Upgrade notifications return to Windows 7 as end of life date looms

During the first year of Microsoft's Windows 10 roll-out, many of you will remember receiving upgrade notifications on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. Now, with Windows 7 support nearing its official end, those upgrade notifications are set to return.

Windows 7's end of life update is pencilled in for the 14th of January 2020. After this date, some businesses with deep pockets will be able to pay for an extra two years of support but this option won't be available to everyone. Beyond that, continuing to use an out of date operating system poses major security risks, a subject that Microsoft touched on following the ‘WannaCry' cyber attack in 2017.

With all of that in mind, Microsoft is bringing ‘Get Windows 10' pop-up notifications back to Windows 7. The last time Microsoft imposed these notifications on users, it caused quite the stir, so this time around, users will be able to turn the notifications off.

Of course, those who have waited this long will have a barrier to worry about when upgrading. Windows 10 is no longer a free update to those on Windows 7 or Windows 8.1.

KitGuru Says: Chances are if you've stuck with Windows 7 for this long, an impending end of life notification isn't going to immediately sway you into upgrading. Still, as far as security goes, keeping your software up to date is important. 

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