FEBRUARY 2020 PCWorld 99making a switch, here’s how to keep
Windows 7 as safe as possible.
DON’T USE INTERNET
EXPLORER
A lot of malware gets delivered via browser
vulnerabilities, and a lot of those will be
aimed at Windows 7 now that it’s wide open
to attack. Microsoft’s ending support for
Internet Explorer too, and you definitely
don’t want to run an insecure browser on an
insecure operating system.
The other top browser vendors will
continue to support Windows 7, however.
Google’s Chrome is popular, but Opera beat
it out in our best web browser comparison
(go.pcworld.com/wbrw), and Firefox is
great, too [remember to update Firefox to
avoid a recently revealed vulnerability (go.
pcworld.com/frfx]). Switch to one of those—
any will do, honestly—and make sure to
enable automatic updates to keep those
hatches battened down. This should be a
top priority.CHOOSE YOUR SOFTWARE
WISELY
That segues to a key point: Make sure the
software you’re using still supports Windows
7, so that any potential security holes still get
patched.
After browser vulnerabilities, poisoned
Office documents are another frequent
attack vector. If you’re still using Office 2007,
stop—its support ended years ago. Office
2010 will continue to receive security
updates through October 13 (go.pcworld.
com/oc13), so you have a little time there.
Microsoft will actually continue to support
Office 2010 for the next three years (until
January, 2023) if you subscribe to Office- If that’s not in your budget, check out
our list of the best
free Microsoft Office
alternatives (go.
pcworld.com/ofal)
for other no-cost
options, such as
LibreOffice and
Google Docs.
Java, Flash, and
Adobe Reader are
commonly targeted
as well, so make
Opera is our favorite web browser and still supports Windows 7. sure they’re up to