Photograph: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images Making sure your browser is up to date is one of the most important steps you can take. The British government’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) told the BBC: “We would urge those using the software after the deadline to replace unsupported devices as soon as possible, to move sensitive data to a supported device and not to use them for tasks like accessing bank and other sensitive accounts.” That’s good advice.
In this case, as with XP, there could be millions of relatively easy targets.
Malware writers don’t normally target out-of-date operating systems, because they don’t usually have many users. As a result, some of the security holes in Windows 10 will also be present in Windows 7, but they won’t be patched. A lot of the code in Windows 10 goes back to Windows 7 and earlier versions. The malware industry analyses these patches to find the holes, and then looks for ways to exploit them. On the second Tuesday of every month, Microsoft releases security patches that should be installed automatically by Windows Update. There are reasons to be fearful, because of the way the malware industry works. It was so bad that Microsoft released a patch for XP, even though it was out of support. We saw how dangerous that can be when WannaCry took over unpatched PCs in the NHS and other places. Users will therefore be more vulnerable to malware attacks, particularly from “ ransomware”. To begin with, Windows 7 will not stop working, it will just stop receiving security updates. Despite Microsoft’s repeated warnings to Windows 7 users, there may still be a couple of hundred million users, many of them in businesses. Microsoft Windows 7 – launched in 2009 – came to the end of its supported life on Tuesday. If I do stay with Windows 7, what should I worry about, and how can I protect myself? I have been running Kaspersky Total Security for several years, which has worked well so far. I’m a widow and can’t afford to run out and get a new PC at this time, or pay for Windows 10. I do a lot of work on a Windows 7 desktop PC that is about five years old.
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