Many of our clients have heard that Windows 7 support is going end of life next January, 2020. The obvious question is so what? I love Windows 7, and have used it for almost 10 years with never a call to Microsoft for support, why should I care that the support is ending? This logic is sound, but there is a missing piece of information that MUST be added to the equation.
The statement that you have never called Microsoft for WIN7 support could be said by millions of WIN7 users. However, don’t misunderstand what Microsoft is saying when they state WIN7 is going end of life. Believe it or not, Microsoft is continually providing support to every WIN7 user online! That means each and every WIN7 user that is connected to the internet receives support from Microsoft, in the form of Windows updates!
You might ask, why do I care? If WIN7 works fine, why do I need updates? Most of Windows updates are not new features but are security updates. Why might you need security updates? Another name for updates are “patches”. Literally, a security leak has been discovered with the software and Microsoft has created a patch to fix the issue, much like you would place a patch on an inner tube in a tire, to prevent air from escaping. In the same spirit, Microsoft places a patch on a potential “leak” within Windows, so there is not a “leak” of information into or out of your Windows. This is imperative as you browse the web and expose your system to all kinds of attacks.
Who is exempt from this risk? Only those who are not attached to the internet. Of course these systems are few and far between. Everyone else must take action and replace their Win7 PCs by the end of 2019.
Another factor to consider is that even if Windows 7 was still viable, security vendor Webroot has reviewed malware infections on Windows 10 vs Windows 7 machines and found Windows 10 was twice as secure 1
Often we will have clients ask, can’t I just upgrade my PC from WIN7 to WIN10? The short answer is yes, this IS an option. That being said, there are only a few situations where this might make sense. Unless your organization is a non-profit, the upgrade license from WIN7 to WIN10 is almost $200. Since your WIN7 PC is several years old, when you upgrade the OS you are probably going to want to add some RAM, which will add approximately $50 more to the upgrade. When you add to that the labor required to upgrade your system, (at an estimated $255), your cost to upgrade your WIN7 PC to WIN10 is now over $400. Since WIN7 hasn’t been installed on new PCs for several years, it is questionable to invest $400+ into a PC that is over three years old, since it is probably out of warranty and has a reasonable life of only two or three years more.
In conclusion, WIN7 is dead, long live WIN10. We really don’t have a choice in this, we must upgrade to WIN10. The only real decision is do we upgrade our WIN7 PC to WIN10 or replace our WIN7 PC with a new WIN10 PC. But there is more, just like a Popeil Vegamatic!
- If your PC is several years old, the processor of the new PC will be far more advanced, providing you much better performance from your current PC.
- Most desktop PCs in production utilize a hard drive for storage. New desktops offer the option of a Solid State Drive (SSD). SSDs store your data via large amounts of permanent memory which provides you a new level of performance as they are much faster than hard drives.
- Your new PC will come with a three year warranty, eliminating the cost of hardware should a component fail during those three years, not true with your current PC.
Given the fact that Windows 7 won’t be supported starting next year, users must move to Windows 10. Since upgrading your current PC will cost over $400 and won’t give you the benefits of a new machine with a faster processor, Solid State storage technology, and a three year warranty, replacing your Windows 7 machine is the only logical path.
1 ZDNet
