Windows 7

[Ifonly86]

Can anyone confirm what will actually happen tomorrow regarding windows 7? Will we lose files etc? Can’t seem to find out anywhere and I’m worried I’ll lose all my work (no option to back up or save It at the moment)

This BBC News article might be helpful:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-51090407

You won't "lose files" everything will stay the same but Windows 7 won't get security updates and so will be increasingly risky to run.

You need to think about upgrading (probably to a new computer if the current one is getting on a bit) but for now all is good.

We've still got some XP machines in daily use. The World won't end and you won't automatically lose files nor functionality. As said above, the problem is that they'll be more risky to use due to increased potential of being hacked or subjected to viruses etc. So, you need to limit internet activity, ensure you've a good anti-virus program installed, do regular security scans, etc., and ensure all users don't do stupid things like view dodgy websites, download dodgy downloads, click on dodgy email links/attachments, etc. Of course, best to scrap the computers and get modern ones, but if you can't do then, then just take all precautions possible. Like I say, we're running some xp machines and have had no problems in the few years since xp support was withdrawn. Not ideal, but needs must sometimes!

Thank you all! I wasn’t aware of it until today so had a bit of a panic

There won't actually be any difference between the security of your PC today and tomorrow, but that will change as time goes on, and new security flaws are discovered and exploited by hackers, as there won't be any fixes for them.

Make sure you have all the updates that are currently available for your pc, and plan to upgrade as soon as you can manage it, practically and financially.
Although your files will be fine for now, try to find a way to back up as soon as you can, as your PC is presumably at least 5 years old and more likely to suffer hardware failure than a newer machine.
I would also suggest you don't use it for banking - it's possible that if you did get hacked the bank could claim you were not using due care and refuse to refund any losses.

@rustybear not quite true. Hackers and malware writers will already be writing code to take advantage of the lack of support and patches.

They'll use vulnerabilities that they know Microsoft won't be patching out.

Whilst it's not worth panicking over I would not want to keep running Windows 7 too long after it goes end of life.

User, NHS by any chance? You're either paying Microsoft through the nose for support or those machines aren't connected to the internet / network.

An XP machine could be compromised on seconds.

@TheWorldAsh - yes, I know, that's why I said 'that will change'

User, NHS by any chance?

No, private firm.

We have all kinds of reasons to keep old PCs. Some of our clients have data going back 20/30/40 years on obsolete programs which we can't migrate to modern systems so we need to keep the old PCs with programs/data loaded for reference purposes. Some are in regular daily use, others haven't been switched on for months.

We also use some pretty old peripherals for various reasons, such as dot matrix printers, A3 scanners/printers, etc. They're pretty old and aren't compatible with Win 10. They'd cost an arm and a leg to replace and whilst they're still working, it makes sense to keep them. We do payroll for various firms and many still insist on the old-fashioned carbonated payslip/envelope combos so we need a robust dot matrix printer (2 actually so we have a backup) to meet their needs. Not even sure if you can buy matrix printers anymore??

Yes, if money and time was no object, we could go modern across the board and ditch the old. We could buy several new peripherals, have old data/systems moved over onto modern software (at a cost of tens of thousands of IT consultant time - we've had quotes!). But it's just easier to leave the old stuff and use it occasionally.

The oldest stuff (Win 97 and even some DOS machines) isn't connected to the internet so they're pretty safe from hacking - they're on our old internal network, so can communicate with each other but not the internet and not our modern machines.