Brain here. Today I thought I'd talk about Windows 7. I really like Windows 7. I was a big fan of it when it came out. It's stable, looks good and runs well.
For those of you that have read my blog for awhile you know I know Windows. :-) When you test VDI you get very close to Windows and learn all about it's special behaviors. Yep, I tested out other flavors of Windows too, but Windows 7 is still my favorite.
When I first started testing Windows 10, I liked it better than Windows 8, but I still have a special place in my heart for Windows 7. Windows 8 felt like it was developed for tablets and was a bit ahead of it's time, hence Windows 10. 10 is a nice compromise between the touch screen affinity of Windows 8 and the mouse controls of Windows 7. I'm still not a huge fan of 10, but I'm slowly warming to it.
Unfortunately Windows 7 is coming to the end of it's life and it feels like a close friend is passing away. Yes the relationship has been rocky at times and sometimes I just wanted it to go away, but all-in-all I'm really quite sad. For those of you that don't know Windows 7 will be coming to the end of it's support life on January 14th of 2020. Now does that mean it'll stop working on that day? Nah, it'll keep working but you will no longer be getting any updates. Here's the official Microsoft page on it's end of life:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsforbusiness/end-of-windows-7-support
I have a funny relationship with patches. Coming from a system administration background, patches scare me. But Neil, aren't patches good? Yes, yes they are. However, after patching there were always systems that were finicky and didn't want to boot up afterwards. Yes patching has gotten better since I've been out of system administration, but you can't run away from your past. :-)
Now that I'm in security, I see patching in a whole new light. Now patching seems to be something I can't do quick enough! Security hole here, zero day there, it's enough to make me want to unplug my network cable. Well, with that bright and cheery view, I've got some bad news for Windows 7 folks. Google recently patched a zero day exploit in Chrome (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/google-chrome-update-patches-zero-day-actively-exploited-in-the-wild/), but it seems they are advising folks to get off Windows 7.
What a bummer. So my good friend is not only passing away next year, but now I'm being told I really should stop using it.
Apparently even with the patch, Google recommends leaving Windows 7 and go to Windows 10. (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/google-advises-upgrade-to-windows-10-to-fix-windows-7-zero-day-bug/)
Let's face it, Windows 7 came out on October 22 of 2009 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7) making it almost 10 years old. I guess all good things come to an end and so must Windows 7.
So if you're running Windows 7, you should start thinking about your migration path. Does that mean a new computer or an upgrade? Well, that's up to you, but my suggestion is get it done before support officially ends. And if you're running Windows XP.... Let's not talk about that. :-)
So long my friend, you've been a solid performer and you haven't let me down. I'll miss you.
Brain
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