Microsoft Germany issues security warning to people still using Windows 7

By Jonathan Keane Published January 17, 2017

Microsoft Germany is warning people that are still using Windows 7 to finally ditch the operating system in favor of Windows 10 as it “does not meet the requirements of modern technology” and may be insecure.

Microsoft will be ending support for Windows 7 within the next three years and it appears like the company may be a little concerned that not enough people have made the move to Windows 10. In a blog post, the head of Windows at Microsoft Germany Markus Nitschke warned people, and especially businesses and organizations, that they shouldn’t make the move at the last minute.

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“Today, [Windows 7] does not meet the requirements of modern technology, nor the high-security requirements of IT departments. As early as in Windows XP, we saw that companies should take early steps to avoid future risks or costs,” he said. Nitschke is referring to the end of support for Windows XP that happened a few years ago where Microsoft urged users to upgrade from the OS before support ended and they were left vulnerable and with no updates.

Users originally had an opportunity to upgrade to Windows 10 for free but that offer has since elapsed, so now users and companies will have to fork over the money.

Nitschke admitted that Windows 7 was “one of the most successful operating systems” and was rather popular during its time so there may be a sizeable amount of people out there that want to keep it for as long as possible. However, you can no longer buy a new computer running Windows 7 and most hardware manufacturers do not provide drivers for the OS anymore.

“Windows 7 can no longer keep up with the increased security requirements,” added the company in the blog post.

The post is of course also a sort of promotion for Windows 10. Microsoft has been pushing the operating system fiercely and at the end of 2016, it had reached about 24 percent market share. However, Windows 7 still accounts for the largest slice of the pie at 47 percent.

It’s interesting to note that this latest advisory comes from Microsoft’s Germany division and that it is aimed at organizations in particular. Germany has been on edge over potential cyberattacks and fake news ahead of its elections this year. If organizations like pollsters or even government agencies are using outdated operating systems, it provides a possible gateway for hackers.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Jonathan is a freelance technology journalist living in Dublin, Ireland. He's previously written for publications and sites…

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