On January 10th, 2023 Microsoft officially ended all security updates and technical support for Windows 7 and 8.1. Windows users still running these legacy operating systems will now be vulnerable to evolving security threats if they don’t upgrade to a later version. Support for Windows 7 ended in 2020, but Microsoft offered extended security updates for certain professional and enterprise users for up to an additional three years past the 2020 end of support date. There is no extended security update program offered for Windows 8.1.

You won’t be able to purchase Windows 10 soon.
Microsoft will stop selling Windows 10 Home and Pro to customers next week, the company wrote on the product’s page.

“January 31, 2023 will be the last day this Windows 10 download is offered for sale,” Microsoft wrote online. “Windows 10 will remain supported with security updates that help protect your PC from viruses, spyware, and other malware until October 14, 2025.”

While Microsoft will no longer sell Windows 10 downloads and license keys, it’s unclear whether people will be able to purchase Windows 10 from other retailers after the January cutoff.

Microsoft announced in June 2021 that it would stop supporting Windows 10 in 2025, a decade after the operating system launched in 2015. Then, after a gradual rollout starting in 2021, Microsoft fully deployed Windows 11 to everyone with compatible computers in May 2022. Microsoft allowed Windows 10 users with compatible computers the option to upgrade to the latest operating system for free.

Moving forward, if folks want to remain secure and protected, they just might have to purchase a new PC that’s hardware capable of running Windows 11. Most computers that are still running Windows 7 will most likely not be Windows 11 compatible.

Not sure if your PC meets the minimum requirements to run Windows 11? Here’s how to check your PC:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/how-to-check-if-your-device-meets-windows-11-system-requirements-after-changing-device-hardware-f3bc0aeb-6884-41a1-ab57-88258df6812b

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