Microsoft Announces the Final Year of Extended Windows 7 Security Updates

Windows 7 no longer receives security updates, as the operating system already reached the end of support, but Microsoft keeps rolling out critical patches as part of the Extended Security Update (ESU) program.

Available only for companies still running Windows 7 on their devices and therefore not shipping to home users, these updates can only be installed by paying customers as part of a fee that’s gradually increasing as more time passes since the end of support.

Windows 7 is about to enter the third and final year of the ESU program, with Microsoft to then abandon the operating system once and for all.

The company has announced that on January 10, 2023, Windows 7 will be dropped forever, so devices still running the operating system will have to be upgraded to continue getting updates.

“For Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 7 Professional for Embedded Systems, the Extended Security Update (ESU) Program will be entering its third and final year of extended support beginning on February 8, 2022 and ending on January 10, 2023,” Microsoft explained.

Updating to Windows 10 or Windows 11, the only option

On the other hand, the company revealed that Windows Server 200 SP2 will be getting one extra year of support, so updates will continue to be delivered via the ESU program until January 2024.

“For Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, Windows Server 2008 SP2, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 for Embedded Systems and Windows Server 2008 SP2 for Embedded Systems if running on Microsoft Azure, ESU will have one additional year of extended support available beginning on February 14, 2023, ending on January 9, 2024,” Microsoft explained.

Upgrading to a newer version of Windows is slowly but surely becoming the only option, though on many devices, moving to Windows 10 or Windows 11 also involves costly hardware investments.