If you see this round graphic in the lower left of your computer screen you are running Windows 7.  It was born in 2009. When you bought it you also paid for this past decade’s worth of improvements and security fixes. That time is up! Microsoft is not in the biz of hiring PC archeologists to program its stuff forever. Even billionaire Bill Gates would go bankrupt!

It was a lucky version 7 for Microsoft. Their product was a huge hit. It was originally planned as an incremental upgrade to Win Vista, which had launch problems but was later improved. As of October 2019 29% of traditional PCs running Windows are running 7. It is so reliable it still has over 60% market share in some countries. It is the most used version in many countries, mostly Africa.

With so many PCs running 7 what happens when support ends? At first, little. It will still function, programs will still work and virus checkers too. Then, the Chrome browser and MS Office 365 will stop and, eventually, virus checkers.

But the DAY AFTER support ends there will be a lot of crooks unleashing hacks on the world targeting Win 7. Why? Because flaws found in Win 10 are often shared in legacy computer code by 7. When a flaw in 10 is patched by Microsoft it won’t be patched for most 7 copies. So it’s prime time for crime on older versions of the operating system.

Hackers are already waiting with pre-programmed flaws in hand for the moment the clock rolls over in January. In fact, preparation for computer crime has already probably begun.

Meanwhile the Nov. 2020 presidential election is very important. Some voting machines run Win 7 and their security support will have run out by then. Microsoft announced in Sept. 2019 that they will provide free support to federally certified voting machines through the 2020 elections. This end-of-life issue is that important to various areas of our society and the world’s. As if our electoral process did not have enough problems besides tech obsolescence!

MEANWHILE WINDOWS 10 IS ALMOST FREE

If your copy of Win 7 or 8 is licensed you can probably upgrade free.  Even if Microsoft demands that you buy it you don't have to. As long as you don’t care about changing the background image on your copy of Win 10 it is ALMOST FREE! Yes, they botched the launch of Win 8 so badly that Win 10 is the slut of Windows! It can even run on old Macs better than Apple can. Free!

BUT, if you say NO UPGRADE NOW do this:

1.  Get a good virus checker. I use AVG Free.
2.  Use a browser other than the included Internet Explorer, which can’t be updated.
3.  Prepare for things to eventually stop working, like Chrome or MS Office 365.
4.  Eventually, disconnect the computer from the Internet.

If you have Win 7 install compact disks you can still install them on computers and have them registered and updated to the final version. You can also still do that with ancient Windows XP! However, as time passes, their value will become worthless and new hardware won’t work. Just like XP.