Window 7 Out of Support
As we had discussed in quite a few issues of Tech Talk News over the past year, Windows 7 is going end of life. Well, that date arrived on Tuesday, January 14th and many users received a screen that looks like the above image when turning on their PCs.
What Should I Do?
First of all, take a deep breath and don't panic. Windows 7 PCs will continue to function and are not at immediate risk of a security breach. What has happened is that these PCs will no longer receive new patches and security updates. That means that, while the PC could be a security risk in a few months, it is not in any immediate danger. Of course, there should also be anti-virus and a firewall in place to further limit any exposure the PC might have.
If you continue to receive this message and do not want it to show up anymore, simply click the "Don't remind me again" option in the lower left-hand corner of the screen the next time it pops up.
What Options Do I have Going Forward?
There are three options to deal with this end of life. The first is the most commonly used and, in most cases, the most highly recommended. In most instances, it will be most prudent to have a new PC installed in place of the Windows 7 PC. The other two options are Extended Support Updates and in-place upgrades.
Extended Support is meant to be a bridge and will simply delay the end of support for a year or two plus a bit of additional time for a solution to be implemented. The first year will cost over $50 per device while the second year will at least double that cost. This route is only recommended for those who intend to replace a great number of devices and wish to spread those devices out over multiple fiscal years.
In-place upgrades are a bit of a risk and are only an option for newer PCs. This route would require that a Windows 10 license be bought for each device at a couple hundred dollars a piece (Note that some newer PCs came with a Windows 10 license which can be used to upgrade the device without issue) and that a technician come out for a few hours for each PC to attempt the upgrade. This is not recommended on older devices as and some PCs may be unable to handle the upgrade, resulting in an unusable or incredibly slow device and the potential for lost data.
For the reasons stated above, the most commonly recommended solution is to purchase new PCs as that is frequently the most cost-effective method in the long-term.
Questions?
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