
Next month Microsoft will remind Windows 7 users to upgrade - butz
https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2019/03/12/making-the-transition-to-windows-10-and-office-365/
======
Silhouette
I would like to be charitable about this, as in general a reasonable reminder
that software is reaching the end of support and security updates might be
helpful.

On the other hand, this is Microsoft promoting Windows 10, so their "courtesy
reminder that you can expect to see a handful of times in 2019" sounds a lot
like "GWX fiasco, round 2". The post does state that there will be an option
to not receive any more notifications after the first one, at least.

As for my own businesses, and those of most of my professional network for
that matter, the only "transitions" we're all planning are to other platforms
like Mac or Linux if Microsoft haven't turned off the well-documented
antifeatures in Windows 10 Pro before the deadline hits.

~~~
ocdtrekkie
I recognize your username from a couple days ago: But the truth of the matter
is that Windows 7 is unsafe to use, and should not be used after January 14th
of 2020.

Microsoft very obviously has no plans to budge on how they handle updates or
telemetry, and switching your workflow to Mac or Linux can take quite a while,
so these reminders are an excellent nudge that you should probably start now.

~~~
walterbell
Why is fully patched Windows 7 unsafe to use? Extended security updates will
be available for several years.

~~~
ocdtrekkie
As Silhouette covered, those extended updates are paid. And most people who
can pay for those also could pay for Windows 10 Enterprise, which has
effectively zero downsides. Extended Windows 7 updates are intended for the
niche case of supporting a machine that can't be upgraded to Windows 10 in a
business environment.

That being said, the recent Chrome zero-day vulnerability only affected
Windows 7, and 99% of all PCs infected with WannaCry ran Windows 7 as well.
The additional security mitigations of Windows 10 make it significantly more
secure than a fully patched Windows 7 installation.

~~~
walterbell
EMET is available for Windows 7. Windows 10 telemetry is a non-starter.
Windows 7 telemetry updates can be removed/blacklisted. Windows 10 Enterprise
LTSB (closest equivalent to Windows 7) is not available to individuals.

Web browsing can be moved to a Linux VM with non-persistent OS.

~~~
ocdtrekkie
Besides the fact that EMET has a tendency to cause a lot of applications to
break and can't provide nearly the protection Windows 10 can out of the box,
EMET's support has already come to an end in July of 2018:
[https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2458544/the-
enhance...](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2458544/the-enhanced-
mitigation-experience-toolkit)

You should not use EMET, and you should not use Windows 7. Period.

~~~
walterbell
If you are on Win7 for any reason, EMET is better than no EMET, after
validation with specific apps.

500+ million Windows 7 users have resisted marketing, forced upgrades and
more, with Win7 footprint still at 90% of Win10 footprint,
[https://venturebeat.com/2019/01/01/net-applications-
windows-...](https://venturebeat.com/2019/01/01/net-applications-
windows-10-passes-windows-7-in-market-share/)

~~~
ocdtrekkie
> If you are on Win7 for any reason, EMET is better than no EMET, after
> validation with specific apps.

This is also untrue, since as stated, EMET is already past end-of-life. This
means if vulnerabilities are found in EMET, they will never be fixed. It's
entirely possible that installing EMET could be adding new ways to takeover
your Windows 7 box.

And with or without EMET, Windows 10 is still much better protected than
Windows 7.

------
tivert
> End of support means that your Windows 7 or Office 2010 software will no
> longer receive updates, including security updates. But, there’s good news –
> Windows 10 is the most secure Windows ever and Office 365 delivers the
> latest in personal productivity. Together they make a perfect pair to help
> you do everything you were doing before – safer, faster and easier.

Bleh. That's some smarmy marketingspeak.

