Windows 7; Still Causing Issues, Still Being Patched
Millions of people are still using the Microsoft Windows 7 operating system, even though support ended on January 14, 2020. When Microsoft pulled the plug on support, most industry professionals expected there to be some exploits found pretty quickly. It turns out that the very first exploit was actually Microsoft’s fault, and that Windows 7 support had a little life in it after all.
Many businesses continue to run Windows 7 because their line of business software remains on a Windows 7 PC Often, these legacy software titles aren’t compatible with Windows 10. As a result, companies are maintaining support for these computing resources at great organizational expense. The problems are exacerbated by the fact that Windows 7 systems are no longer supported by the third party software developers, either.
A Microsoft Bug Leads to a New Patch
Running counter to 1/14/20 end of support claim, however, was the recent patch that Microsoft provided for Windows 7 users. Why? A bug was found in the “stretch” wallpaper option. Microsoft initially stated that they were only going to patch the problem for businesses that were on their extended support platform, but the bug–called the “black wallpaper bug”– opens up a security vulnerability in the system. Microsoft soon about-faced and delivered a free patch on February 7, 2020, just weeks after the end of support was supposed to take hold.
It stands to reason that Microsoft relented and released a patch due to the fact that so many businesses are still using Windows 7 . The problem is that now that Windows 7 is supposedly off of support altogether, when does it end? Has Pandora’s Box been opened? It looks like a new scenario has appeared that will allow us to find out.
That’s right. A new corruption has already been found. Some Windows 7 users, upon trying to shut their systems down, are receiving a pop up message that reads: “You don’t have permission to shut down this computer”. This bug seems to be on the level of the “black wallpaper bug” and it will be interesting to see if Microsoft relents; will they ship another security patch to cover this, or will they finally cut ties with the software, completely?
Workarounds Exist, But They’re Not Optimal
In the meantime, Reddit users have come up with workarounds. These aren’t official remedies for the problem and some workarounds require the use of third-party software. Without a word from Microsoft, however, we still contend that the best solution to the problem is to move off of the Windows 7 if at all possible. If that simply doesn’t or can’t work for your business, make sure that you are paying for extended security support, as that is the only reliable option for keeping your Windows 7 legacy systems running securely
Call Ashton Solutions today at 216 397-4080 to learn how we can help your company get the hardware and software systems you need to run an efficient and productive business.
