Microsoft closes another chapter of Windows 7 and 8, by ceasing support for its web browser on these two operating systems.
Are you still on Windows 7 or Windows 8, while Microsoft has been asking you to migrate to a newer operating system for a few years now? Be aware that another key OS software will no longer receive any support in less than a month: this is Microsoft Edge, the Redmond company’s home browser.
The American company has set the final end of support for Microsoft Edge on January 12, 2023, we learned on December 9. On this date, a final version of the software will be offered to the public. Afterwards, the group will no longer offer any features, bug fixes or flaw corrections. Of course, Edge will continue to work after January 12 for those who remain on Windows 7 and 8.
Microsoft puts an end to Windows 7 and 8
Microsoft’s decision to provide a final update for Edge on these two operating systems coincides with the shutdown of the Extended Security Update (ESU) program on January 10, 2023. This service, for organizations and businesses, is used to provide patches for vulnerabilities. Paid, it is only used to receive patches.
For the general public, support for these two OSes goes back a long way – extended support for Windows 7 ended in early 2020, for example, after more than ten years of support (the OS was released in 2009). Microsoft has long encouraged its customers to switch to its most modern solutions, whether Windows 10 (released in 2015) or Windows 11 (released in 2021).
Edge isn’t the only page-turning browser. A few months earlier, it was Google who warned that its Chrome software will no longer evolve after January 2023. The Mountain View company is also planning a very last update of Chrome on Windows 7 and 8, before stopping everything. Other browsers should also soon do the same.
Despite Microsoft’s repeated pleas to migrate to a newer OS, it turns out that Windows 7 remains widely used — international statistics say it’s on nearly one in ten Windows workstations. For Windows 8, we are now on an almost anecdotal market share of around 3%. But, it still concerns hundreds of thousands of posts.
