Microsoft has called it quits on Windows 7, with support officially ending on January 14. The Windows maker has offered extended support for enterprises at an additional cost and free support for some 2020 election machines. The Windows maker also continues to offer free upgrade to Windows 10, its newest desktop operating system. However, if you haven't made the upgrade to the latest OS by then, it's back to the nagware.
Now, admittedly, this wouldn't be as bad as it was back in 2015 and 2016 when the company introduced Windows 10 to the world and with it the term "nagware." Microsoft has officially said that it will send a full-screen notification starting January 15, 2020 to alert you of the risks of continuing with Windows 7.
Microsoft's complete statement on Windows 7 upgrade notifications:
IMPORTANT Starting on January 15, 2020, a full-screen notification will appear that describes the risk of continuing to use Windows 7 Service Pack 1 after it reaches end of support on January 14, 2020. The notification will remain on the screen until you interact with it. This notification will only appear on the following editions of Windows 7 Service Pack 1:
- Starter.
- Home Basic.
- Home Premium.
- Professional. If you have purchased the Extended Security Update (ESU), the notification will not appear. For more information, see How to get Extended Security Updates for eligible Windows devices and Lifecycle FAQ-Extended Security Updates.
- Ultimate.
Note The notification will not appear on domain-joined machines or machines in kiosk mode.
It isn't clear if this notification will only appear once or will be repeated on a regular basis, and if so, how frequently. We will know more once these alerts start popping up on Windows 7 devices, and despite the associated risks of an unsupported operating system, it is hoping that Microsoft doesn't annoy the users to the extent where they start hating on Windows 10 - which is what happened back in 2015/16.
As reported earlier, Windows 7 won't be completely unprotected as some signature updates will be delivered to the Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) even after January 14.
If you do want to upgrade, you can install Windows 10 for absolutely free, the official way
The post It’s Back to Nagware for Windows 7 Users Starting January 15 by Rafia Shaikh appeared first on Wccftech.