Hey. Remember me? That old, slow laptop that you shoved in a drawer? That broken down beige desktop that might still be powered on in your basement? Many households have more than one computer and there’s a good chance that some of these run the Windows 7 operating system. As we spend more time on our tablets and smartphones, we tend to neglect our older gadgets. Windows 7 is OLD. It’s dying and vulnerable. Microsoft is reminding users that support for Windows 7 will end in less than a year, meaning that it won’t receive critical security updates after January 2020.
No bueno.
So take a moment to fire up that Windows 7 PC of yours and apply all available updates. If you aren’t sure how to do that, type Windows Update in the search bar.
You should also consider:
- If you use the computer regularly – turning on automatic updates and make sure that you have up-to-date antivirus software running. Keep your applications and plugins updated as well.
- If it’s a computer that you will no longer use – wiping all personal data from the hard drive and disposing of the computer through an authorized electronics recycling facility.
- Upgrading to a new device running Windows 10 or jumping ship to a Mac. New computer or old, it’s important to make sure you are keeping up with the latest security patches.
