Microsoft Warns 50 Million Users Need to Upgrade from Unsupported Versions of Windows

Microsoft has issued a warning to customers who are still using older versions of Windows, asking them to switch to the latest version, as the older ones are more prone to security issues.
Out of 1.6 billion Microsoft users, around 60 million still use Windows 8.1 or older versions.
However, Microsoft is trying to get everyone on Windows 11, its latest OS.

Microsoft has asked 50 million users to upgrade from unsupported versions of Windows, as they’re now at a high risk of getting hit by malware and viruses.

The warning comes after Microsoft launched the 24H2 update for Windows 11 after celebrating its 3-year anniversary. As of now, more than 500 million people are using Windows 11.

However (and unsurprisingly), the latest version’s user base is nothing compared to Windows 10 or Windows 7. For example, Windows 10 alone is serving more than twice the number of users than Windows 11, whereas the rest of the older versions put together are used by just 60 million out of Microsoft’s 1.6 billion user base.

While Windows 10 users don’t have anything to worry about (yet), as they have a year of supported service left, the situation is a little different for loyal users of older Windows versions, which is Windows 8.1 or anything older than that.

The company recently updated the support pages for these versions and declared that they will no longer receive any updates. Additionally, no technical support or security fixes will be provided to machines running these versions, either.

Read more: New ‘Windows App’ will replace Microsoft Remote Desktop

How Does Lack of Support Result in Security Issues?
Unsupported versions are unsafe to use because in the scenario that there’s a vulnerability, the company will no longer release a patch for it.

As per CVE, Windows 8.1 alone has thousands of vulnerabilities and without any support from Microsoft, hackers can exploit it at any time – perhaps they’re doing it right now as I’m writing this down!

What Should Windows Users Do Now?
There’s only one way forward: users need to upgrade their systems. If a direct upgrade to Windows 11 is not possible due to hardware limitations, the least that needs to be done is upgrade to Windows 10. This will give you the necessary protection until you’re ready to invest in new hardware.

However, Windows 11 has stringent hardware requirements, which makes it difficult for a lot of users to make the switch. Although the company is trying to bypass these limitations, a significant change is yet to come.

Plus, as we’ve seen time and again, a lot of folks just get too comfortable when it comes to technology and they would rather use the unsupported version than switch to a newer one just because it works fine and they’re habituated.

Therefore, even if Microsoft’s warning manages to get some users to upgrade to Windows 10, they might not switch to Windows 11.