Don’t say they didn’t warn you.
Activate a PC operating Microsoft Home windows 8.1 and also you’re prone to be greeted with a full-screen message warning that the working system will now not be supported after 10 January 2023, and – critically – will now not be receiving any safety updates.
Microsoft sneaked into the newest replace rolled out to Home windows 8.1 customers this week a program (EOSnotify.exe) that displayed the end-of-support notification.
This model of Home windows is nearing the tip of help.
January 10, 2023 is the final day Microsoft will supply safety updates and technical help for PCs that run Home windows 8.1. We’re reaching out now to thanks to your loyalty and aid you put together for what’s subsequent.
For those who click on on the “Study extra” button you can be taken to an recommendation on Microsoft’s web site that recommends “transferring to a brand new PC that may run Home windows 11.”
Helpfully Microsoft then gives a wizard that may aid you select a brand new PC.
After the laborious promote, nevertheless, comes an important message of all – which is hidden away within the FAQ:
After January 10, 2023, computer systems operating Home windows 8.1 will nonetheless operate, however Microsoft will now not present the next:
* Technical help of any situation
* Software program updates
* Safety updates or fixesWhilst you may proceed to make use of a PC operating Home windows 8.1, with out continued software program and safety updates, your PC will probably be at higher danger for viruses and malware. We advocate upgrading to a model of Home windows that’s nonetheless supported. A brand new machine that may run Home windows 11 makes for a straightforward transition and a terrific expertise.
It’s your alternative whether or not you need to improve to a more recent model of Home windows (or certainly purchase a brand new pc in case your present PC may wrestle to run it), and different non-Microsoft working programs can be found in fact.
However Microsoft is right in saying that you can be placing your self in danger when you proceed to run an working system that’s now not receiving software program fixes and safety patches.
And don’t overlook – you’re not simply placing your self in danger. Working an unsecured PC additionally places in danger the information of every other one that communicates with you, or whose info you retailer in your laborious drive, in addition to everybody else linked to the web. A compromised PC can be utilized by cybercriminals to launch assaults on others – even folks you don’t know. Everybody ought to do their bit to make the web a safer place for all of us.
The clock is clicking. Don’t say they didn’t warn you.
PS. Help for Home windows 10 will finish on 14 October 2025.
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