Microsoft’s two operating systems, Windows 7 and Windows 8, will now be retired for good, the software company announced in a blog post. From January 2023, there will be no more security updates for the two Windows versions.
At the same time, support for the Edge browser will be discontinued for the two operating system versions. Google will no longer support its Chrome browser for Windows 7 and 8 from mid-January 2023.
Microsoft had already discontinued security support for Windows 7 in 2020. Because the operating system was so widely used, especially by companies, Microsoft decided to take an unusual step.
The support for Windows 7 was extended by three years. However, anyone who wanted to receive these security updates had to pay for them. From January 2023, however, this will finally end, and there will be no further security updates for Windows 7 – not even against payment.
Windows 7 is still widely used
According to Statcounter data, Windows 7 still has a market share of just over 10 percent. Windows 8.1 currently holds at 2.5 percent. The Windows version with the broadest distribution is presently Windows 10, with a market share of around 70 percent. Windows 11 comes in at 16 percent.
- source: futurezone.at/picture: hp screenshot
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