Microsoft announced that Windows 7 extended support will finish on 14th January 2020. We know a lot of you are still using it, but don’t panic – it doesn’t mean that your computer will suddenly stop working on 14th Jan.
You may already be getting notifications from Microsoft reminding you to upgrade to Windows 10. Practically speaking, it means that security patches will no longer be issued to fix any bugs or security flaws discovered.
Do I need to upgrade?
That’s a bit like saying, do I need a new car? For our business customers, consider how old your PC is and whether you would be replacing it soon anyway. If you would, then Windows 10 comes built into the cost of the new PC, so it’s probably not worth paying for a new Windows 10 license for the old PC – just go ahead and get the new computer.
If you weren’t planning to replace the PC, and it’s a critical business or production computer, then we would recommend upgrading. The official prices for Windows 10 licenses start at £119.99, but we are able to get them cheaper (and yes, it’s still a legal license! Although some cheap licenses on the internet are not, so do be careful.) There are minimum hardware specifications to be able to run Windows 10, we’re happy to answer any questions and advise on upgrades of either hardware or software.
And you will want to make sure that the applications you are running on Windows 7, will work with Windows 10. In most cases, they will happily transfer over to the new version of Windows, but we can check that out for you to make sure. If you’re a home user, it’s not quite as critical to upgrade, but please see the point below about security software.
I really don’t have the money right now….
If you feel like you can’t upgrade just yet, then firstly we’d suggest budgeting for a replacement PC or a Windows 10 license as soon as you can. And in the meantime, make sure you have good, paid-for security software, to combat any nasty things that may pop up from the internet. Any newly discovered flaws won’t be fixed by security patches and could be exploited by viruses, so having a robust antivirus/internet security suite is essential. We’d strongly recommend using a paid-for product as the free ones just aren’t as effective – Bullguard Internet Security starts from as little as £25 for one PC per year, or £45 for three PCs, and we use it on all our own computers. Just get in touch and we can help you out.
Help – I’ve got software that won’t run on Windows 10!
We’ve got at least one client in this position – let us know what the software is and we’ll come up with a creative solution for you!
If you have any questions about Windows 7, Windows 10, or indeed whether there are any alternatives, do let us know. We’re expecting a lot of enquiries on this topic though, so please bear with us.