Microsoft itself claims Windows 7 security is “outdated”

Jan 21, 2017 12:53 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft is trying to convince everyone to upgrade to Windows 10, and after offering the operating system free of charge in the first 12 months of availability, the company is now trying a different tactic aimed directly at Windows 7 users.

The firm says that Windows 7 has “outdated security,” explaining in a blog post that only Windows 10 can deal with today’s security threats and no matter how hard you’d try, you still can’t make Windows 7 just as secure as this latest Windows version.

The post was made on the company’s German blog, which is a bit surprising given that no English version was published, but it still shows that Microsoft is already preparing its arsenal for moving users off Windows 7.

“Windows 7 is based on outdated security architecture,” Microsoft says. “Companies and users who won’t upgrade from Windows 7 within the next three years are facing enormous dangers.”

Windows 7 end of support

Judging from third-party data provided by market research firms, Windows 7 continues to be the number one operating system on the desktop, despite the aggressive push for Windows 10.

Windows 7 is now running on nearly 48 percent of PCs worldwide, while Windows 10 is the runner-up with about 24 percent. While Windows 7 indeed lost market share because of the arrival of Windows 10, it’s still the dominant operating system on the desktop, running on nearly 1 in 2 PCs across the globe.

With Windows 7 support coming to an end in January 2020, Microsoft doesn’t want to experience another Windows XP moment, so it’s starting the struggle to upgrade users a lot earlier. Although Windows XP no longer receives updates since 2014, it’s still running on 9 percent of the world’s PCs.

And given that so many people are still on Windows 7, we decided to ask you two simple questions, so make sure you post your answers in the box below:

First of all, is Windows 7 really outdated when it comes to security? And second, do you plan on upgrading to Windows 10 before support for Windows 7 ends in 2020?