FP StaffOct 25, 2022 11:06:06 IST
For most PC enthusiasts, Windows 7 was one of the best operating systems that Microsoft has released in decades. While Microsoft pulled the plug on the operating system about two years, ago, one of the biggest support systems it had up until now, has decided that it will no longer support Windows 7. Google has officially announced that it will stop updating its Chrome browser for Windows 7, starting 2023.
Google will roll out the final update for Google Chrome for Windows 7 on February 7, 2023. Image Credit: Chromium
Just to give you an idea of how popular and well-received theWindows 7 operating system was, consider this – despite the fact that it was first released in 2009 and Microsoft officially ended supporting it in 2020, there are at least 100 million active devices that use Windows 7, and connect to the internet, daily. As opposed to that, the next Windows OS, Windows 8.1, does not have even half of those numbers.
This does not include the number of air-gapped devices, or devices that are running on a pirated copy of Windows 7.
From a security standpoint, this is a huge deal. Google, pulling the plug on Google Chrome for Windows 7 basically means that a lot of people could soon be both an unsupported operating system and an unsupported web browser. Google announced that Chrome 110, which is tentatively scheduled to be released on February 7th, 2023, will be the last version that supports the two older Microsoft operating systems.
Chrome will still work after version 110, but it won’t get any future updates on Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, according to the support page.
If you’re still on a system running on either Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 operating systems, we suggest that you finally upgrade to a new OS as soon as you can. That way, you’ll be able to receive security updates for your operating system and take advantage of the latest Chrome features and security improvements as well.
