Beat The Rush!!!
You may have seen our previous emails throughout the year regarding Windows 7 going end of support with Microsoft. There is now only 3 months until Microsoft cease support, not only for Windows 7, but with other products such as SBS2011 (Windows Server 2008 and Exchange 2010).
We have been busy all year helping our customers prepare and replacing with Windows 10 PC’s, however there are many that have either not yet discussed with us, planned into their budgets or scheduled us in to carry out upgrades/replacements. We know there will be a rush in December and early January, and want to do our best for our customers. However with the holiday period in December, stock availability at that time of year and even with 10 engineers, we foresee customers will have to wait until after the end of support date. We are already booking new installations for the middle of November and therefore only have a few more weeks in the until the end of the year.
A reminder of what ‘End of support’ means
End of support means that Microsoft will not update Windows 7 any further with security patches and updates, meaning that any machines left on Windows 7 will be vulnerable to cyber-attacks, viruses and other malicious activity.
How does this affect me?
Essentially your Windows 7 PC will carry on and work as normal, but will carry a significant security risk.
Back in May 2017, the NHS suffered a cyber-attack that targeted Windows XP, which at the time was not supported by Microsoft. This is just an example to show non-supported operating systems are intentionally attacked, as it’s common knowledge that they are not security patched.
Historically, it’s been the bigger enterprise businesses being targeted by cyber-attacks, however over the past 2 years we’ve seen an increase in the smaller companies too suffering an attack.
What else should I consider?
SBS 2011, including Windows 2008 R2 and Exchange 2010 support also ends on January 14th 2020.
A server operating system upgrade likely requires a new server and possibly new software. In addition to this migrating your email requires careful consideration too.
Later in 2020 (October), Microsoft Office 2010 will also not be supported any more, so this should form part of your planning when replacing Windows 7.
Next Steps?
If you know you have Windows 7 PC’s and would like a quote, please get in touch. You should have received emails from us this year specifically advising on which of your PC’s are Windows 7.
If are you are unsure, please get in touch and we can discuss further.