The FBI has spent years issuing security alerts related to hardware and software that we use on a daily basis. Despite continuous alerts issued by Microsoft itself, the community, and the media, hundreds of millions of computers still use Windows 7 today despite being unsafe because they no longer receive security updates (unless paid for). therefore additionally). Now, the FBI has had to warn of the danger of continuing to use it.
As of January 14, 2020 , Windows 7 has reached the end of its life cycle and is no longer receiving security updates to fix vulnerabilities. To this we must add that there are many programs that no longer work with Windows 7, but it seems that there are many users who have no intention of updating; even though you can upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 for free .
Using Windows 7 is opening the door for hackers
For this reason, the FBI is alerting companies in the United States of the dangers at the network level that can suppose to continue using Windows 7 today, since they affirm that they have detected cybercriminals attacking network infrastructures taking advantage of the fact that an operating system is no longer supported. Thus, they state that “continuing to use Windows 7 in a company can allow a hacker to take control of that company, and the problem will become increasingly serious because the system will become more vulnerable over time.”
The best solution, according to the FBI, is clear: upgrade to an operating system that does have support for security updates , such as Windows 10, or even Windows 8, which is still supported. Many companies continue to delay updating because updating the operating system can cause incompatibility problems with the programs they use, as well as a possible increase in cost if they have to change computers. That cost, however, is a trifle compared to what it would mean to suffer a hack.
If you don’t update at least have a good antivirus and firewall
In the event that you cannot upgrade to a newer operating system yet, the FBI recommends using good antivirus , spam filters, and firewalls, in addition to isolating Windows 7 computers from the network, using two-step authentication, and block all access to desktop remote control.
At the moment, although almost 7 months have passed since the end of Windows 7 support, it has not yet been the case that there is a great vulnerability that endangers the operating system, although this could arise at any time as it happened in 2019 with BlueKeep or in 2017 with WannaCry and ETERNALBLUE, which even required releasing a special patch for Windows XP three years after the end of update support. Back then, 98% of WannaCry infected computers used Windows 7.
