been using Windows 10 for some years.
Based upon the responses in this thread, some people are still using Win 7. As the end of support date is looming, and with year-end stuff likely occupying peoples minds, I figured it's a good time to post a reminder.

[MarkJerling]

One thing that puzzles me. A good many people like Windows 7 (myself included) and don't have any reason to change other than the virus issues. Why doesn't Microsoft offer a continued license for Windows 7 with support for those who are willing to pay for it?

I for one would be willing to pay Microsoft for continued support perhaps just as much as for a new Windows 10 license.

Forcing users to adopt new software is a bit Orwellian when older products have compatibility with older programs that newer versions may not offer. I know, I know - it's just a business model that Microsoft uses

The main reason there's no point in continuing support for 7 is that most software suppliers now develop for Win 10. As time goes on, fewer and fewer programs will install on Win 7. This may not be a problem for you, if you're using older versions of software, but if you're using up to date versions of various software suites, then you have little choice but to use an operating system that is optimised for that software. Of course, if you like to keep running older versions of software, then you may find that in some cases, emulators may work. But only some cases.

[RGlasel]

Since 20 years I'm on internet and I've never been hacked, perhaps because I'm cautious...

To be fair to people who are more trusting than you or less computer savvy, there are extremely sophisticated scams out there and to give a personal example, my wife's Facebook account was hacked two days ago, not because of what she did, but because one of her hundreds of "friends" led the hacker to her account. Facebook sent my wife a message that they had received reports from other people that her account had been compromised and they had fixed it, but that's been such a long standing problem with Facebook, why should anyone trust them? I've cleaned up at least a dozen personal computers for people that were infected with malware and viruses, along with having anti-virus software detect dozens of viruses on my own computers. The most insiduous threats, in my opinion, are the phishing emails and text messages that mimic your bank, credit card issuers, courier companies and utilities. If you complete financial transactions online, you will be targeted, it's just a matter of time. Over the years, I've also received 5-6 letters from companies that store private data of mine that have had very serious security attacks. Not once has a threat exploited a security vulnerability in the operating systems on my devices (when my employer provided me with an iPhone, they were up front about how personal texts, call history and calendar entries were being saved on their server).

This is all about money. The richest companies in the world don't want to spend the money necessary to protect their customers unless there is a way for those companies to get additional money from their customers. Give me a modest marketing budget and I will get you a hundred Internet experts to write articles about how our personal security is in mortal danger if we don't support the companies that failed to invest enough in security in the first place.

[fs999]

To be fair to people who are more trusting than you or less computer savvy, there are extremely sophisticated scams out there and to give a personal example, my wife's Facebook account was hacked two days ago, not because of what she did, but because one of her hundreds of "friends" led the hacker to her account. Facebook sent my wife a message that they had received reports from other people that her account had been compromised and they had fixed it, but that's been such a long standing problem with Facebook, why should anyone trust them? I've cleaned up at least a dozen personal computers for people that were infected with malware and viruses, along with having anti-virus software detect dozens of viruses on my own computers. The most insiduous threats, in my opinion, are the phishing emails and text messages that mimic your bank, credit card issuers, courier companies and utilities. If you complete financial transactions online, you will be targeted, it's just a matter of time. Over the years, I've also received 5-6 letters from companies that store private data of mine that have had very serious security attacks. Not once has a threat exploited a security vulnerability in the operating systems on my devices (when my employer provided me with an iPhone, they were up front about how personal texts, call history and calendar entries were being saved on their server).

This is all about money. The richest companies in the world don't want to spend the money necessary to protect their customers unless there is a way for those companies to get additional money from their customers. Give me a modest marketing budget and I will get you a hundred Internet experts to write articles about how our personal security is in mortal danger if we don't support the companies that failed to invest enough in security in the first place.

In what manner Windows 10 will better protect you from what you explained ? Nothing.

[jack002]

In what manner Windows 10 will better protect you from what you explained ? Nothing.

Win 7 is no longer supported, thus not being updated when issues with it are found.Win 10 *is* still supported, so being actively updated.
THAT is how it's better

[MarkJerling]

In what manner Windows 10 will better protect you from what you explained ? Nothing.

You may recall the ransomware exploits that XP users suffered when XP support was ended.
If you think the risks of continuing to use Windows 7 is not real, then - Good luck!

[UncleVanya]

In what manner Windows 10 will better protect you from what you explained ? Nothing.

Via an OS patch that closes the vulnerability - that will no longer be an option for Windows 7 - I really think you are in a bubble of denial. Past performance is no guarantee of future success. You have been hack free (that you know of) and you think you will remain so. Are you aware that the very security devices (routers with firewalls) that protect your network have been hacked over and over and over through OS vulnerabilities?

I don't know what you do for a living - but I can assure you that several of us posting have very large experience with this in a corporate setting. This is not made up, it isn't an attempt to steal money from you by MicroSoft, and it really is a threat. Much like vaccines if you don't clean up your computer you make others less safe. Your PC could be compromised without your knowledge and be held as a sleeper waiting for a large Denial of Service attack... .

I'm done trying to convince you. I am unsubscribing so I don't have a stroke.

[bobmaxja]

I am moving my last PC to W10 but before I need to make space on my SSD. W10 is very stable on my laptop

[beachgardener]

there is no harm in having win 7 as a guest in virtual box for a certain piece of hardware, it doesn't need the net,

[beachgardener]

I'll never buy an Epson Printer again!

have you sent an email to Epson technical support about this. It is possible with an upgrade to win 10 from win 7 that these patches on this link come into play. Choose Win 10 in the list

Anyway worth an email.

Epson Australia - Drivers and Downloads

[fs999]

Win 7 is no longer supported, thus not being updated when issues with it are found.Win 10 *is* still supported, so being actively updated.
THAT is how it's better

Did you remember the mess when updating in 2016 and most of your software didn't work any more ? My Windows 7 is working well without issues.

You may recall the ransomware exploits that XP users suffered when XP support was ended.
If you think the risks of continuing to use Windows 7 is not real, then - Good luck!

All my XP clients had no problem with ransomware, except one who let a "microsoft technician" install a software on his pc.
Will enjoy it. Thank you !

[Serkevan]

Did you remember the mess when updating in 2016 and most of your software didn't work any more ? My Windows 7 is working well without issues.

All my XP clients had no problem with ransomware, except one who let a "microsoft technician" install a software on his pc.
Will enjoy it. Thank you !

Really not getting the point. First off, anecdotal evidence is more "anecdotal" than "evidence". On that note, here's one: several terabytes of data were locked by ransomware while I was working at my previous job. The several layers of protection? Ignored. The worm was ignored by the antivirus, the network firewall and whatever measures Windows 7 had in place. There, a problem with ransomware.

Second off, my first installation of Windows 7 resulted in a gigantic mess of unstability to the point of rolling back to Vista. TO VISTA. To quite possibly the worst Microsoft product ever. Maybe because of the old Dell deciding to nope out, but hey.

All in all, as Photoptimist said, an update to fix a vulnerability in Win10 will indirectly expose the same one in Win7. Not only that, most companies I know of are still using Windows 7, and the massive move from Win XP happened precisely because of its End-of-Life status. The move to 10 seems more or less inevitable, because a no-longer-supported product with a massive install base is the juiciest target.

Still, I agree that being cautious and responsible with use is the best security layer... and for all it's worth, I am totally with you and others in that Win7 is a better OS than Win10, and honestly I would prefer it if M$ didn't force me to cripple my computer in an attempt to stop their telemetry and ridiculous integration of Cortana with the Search function among other things. I don't get any option to downgrade because thanks Asus laptops, but oh well...

[beachgardener]

I'm resolved to move to Linux, just can't figure out which one.

LinuxMint would be a good start, it is a very familiar look, especially coming from Windows.

[Serkevan]

I originally moved from DOS to Windows 3.1 for one reason: printer support. I hated Windows then and I hate it now. I thought Win 95 was pretty good, Win 2000 was terrific, Win Xp was ok, and everything past that a controlled disaster. I'm resolved to move to Linux, just can't figure out which one.

Btw, as others have observed, it isn't the software so much as the MS business practices built into the software, particularly of the intrusive or surveillance types Then there's the problem of protecting the user from himself, always a stupid act of arrogance on the part of the designers.

I'm also in the camp of "necessary evil", as have made the terrible mistake of both playing games and more or less *needing* Excel and a series of programs that work better on Windows. I might move to linux and just teach myself some alternative programs but it's honestly a hassle for my use.

[Rondec]

Because Windows 10 is designed to give Microsoft greater access to your desktop computer without you noticing it, it is a far more vulnerable operating system. The only reason to not use Windows 7 is because some newer CPUs will not install Windows 7; it isn't that Windows 7 lacks important functionality compared to Windows 10, but Windows 10 changed the subsystem for USB ports and there are new "security related" instruction sets in the new CPUs that Windows 7 can't use. The problem with running XP is compatibility (both hardware and software), not its remaining security vulnerabilities.

As others have pointed out, Windows 7 is a less attractive target than Windows 10, for a few reasons. Putting security in the hands of a single entity is far more dangerous than putting it in the hands of hundreds of millions of users. After 10 years, how many vulnerabilities in Windows 7 are left to be discovered and how much effort will be put into finding those vulnerabilities? For the 2 billion personal computer users out there, the biggest security risks come from our interactions with servers that we have no control over, not from outsiders trying to read our hard drives. Windows 10 doesn't do a damn thing to prevent Facebook from exposing our connections. The only data of value on our computers is personal information that can be sold to the highest bidder and that data is already promisciously strewn over millions of servers around the world.

This gets me really agitated. Come on people, companies like Microsoft, Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook think of their customers (you and me) as tiny, microscopic units of money. If they pool millions of us into petri dishes, then they make money and everything those companies do is driven by that objecive. I have one desktop computer running Windows 10, three running Windows 7 and a home server running Linux. I keep one machine running Windows 10, so I can see what the applications I develop look like to Windows 10 users, otherwise that ugly piece of crap would have been un-installed a long time ago.

Windows 7 will be low hanging fruit for hackers if they can identify weaknesses in it. It doesn't matter if it is a small piece of the overall pie, if it is easier to exploit that's what they will do.

That said, an awful lot of "issues" come from users doing unsafe things -- opening attachments on Facebook, putting information into unsafe sites, and accepting e mails that aren't what the purport to be.