How concerned should we be about Windows 7 end-of-life security risks
We have 40 computers that are Win 7. The end-of-life is in January 2020. All security updates will stop. How critical of a concern is this for our companies security?
We are non-profit so this will be a huge expense if I have to replace them.
We are non-profit so this will be a huge expense if I have to replace them.
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We cannot tell without analysis.. thinks you need to evaluate and assign a budget/risk:
- are the machines online or not (when not, then there is only a minor risk in physical access)?
- time to setup new machines, when one is hacked, e.g. ransom ware. Production loss, staff costs.
- data loss, when it's PI, you must inform the public authorities. Penalty fees for negligence, costs of image loss
Depending on the laws, which apply to your non-profit organization, penalty fees can be pretty expensive, depending on the type of data-loss. In Germany such behavior can lead to the loss of the non-profit state (tax regulation).
You can install Win 10 as free upgrade. But this maybe not be legal in some countries of the world.
But as you're non-profit: Just ask your local MS subsidiary.
- are the machines online or not (when not, then there is only a minor risk in physical access)?
- time to setup new machines, when one is hacked, e.g. ransom ware. Production loss, staff costs.
- data loss, when it's PI, you must inform the public authorities. Penalty fees for negligence, costs of image loss
Depending on the laws, which apply to your non-profit organization, penalty fees can be pretty expensive, depending on the type of data-loss. In Germany such behavior can lead to the loss of the non-profit state (tax regulation).
You can install Win 10 as free upgrade. But this maybe not be legal in some countries of the world.
But as you're non-profit: Just ask your local MS subsidiary.
Agree you should be concerned, but the world does not end December 31. Upgrade in the first quarter 2020 and you should be fine.
Windows 7 is old enough that we do not do any in-place upgrades. If the hardware supports Windows 10 do a fresh install
This is working for my clients quite well.
Windows 7 is old enough that we do not do any in-place upgrades. If the hardware supports Windows 10 do a fresh install
This is working for my clients quite well.
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How can I know if the hardware supports the upgrade?
@ste5an in the US we need licenses to upgrade. Since we are non-profit the cost is not to expensive.
@ste5an in the US we need licenses to upgrade. Since we are non-profit the cost is not to expensive.
Come the end of support we can expect Microsoft to continue to provide Critical security fixes for a while as delivering these is for the "greater good" and mimics their position when XP was finally replaced. However manufacture support will cease as well so anti-virus/malware packages will see fewer updates to definition databases and so on.
Fundamentally everything will become increasingly insecure with time. There's a possibility that unpatched exploits will increase and vulnerable older systems will be targeted in preference, particularly where there are a few Windows 7 legacy machines connected to the outside world on a network that is mainly Win 10 - this becomes the new "back door".
masnrock is right what you need is strategy. Do you stick with Windows? - Do you move to a different OS? - If you stick with Microsoft you only have 10 to choose from now and with each major upgrade some older hardware is likely to fall away so it's not just the Operating system you need to plan in for future costs.
There's far more support now for non-profits both through Microsoft and third-parties like TechSoup and it's definitely worth engaging with companies like this to help you build a costed plan.
Fundamentally everything will become increasingly insecure with time. There's a possibility that unpatched exploits will increase and vulnerable older systems will be targeted in preference, particularly where there are a few Windows 7 legacy machines connected to the outside world on a network that is mainly Win 10 - this becomes the new "back door".
masnrock is right what you need is strategy. Do you stick with Windows? - Do you move to a different OS? - If you stick with Microsoft you only have 10 to choose from now and with each major upgrade some older hardware is likely to fall away so it's not just the Operating system you need to plan in for future costs.
There's far more support now for non-profits both through Microsoft and third-parties like TechSoup and it's definitely worth engaging with companies like this to help you build a costed plan.
Get the Windows 10 Upgrade Advisor from Microsoft downloads to tell you if the machine supports Windows 10
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Thanks to all.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-10-specifications
The Update Assistant on this page replaces the early "Compatibility Checker" and will look at hardware and installed software with an upgrade to Win 10 in mind
The Update Assistant on this page replaces the early "Compatibility Checker" and will look at hardware and installed software with an upgrade to Win 10 in mind
How can I know if the hardware supports the upgrade?I'm not sure whether this is the correct question, as far as I know, Win 10 will run on mostly any hardware were Win7 does.
BUT: you may not get optimal performance, some devices maybe no longer supported. You can use the Windows 10 Upgrade Assistant to check your machines,
Windows 7 will operate after the end-of-life date just as it does now, so you shouldn’t see any problems with your computer’s functionality. However, over time, you could start to see more security problems.
In addition to Windows turning the lights out on Windows 7, it’s possible that third-party developers could do so as well. Microsoft won't force developers to stop supporting their applications in Windows 7 and chances are, if there’s a large enough user base, they won’t stop support initially.
But over time, as things change and users increasingly turn to other platforms, developers are bound to stop supporting Windows 7 updates in their apps, as well. So no patch for OS and Apps - that is going to be worst when another round of "WannaCry" ransomware comes about and no patches means no fixes, you probably has to isolate and impact your business.
Can I get an extension on my Windows 7 support? Believe it or not, you can.
If you feel that you don’t want to move to Windows 10 yet or you simply don’t have the time to get away from Windows 7, Microsoft will allow users of Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Enterprise to extend their Windows 7 security updates through January 2023.
In addition to Windows turning the lights out on Windows 7, it’s possible that third-party developers could do so as well. Microsoft won't force developers to stop supporting their applications in Windows 7 and chances are, if there’s a large enough user base, they won’t stop support initially.
But over time, as things change and users increasingly turn to other platforms, developers are bound to stop supporting Windows 7 updates in their apps, as well. So no patch for OS and Apps - that is going to be worst when another round of "WannaCry" ransomware comes about and no patches means no fixes, you probably has to isolate and impact your business.
Can I get an extension on my Windows 7 support? Believe it or not, you can.
If you feel that you don’t want to move to Windows 10 yet or you simply don’t have the time to get away from Windows 7, Microsoft will allow users of Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Enterprise to extend their Windows 7 security updates through January 2023.
Microsoft will charge Enterprise customers the following amount of money per year and device as follows:
Windows 7 Professional
Year 1 -- $50 per device
Year 2 -- $100 per device
Year 3 -- $200 per device
Windows 7 Enterprise
Year 1 -- $25 per device
Year 2 -- $50 per device
Year 3 -- $100 per device
The extended support period begins in January 2020 when Windows 7 support ends officially and it ends in January 2023 for good. Customers need to pay Microsoft for the first year to be eligible for support in the second, and for the second year to be eligible for extended support in the third year.
There is no minimum purchase necessary; extended support means that Microsoft will provide customers with cumulative security updates for the Windows 7 operating system for each year payments are made.
Would you, if you run a device with Windows 7, pay Microsoft for extended support? It would cost $350 to extend support by three years; that's more than a new copy of Windows 8.1 or 10 costs right now, and that is not even taking into account that you can get them dead cheap or maybe even upgrade the device to Windows 10 for free.
The advantage that comes out of extended support is similar to the advantage that Enterprise customers get: the operating system is good for another three years before it needs to be switched (ignoring the option to continue using the operating system without security patches).
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