Windows Vista has reached the venerable age of 10 years. On April 11th, 2017, Microsoft has ceased releasing security updates for this outdated operating system. This makes it dangerous for both consumers and companies to continue to use it.
Microsoft ofcourse advises to migrate to their flagship Windows 10. But for the moment, Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 are still supported, making them a fine alternative.
Market share Windows Vista
Fortunately, Windows Vista’s market share is very small. As a result, the enormous fuss that ensued from the end-of-life of Windows XP will not be an issue this time. Research from
Net Market Share shows that even now Windows XP is still more active than Vista. Nearly half of the workstations run on Windows 7. That version is still supported until January 2020.
Changes for 1A users
Besides the security risks little will change for 1A users running Windows Vista. You can keep using your shares for the time being and all other functionalities will continue to work. Due to its low popularity, the 1A manuals for Windows Vista have been filed under “Legacy 1A-manuals” for some time, and are no longer updated.
End dates for Windows 7 and 8.1
The next Windows versions to be discontinued are Windows 7 on January 13, 2020, and Windows 8.1 on Januari 10, 2023. Windows 8 has been discontinued since Januari 12, 2016, but can be upgraded for free to 8.1.
Please contact your 1A-partner to obtain a more recent operating system or a new PC.
Author Richard de Vroede
A perfectionistic Jack-of-all-trades who dedicates all of his passion to his work.
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