Microsoft Officially Ends Support for Windows Vista
As of April 11, 2017, Microsoft has discontinued all support for Windows Vista, marking the end of an era for one of its most controversial operating systems. This move follows Microsoft’s standard 10-year lifecycle policy, which includes two phases of support.
Understanding Microsoft’s Support Timeline
Mainstream Support: Ended April 10, 2012
Included free incident support, warranty claims, bug fixes (both security and non-security), and feature updates.Extended Support: Ended April 11, 2017
Provided security updates only during this final phase.
Windows Vista originally launched to manufacturers on November 8, 2006, with general availability following on January 30, 2007. Despite its mixed reception, Microsoft maintained support for the full decade, including two Service Packs (March 2005 and March 2007) and an R2 release in December 2005.
The Risks of Continuing to Use Windows Vista
While Vista installations will continue to function, users face significant risks:
- Security Vulnerabilities: No more security patches will be released, leaving systems exposed to new threats
- Compatibility Issues: Hardware and software manufacturers will increasingly drop Vista support
- Antivirus Limitations: Microsoft Security Essentials is no longer available for download, and signature updates will only continue for “a limited time”
“Your computer is already compromised regardless of what security suite you use since the operating system is no longer being updated.”
What Vista Users Should Do Now
Microsoft recommends upgrading to a supported operating system. Current options include:
- Windows 7 (extended support until January 14, 2020)
- Windows 8.1 (extended support until January 10, 2023)
- Windows 10 (most current version)
For reference, less than 1% of global users were still on Vista as of early 2017 according to market share data.
Key Dates for Other Windows Versions
For information about support timelines for other Microsoft operating systems, consult the official Windows Lifecycle page.
The Bottom Line
If you’re among the few still running Windows Vista, now is the time to upgrade. Continuing to use an unsupported operating system poses unnecessary security risks and may lead to increasing compatibility issues with modern software and hardware.
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