Windows 7 End of Life Means Security Risks for Users
It’s been four months since Microsoft’s Windows 7 end of life officially began.
In April 2019, Windows 7 users accounted for nearly34% of all Windows desktop users. As of last month, that had only fallen to 19%, according to StatCounter Global Stats.
And according to data from RapidFire Tools, a Kaseya company, 7% of machines managed by MSPs using RapidFire Tools still used Windows 7 as of April.
Windows 7 end of life, which means Microsoft will no longer offer patches and security updates, began Jan. 14.
There are still a high number of users, both individuals and companies, long after Windows 7 end of life. That means the platform will be increasingly buggy, and more importantly, increasingly vulnerable to viruses and malware.
For instance, the WannaCry ransomware attack infected more than 200,000 systems globally in May 2017. And it resulted from an unpatched vulnerability of the OS.
To find out more about the dangers associated with Windows 7 end of life, we spoke with Mike Puglia, chief customer marketing officer at Kaseya.
Channel Futures: Why are so many businesses and individuals still using Windows 7? Is switching over a
difficult process?
Mike Puglia: The reasons businesses and individuals are still running on Windows 7 boils down to time, effort, money. And, because, regardless of the risks, their systems seem to work “just fine.” It’s not technically difficult to upgrade, but two main issues slow some organizations.
The first issue is that the machines running Windows 7 are old and the specs won’t run Windows 10. So businesses are torn and constantly asking themselves if they have the money to buy new machines. Second, it takes between one to two hours to run the upgrade, which can be hard, especially with most machines being mobile laptops. In order to properly update, organizations have to get their entire workforce to log online at the same time for 2 hours to fully transition. However, this is not anything new. IT has gone through this change since the days of Windows NT and XP support ending. It is part of the regular life cycle maintenance.
CF: What sort of security risks are associated with continuing to ignore Windows 7 end of life?
MP: If businesses or individuals aren’t using Windows 7 Extended Support, then they are running machines that no longer get security patches. (Windows 7 Extended Support is a paid Microsoft service.) Simply put, it’s like having a safety recall on your car and not bringing it in to get fixed. You are gambling that the issues associated with this risk won’t harm you.
CF: Have the security risks increased during the COVID-19 pandemic?
MP: Risks have increased for some organizations as their computing environment has changed. Some companies did not have remote workers before and weren’t prepared for many of their employees to work from home, outside the relative safety of the corporate office.
CF: How can MSPs and cybersecurity providers help businesses that are still using Windows 7?
MP: MSPs can bring processes to businesses still using Windows 7. They have done this countless times across many years. MSPs excel at running upgrade programs that leverage audits to determine the state of the business’ computing environment and automated tools used to run the upgrades.
CF: Is there a lot for organizations to consider when moving off of Windows 7? What mistakes can they avoid?
MP: When moving off [Windows 7], the main mistake is not understanding the environment before charging ahead with upgrades. Blindly upgrading can lead to poor performance after the upgrade and an inability to run certain software. Specifically, two mistakes can be avoided by running regular audits.
Businesses must determine if their machines and networks have the …
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