On January 14, Windows 7 stops receiving security updates. Check every computer, including any at home used for the business, move banking, email and website work to a supported one this month, and take equipment machines off the internet.

Less than four weeks

Microsoft stops releasing security updates for Windows 7 on January 14, less than four weeks from today.

Plenty of small offices still have a machine or two running it: the front desk computer, the laptop that lives in a drawer, the PC that drives a piece of equipment.

None of them will stop working on that date. Nothing forces a change, which is why so many will still be in use next summer.

With Christmas and New Year in between, there are fewer working days left than the calendar suggests.

What end of support means

Windows receives a regular stream of fixes for security weaknesses as they are found. After January 14 those stop for Windows 7, and any weakness discovered afterwards stays open.

Much of Windows 7 is shared with newer versions, so fixes released for Windows 10 show attackers where to look. Some of what they find will be in Windows 7 too, unfixed for good.

Browser and antivirus makers will set their own dates for dropping Windows 7, but none of them can repair Windows itself.

Microsoft does sell businesses paid extended security updates for some editions, priced per computer and rising each year. It is a bridge for a machine that cannot be replaced yet, not a plan.

Every computer, not just the office one

The fifth is the one office inventories miss. A home computer that runs payroll on Sunday evenings is a business computer, whatever else the family uses it for.

To see what a computer runs, open the Start menu, type winver and press Enter. A small window names the version of Windows.

Banking and email first

Online banking is where an unpatched computer can cost money directly. Software built to capture banking logins settles most easily on a machine that no longer receives fixes.

The business email matters just as much. Whoever controls it can reset the passwords for the bank, the website and the domain, and can read every invoice that passes through it.

That second part feeds a common fraud: an email from the real account, or one made to look like it, telling a customer or the bookkeeper that the business's bank details have changed.

Customer information on these machines is protected by privacy law as well. Where the federal law applies, every breach has had to be recorded since November last year, and serious ones reported.

A worked example

A ten-lane bowling centre has three computers. The one in the office runs Windows 10. The front desk PC, used for email, party bookings, banking and updating the website's hours, runs Windows 7.

So does the computer that runs the lane scoring system, because the scoring software was never updated for anything newer.

This month the owner moved banking and the website login to the office's Windows 10 computer, and ordered a new front desk computer to be set up in the first days of January.

The scoring computer stays. It no longer has email or a browser, and the router now keeps it off the internet while it still talks to the lanes over the building's own network.

The old front desk computer's drive will be wiped before it goes for recycling.

Upgrade or replace

Some Windows 7 computers can be upgraded to Windows 10. Many are old enough that it will run slowly on them, and replacing them is the better use of the money.

Either way, the job is more than the operating system. Printers need drivers, accounting and design software may need new versions, and files, email and bookmarks have to move across.

List the software each machine runs before buying anything, and check that each has a version for Windows 10. That list often decides the budget more than the computer does.

Ordering now and setting up in the first week of January is realistic. Ordering on January 13 is not.

The machine that cannot be replaced yet

Equipment software is the usual reason a Windows 7 computer has to stay: a scoring system, a cutter, a lab instrument, an older till system. Ask its supplier about a current version first.

If there is none, give the machine one job. No email, no browsing, no banking, and no route to the internet, even if it still needs the office network.

A computer that never reaches the internet is far harder to attack, whatever it runs.

Before the old computer leaves

An old office computer carries years of the business on its drive: email archives, customer files, saved passwords, scanned invoices and cheques.

Deleting files or emptying the recycle bin does not remove them. The drive needs wiping with software made for the purpose, or physically destroying, before the machine is recycled, sold or given away.

Sign it out of email and other accounts first, and deactivate any software licences so they can be moved to the new machine.

The counter-case

Many businesses have nothing to do. An office that replaced its computers in the last few years is probably on Windows 10 already, and Macs are unaffected.

A spare machine that is never switched on is no risk while it stays off. And a single equipment computer, kept off the internet, can reasonably run Windows 7 for some time yet.

But no computer that touches banking, email or the website should be running Windows 7 after January 14.

This month

  1. Check the Windows version on every computer.
  2. Include the home computer used for the business.
  3. Move banking and email to a supported machine now.
  4. List the software each machine needs.
  5. Order replacements this week.
  6. Keep equipment computers off the internet.
  7. Wipe old drives before recycling.

Step three cannot wait for new hardware. Most offices already have one computer on Windows 10, and moving the sensitive logins to it takes an afternoon.

What the computer that updates the website tends to carry, from saved passwords to old FTP programs, is covered in old software on the office computer that updates the website.

Frequently asked questions

What happens to Windows 7 on January 14?

Microsoft stops releasing security updates for it. The computer keeps working as before, but any weakness discovered afterwards stays open for good.

Which office computers should move first?

The ones used for online banking, the business email and updating the website. Whoever controls the email can reset passwords for everything else and read every invoice.

How do I check which Windows a computer runs?

Open the Start menu, type winver and press Enter. A small window shows which version of Windows the computer is running.

Does a home computer count?

Yes, if it is used for business banking, payroll or email. It holds the same logins as the office machines and needs the same treatment before January 14.

What about a computer that runs equipment?

Ask the equipment supplier about current software first. If none exists, give the machine one job, with no email, browsing or banking, and no route to the internet.

Can a Windows 7 computer be upgraded?

Some can, but many are old enough that Windows 10 will run slowly, and replacing them is the better use of money. Check every program you rely on has a Windows 10 version.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

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