Support for Windows 7 is ending

[longbeachlouise]

Hi, Is anyone talking about this? Microsoft announced support for Windows 7 is ending January 2020. Can Malwarebytes help?

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsforbusiness/end-of-windows-7-support

The last bullet point question states Windows Pro users can pay into a plan for updates through 2023.

What do you say?

Thank you.
Louise

[AdvancedSetup]

Hello @longbeachlouise

I do not believe we have any immediate plans to drop support but let me see if we have any official information on that and get back to you.

Thank you

Ron

 

[exile360]

I don't have any official info, however I will say that I know for a fact that many aspects that would impact long term support for 7, including native driver functions, APIs and other mechanisms used for both hardware and software products, including Malwarebytes, are virtually identical between Windows 7 and Windows 10 with the exception of new functions which have been added in later Windows versions (such as Early Launch Antimalware, aka ELAM which is a component of Secure Boot first implemented in Windows 8), however it has been and should continue to be a simple matter to implement the same functionality/features across operating systems, including Windows 7, save for those newer functions that don't apply to 7 (and therefore do not impact continued compatibility with Windows 7).

Sadly, not all vendors see things this way and have artificially and prematurely dropped support for Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 (even though 8.1 is still officially supported for security updates until 2023 and only stopped receiving feature updates last year) in some of their products, particularly hardware vendors like Intel and AMD, who were encouraged by Microsoft to stop providing drivers and support for Windows 7 and other pre-10 builds of Windows for their latest products/hardware even though there is literally no difference between the drivers and functions used between the two operating systems (again, save for those which involve new capabilities/features that don't apply to 7 and therefore simply aren't used in that OS) with the goal being to force any system using modern hardware to only be compatible with Windows 10.  In fact, this was proven by the fact that just last year Intel released a new 7th/8th generation platform which included support for Windows 7, including the USB 3.0 drivers, SATA drivers and chipset drivers which for the longest time were not available for the older operating system (though they still never released compatible drivers for their latest integrated graphics built into their modern CPUs, although this point is moot as long as the system has a discrete graphics solution from AMD or NVIDIA installed as both vendors still fully support Windows 7 for all of their current graphics products).  Of course Microsoft's reasoning for this is to try to force the widespread adoption of Windows 10 to happen sooner rather than being dragged out the way that XP was, which lingered far longer than any other Windows version and did pose major compatibility challenges for software and hardware vendors to continue to support it as it lacked most of the modern APIs available in later operating systems since Windows Vista.

With all of that said, I believe that Malwarebytes and other security vendors are quite aware that as Windows 7 reaches end of life/end of support it will be more important than ever to do what they can to keep those systems secure that are still running the OS as long as it continues to have a large install base as protections and attack vector mitigations, especially those which might secure the OS against many unpatched vulnerabilities such as the signature-less Exploit Protection become increasingly important, however I'm also certain that as with most responsible vendors, they too will be encouraging customers to migrate to a supported operating system as soon as possible for the best security and overall software experience.

[longbeachlouise]

@exile360, *Like*

 

[Amaroq_Starwind]

For anyone who doesn't wish to purchase ESU, but also doesn't wish to move on to Windows 10, I sincerely hope that whatever vulnerabilities are fixed by the updates in ESU can also be fixed by third-party security solutions such as Malwarebytes.

In the future, though, if Microsoft ever changes their mind on Windows 10 being the last version of Windows and plans to do an End of Life on the OS... actually, maybe let's not worry about that just yet.

[longbeachlouise]

@ Ron, Thank you!

@ Amaroq_Starwind , I had to google ESU to figure out it means, HP Essential System Updates for Windows 10. What you said about vulnerabilities being fixed by Malwarebytes, ditto!

Quote

According to Net Application, 40.3% of all computer users are still running on this software [Windows 7]. It’s a fan favorite for users. And as of today, despite being nine years old, it is still the most widely used operating system.

- https://accellis.com/windows-7-support-ends-in-2020

Also,

Quote

Essentially, those computers with Windows 7 will have a big red target on them starting on January 15^th, 2020

I have Pro. Guess I'll purchase the extension svcs through Microsoft. I don't want to switch! Since I have my refurbished laptop, with no Office installed, and with Malwarebytes Premium, it runs a like a dream. Maybe it's a long stretch I had no problems with it. Early on, I had BSD, and was helped on this forum.

[AdvancedSetup]

As you can see, we still support Windows XP and Vista, so I don't think we'll be dropping Windows 7 anytime soon.

https://www.malwarebytes.com/premium/

Malwarebytes for Windows

 

Languages Available
Bulgarian, Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish.

Software requirements
Windows 10 (32/64-bit)
Windows 8.1 (32/64-bit)
Windows 8 (32/64-bit)
Windows 7 (32/64-bit)
Windows Vista (Service Pack 1 or later, 32/64-bit)*
Windows XP (Service Pack 3 or later, 32-bit only)*
Active Internet connection

Hardware Requirements
800MHz CPU or faster, with SSE2 technology
2048 MB (64-bit OS), 1024 MB (32-bit OS, except 512 MB for Windows XP)
250 MB of free hard disk space
1024x768 or higher screen resolution

*The anti-ransomware protection component is only available on Windows 7 or higher

 

 

[Porthos]

9 minutes ago, longbeachlouise said:

I have Pro. Guess I'll purchase the extension svcs through Microsoft.

That is not available to single home/business use computers. Only to volume license customers.

[longbeachlouise]

54 minutes ago, Porthos said:

That is not available to single home/business use computers. Only to volume license customers.

Hi Porthos, Thanx 

 Just downloaded the Microsoft End of Support FAQ pdf: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?linkid=2076687

and you are right! Splork commented on ZDNet the security updates might have code planted that will cause more vulnerabilities, forcing enterprise to purchase more expensive updates subscription (it increases year by year), and proving Windows 7 insecure for the long term. It sounds far-fetched, but what about the forced updates to Windows 10 a couple of years ago? That was naughty. Conclusion: I'll go without the updates, even if I had access.

How much will staying patched on Windows 7 cost you? Here's the price list
https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-much-will-staying-patched-on-windows-7-cost-you-heres-the-price-list/

Edited March 27, 2019 by longbeachlouise
Edited to add link to article with comments

[longbeachlouise]

Thank you,  AdvancedSetup / Staff!!! Don't think I'll upgrade anytime soon . . .

[longbeachlouise]

My PC rebooted, and there was a message like this before the Windows screen launched. What does it mean?

[Porthos]

21 minutes ago, longbeachlouise said:

My PC rebooted, and there was a message like this before the Windows screen launched. What does it mean?

Sounds like your drive is failing. Suggest doing the F2 Diagnostics.

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Operating-System-and-Recovery/screen-says-www-hp-com-go-techcenter-startup/td-p/6743079

[exile360]

It appears to be the system recovery screen from HP, the system manufacturer.  Some OEM's like HP will put these types of boot options onto their systems for the purpose of diagnostics, repairs (useful when Windows won't boot), as well as restoring the system back to factory settings (i.e. wiping the system completely and reinstalling Windows).  If it came up on its own and you didn't initiate it deliberately I'd suggest just pressing the ENTER key as suggested to continue system startup and hopefully Windows will be able to boot properly.

[SPDIF]

My wife has an HP Elitebook, and some time ago had the same screen all the time when booting.

After long time searching the fault was the build in Lithium battery was end of life. I replaced it and did revise all settings in the bios.

After that we never did see that screen anymore. I am not sure, but i hope this also can help you out.

[longbeachlouise]

Porthos, exile360. and SPDIF, thanx for your responses! Getting caught up . . . It booted fine. At first, I thought it is because I didn't update HP envy Printer software . . . Also, this refurbished laptop from September 2016, operating Windows 7 Professional, is a Probook, so it IS HP. I didn't think the message was related to the laptop, I thought it is because I didn't update the printer software.

I operate sans battery, always at home, plugged in, on top of a wire cooling rack (for baking).

So far, it has been operating okay . . . Should I do the F2 diagnostics, Porthos?

My laptop reboots it seems like from a remote source sometimes when I do intense research zeroing in on something.

[Porthos]

1 hour ago, longbeachlouise said:

Should I do the F2 diagnostics, Porthos?

I would. No harm will be done.

[longbeachlouise]

Thanx, @Porthos. To conclude, updating HP printer software or not had nothing to do with the screen?

Here are the instructions:

To confirm this, test the hardware in the HP UEFI Diagnostics:

1. Repeatedly press Esc upon startup
2. Select F2 (System Diagnostics)
3. Select the desired language
4. Navigate to component tests
5. Select Hard drive

If these the test fails, this confirms the hard drive failure. If you are under warranty, contact HP:

What signifies the failure? What am I looking for? "Test failed?"

[exile360]

That's correct, if it detects any problems with the drive it will inform you with some kind of error or message about the test failing, detection of corrupt sectors/data etc.  It should be pretty obvious if it detects anything amiss with the drive, though my guess is that it was likely just a one-off incident, but no reason not to check just to make sure.

And no, it's not likely that updating the printer driver had anything to do with it.  There is a small possibility that the new driver caused a problem with the system when it tried to boot up, but if that were the case it's more likely that the issue booting would repeat itself, preventing you from reaching Windows if that were the case.  That said, it could have simply been a problem with the driver installation process itself as many drivers perform one time installation operations on the first system restart after updating, and that could have been what caused it, but as long as the printer is working normally then you shouldn't have anything to worry about in that regard.

[longbeachlouise]

Smart Check: Passed

Quick Check (DST): Passed

Of the two options, Quick Check and comprehensive check, I chose Quick Check. Does it mean everything's okay? What a relief! Thanx for suggesting the test.

May I send you a Huweii phone I never unboxed yet, to root it and get out the spyware?

[longbeachlouise]

Sorry. I tried to post source code for a gmail using the code tags, because I thought I would be able to print it from here, because it puts me in a loop of endless pages when I try to print it as a txt file, but received a HTTP 504 Status Code (Gateway Timeout) gateway: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudFront/latest/DeveloperGuide/http-504-gateway-timeout.html

[longbeachlouise]

Customer guidance for CVE-2019-0708 | Remote Desktop Services Remote Code Execution Vulnerability: May 14, 2019
- https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4500705/customer-guidance-for-cve-2019-0708

It belongs in this topic, so I added.