Windows 7 users should ‘bow to inevitable’ and upgrade

In Issue 568’s Letters page, Bill Smith asks whether it’s possible to keep Windows 7 running safely after support ends in January. While I appreciate his points that upgrading to Windows 10 would “involve considerable work and expense”, it surprises me that a Computeractive reader would even contemplate running Windows 7 beyond January.

I wonder if readers don’t quite grasp the seriousness of Microsoft ending support. I look after cyber-security for a small firm, and we’ve had to borrow a big chunk of money to upgrade to Windows 10. It was expensive, but it would’ve cost us more to recover from a hack.

In the same issue Keith Temple says Windows 7 users should email Microsoft to “protest” against the end of support. That seems rather drastic. I’d understand if Windows 7 was a few years old, but it launched way back in 2009. Take a few moments to remember what the world was like back then: Gordon Brown was Prime Minister, Man United were Premier League champions, and nobody would’ve known what you meant by the word ‘Brexit’.

I have sympathy for people who regard Windows 7 as Microsoft’s best operating system. It’s probably my favourite too. But that doesn’t mean it’s the most suitable for the demands of modern computing in 2020. Sometimes in life you have to bow to the inevitable and move on.

CA SAYS Keith’s right that computing has advanced significantly since Windows 7 launched in 2009, but there remain many valid reasons for wanting to stick with the operating system. The risks are substantial though, so you need to know what you’re doing. We’ll give full instructions in our next issue, out on Friday 3

January.