Business, Business Continuity, Hipaa, Security
Do you really need to abandon Windows 7?
The warnings have been dire – YOU MUST UPGRADE TO WINDOWS 10! Is that really true? Are Microsoft, computer manufacturers, and computer resellers just making it all up?
Let’s rewind a bit. Every operating system has an expiration date. After many stays of execution, Windows XP was finally dropped from support in June of 2014. Sadly, a lot of people ignored all the hype and continued to use it for years after that day came and went. In many cases, the computers had business software that could not easily (or affordably) be moved to Windows 7 or Windows 8. Whatever the case, the world continued to rotate as if nothing happened, and most of the affected computers “aged-out” and eventually got replaced.
The next D-Day was yesterday, January 14th 2020. This time around, everyone seemed to take the warnings seriously, as awareness of cybersecurity incidents and computer breaches became more widespread. Almost everyone knows of a local government entity, business, or hospital that suffered a malware or ransomware attack. It probably helped that the due date more or less coincided with a year-end, with many businesses electing to do the right thing while also getting a tax write-off after a year of strong earnings.
Still, however, there are naysayers who have shrugged off the apocalyptic warnings and continue on as if nothing changed. For a variety of reasons, they have elected to ignore the hype and press on with trusty and reliable Windows 7. It’s hard to fault them, as Windows 7 has truly been a great operating system. Like Windows XP, which closely followed Windows Millennium Edition (ME), Windows 7 followed a real stinker when it replaced Windows Vista. Actually, the same is true for Windows 10, which replaced Windows 8. But I digress.
Back to the original question – should you hold out, or should you cry “uncle” and bite the bullet for a new PC? I’ll make this easy for you – Yes, you need to upgrade, and here’s exhibit “A”.