PC Magazine - USA (2019-12)

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n Jan. 14, 2020, Microsoft will retire

Windows 7 and stop issuing security

updates for one of the most-loved

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this mean users and companies will stop using it?

Hardly.

Microsoft stopped adding new features to

Windows 7 when it ended mainstream support in

2015, and it has regularly reminded users of the

end-of-life deadline and invited them to install

Windows 10. Windows 10 adoption is growing

quickly, but in October, Windows 7 accounted for

about 27 percent of desktop and laptops

according to Netmarketshare, which tracks usage

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Given that more than 1.5 billion Windows devices

are out there, at least 400 million devices are still

running the soon-to-be-obsolete operating

system. If Windows 7 continues to dwindle at the

current pace, its share will reach 13 percent by

2021—but that’s more than 100 million devices.

The main concern in all this is security. Hackers

are always on the prowl for unpatched and

insecure devices. And if a new vulnerability crops

When Windows 7 Dies,

Don’t Rely on Microsoft

to Keep Your PC Safe

Ben Dickson is a

software engineer

who writes about

disruptive tech

trends, including

artificial intelligence,

VR and AR, the IoT,

and blockchain. Ben

also runs the blog

Tech Talks.

COMMENTARY