Bitcoin Forum

Source: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4057281/windows-7-support-ended-on-january-14-2020


3 days ago, Microsoft stopped their product supports for Windows 7, so for people who use Windows, it is good time to upgrade their Windows to Windows 10. It is the must thing to do, for their own security.

Specifically, for crypto enthusiasts, it is much more important thing to do in order to secure their funds.

On Electrum's download page, they emphasized this part for older Windows versions (older than Windows 7).
I don't know Electrum already knew about that announcement from Microsoft, but I think they will react to this news ASAP.
In the meantime, it is good for your fund by self-protect it with Windows upgrades to Windows 10.

Be careful and be safe, guys.

---

If you want to try new OS, let's see:

• https://ubuntu.com/blog/why-you-should-upgrade-windows-7-to-ubuntu
• https://linuxmint.com/
• https://lubuntu.me/

Or better yet, start learning how to use Linux! Better privacy, and also better security in theory(because you're a lot less likely to be infected as most malware are made for Windows devices). People think Linux is too difficult to use but the fact is that it's a lot user friendly today! Ubuntu[1] and Mint[2] are 2 good and stable Linux distros that I'd suggest Linux beginners use.

---

[1] https://ubuntu.com/
[2] https://linuxmint.com/

Just to add, if you're still using a potato PC along with your Windows 7 (like 1GB or 2GB RAM which can't really run newer OSes properly anymore), and don't want to buy a completely new system to go with a secure OS, you can use Lubuntu, which is basically a much more lightweight flavor of Ubuntu:

https://lubuntu.me/ (https://lubuntu.me/)

It doesn't take up much space either, so it should also be viable for dual booting even for older machines. It's also perfect for converting old laptops and such into air-gapped cold storages.

Don't think that with simple updating to Windows 10 you will be much safer.
Windows 10 is full of spy holes and it is is reporting everything you do to Microsoft and it's partners.
Installing wallets is better on Linux OS partition or usb

You can check most popular Linux distributions here:
https://distrowatch.com/

Although Windows are more common OS so more attackers have it on their first target-list to attack, the security of people and their devices depend on how they use it, and does not solely depends on whatsoever OS they use.

I have Mentioned (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5218083.msg53625604#msg53625604) on my post before. And I read the information on Microsoft blog, We can still use Windows 7, they make an exception to understand that not everyone can upgrade quickly as expected. because of that Microsoft has a price for who want to extend Windows 7 until January 2023.

Microsoft stopping its support for Windows 7 doesn't suddenly make it unsafe or rather unsafer, Windows (all versions) have always been unsafe and will remain that way as long as it remains closed source. you can continue using Windows 7 but from now on there won't be any "new" updates fixing any "new" problems that may be found in it.
and to be honest i prefer 7 instead of 10 with all its hidden "official" spyware inside and i'll continue using it as long as i can since i use certain softwares that work best on windows.

Timely post by Ubuntu  ;D
Why you should upgrade Windows 7 to Ubuntu (https://ubuntu.com/blog/why-you-should-upgrade-windows-7-to-ubuntu)

React in what way exactly, stopping support for new versions of the Electrum on the W7? I think this is not a likely option, Electrum can still work without problem on W7, and that update you mention is there for years.

Any crypto wallet and that includes even hardware wallets can be compromised in some way, even on the safest operating system. Install Linux, download Electrum, verify the signature and then save seed to your email or any other inappropriate way and you are likely to be hacked. In most cases, it's not the problem of what you use, but the way you use it.

Microsoft still offers a free update for the W7/8 to W10, and I think this is the best way to update since a user can keep all files/programs. However, it is important that you read all the instructions and warnings before proceeding.

Download Windows 10 (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10)

My personal opinion, now is the best time to using Linux or Ubuntu. My personal experience (at least until now I write this) with windows OS is the only WinXp and Win7 is more stable and secure

I still have one of my PC with Windows 7. I'm not going to update it, because it's running on old hardware with low specifications. I will rather get new PC, though I'm not looking for it urgently. Offcourse, staying on W7 for long isn't smart idea anymore.
For those who value privacy, Windows 10 isn't the best choice. It's one of reasons why I still haven't upgraded to this software. But I will have to it sooner or later. Because I doubt about switching to alternative OS like Linux or Ubuntu.

? ? ?

Besides Linux OSs, Windows 8 and 10 are definitely more secure compared to Windows XP and Windows 7, due to the simple fact alone that XP and 7 both aren't receiving security updates anymore.

I was using Microsoft OS from the start I bought my PC, I think it's not a bad idea to try these OS too. I've heard of this OS since the early times. the only downside is they don't support some of the online games I'm currently playing. I think it's time now to learn the multi-booting technique.

Well, I'm pretty sure most of us started out with a PC running Microsoft.

That's definitely a downside. But when talking about online games, specifically, the bigger ones like DOTA2 and CSGO, they run smoothly on Ubuntu, at least based on my experience. Linux is known to be a bad OS for games in the past, but this is definitely slowly but surely changing now.

You can check ProtonDB[1] to see how good or bad a game is when running on Linux.

---

[1] https://www.protondb.com/

I'm still using windows 7 I check all the links you posted but there are no price mentioned Extended Security Updates, I might shift to Linux I don't trust Window 10 because of the privacy issues, I have read an article that they snoop on our operating system and there are products sold that restrict microsoft from snooping, so it's a verification that they are indeed snooping.

Purchasing windows 7 extended security updates (ESU) more pretty expensive range $30-$50 (https://windowsreport.com/buy-windows-7-esu/) not include desk support. Also, you should be cloud solution provider (https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-it-pro-blog/purchasing-windows-7-esus-as-a-cloud-solution-provider/ba-p/1034637) (CSP) Partner, then you have to go to partner center >> add product software >> Use the filter to display only Software Subscriptions >>  select the 1 year Term.

Anyway, extended windows 7 is more complicated, better to you read all post here, upgrading to windows 10 or use Linux.
https://www.linux.org/pages/download/

Thank you for your awareness post, After using 5 years recently I have upgraded my desktop windows 7 to windows 10 for security reasons.
I will miss the interface of windows 7 a lot.

There is no reason to miss something, there are always options to customize your new OS to get at least a visual look of your old OS. I have personally met people who find it difficult to get used to the new interface, but it actually takes very little time to get used to the new interface. If you really miss the old OS, here are some tricks which can help you.

How to Make Windows 10 Look and Act More Like Windows 7 (https://www.howtogeek.com/277448/how-to-make-windows-10-look-and-act-more-like-windows-7/)

Things might have changed since, but Lubuntu has been known to be lighter than Xubuntu (out of the box at least):

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ubuntu/comments/8fz0dv/disk_and_ram_usage_of_ubuntu_kubuntu_lubuntu/dy7iye5/

That difference is pretty huge if we assume a potato PC is running it. Other than that, I've had very limited experience with Xfce, but any desktop environment should do if hardware isn't a limiting factor.

Well, I think it’s right, Windows 7 is pleased with the sharp system, which, in my opinion, does not fully meet modern realities.
In addition, Windows 10 is available to everyone at a fairly cheap price.
 I have been using this system for more than 3 years, and am quite satisfied. At the workstation, I use the linux system.

No need to change to Windows 8, because Windows 7 is quite good and also very popular worldwide. Real thread is only crypto viruses, and then you need to reinstall OS. Otherwise antivirus soft is ok. Linux is not safe, except may be some of them.  ;)

Why are so many people hesitant to update to Windows 10?

I've used it for a few years now and never had major issues. Drivers work fine.

There are a lot of tools about Privacy Setting available for Windows 10 to disable some "strange" services and functions.

A lot of them can be found on Github, this one for example : https://github.com/10se1ucgo/DisableWinTracking ; and the good new is you can check the source code because Github.

My family home desktop computer uses a Windows OS. My family is used to the interface and I have no problems with it. I have had Windows OS's since Windows 98, Windows XP, Windows 7 and it is now running Windows 10. I wouldn't agree with you that XP and Windows 7 are better in terms of stability. There have often been stability-related problems, blue screens of death, OS failures, features not working anymore etc. I have never seen any issues with Windows 10. It is important to mention that my OS's 7 and 10 were and are genuine with purchased licenses.

In terms of privacy Windows 10 is a nightmare but try explaining that to kids or grandparents who need access to a computer. They don't care but they also have nothing to hide.   

why not use linux .ubuntu ,redhat,centos,and so on...

Windows is never gonna be good if you want to solve your privacy problem. They're a commercial product run by a business, which sells data here and there to further increase their sales.

If privacy is important for you, instead of trying to fix your Windows, it's better to ditch them instead.

it is so easy to say that specially if you only use your computer to perform pretty primitive tasks such as surfing the web or playing a game. otherwise there are many cases where you want to work with a professional application that only runs on windows.
for instance there is no IDE as power as Visual Studio for Linux. there is VS code but that is only an editor not an IDE. there are a lot other applications that are the same too which means many users are stuck on windows even if they don't like it.

Linux is the answer to all this Windows expiration dates. Once you install it you will never get upset because of these end of support things. Move to next version of windows and one day that will expire too.

Yes you are correct linux flavors are better, kust make sure to to download The LTS Versions( Long Term Support)
Ubuntu always have stable versions they have some release but they are the ones that has less support like 6 months, after that there are no updates or anything so LTS in ubuntu is the one
when it comes to security yes it is more secure and less prone to virus but, there are already virus that are made for ubuntu, the thing that will keep us safe is not installing ppa repo from unknown sources, when it comes to linux you have different to choose from at the same time lots of community support, and its 100% free

Well, he said update, meaning go from Windows 7 to Windows 10, so concerns like privacy and OSS aren't likely to be the reason here. My guess is that people just got used to their OS and don't see any good reason to update if what they have works well for them, especially if they have to pay for the upgrade or their system can't handle the requirements of the latest Windows.


Not all software runs well on Linux, or maybe some people don't have time to learn Linux - there can be many reasons.

Windows 10 is a much improved Operating system as compare to Win 7 and I think everyone should upgrade it. For a limited time, Microsoft announced a free upgrade from win 7 to win 10. That was the best time to upgrade to latest technology.

P.S This is not a crypto related discussion and should be moved to off-topic.

I think that some members here in the thread already pointed it out. If you have a potato pc running your OS I don't think there is the point of upgrading your PC to Windows 10. If you are upgrading an OS to Windows 10 might as well upgrade your PC, a lot of people are already complaining that they are getting blue screened because the new Windows 10 OS is Ram heavy and I don't think old pcs with 8gb or less ram can handle the requirements of such OS. That's why people here are suggesting to upgrade their OS to a much lighter weight OS such as Ubuntu and Linux.

How about :

• Using crack windows.
• Turn of the windows update since the beginning and never update the windows system.

Went we do this, it can be the same as shutting down all service from Microsoft right?

Cause we never updating anymore the system program from Microsoft went turn of the windows update, so went someone doing this step probably they're already shutting down the update windows before Microsoft stopped the product support.

I tried it on a potato laptop running on 4GB RAM, no issues.

Can you please explain with what specs do you refer a PC to be a Potato PC ?

These days the RAMs and Hard disks are quite cheap and if you have at least 4GB Ram and 250 GB hard, you should still upgrade to windows 10.

Not totally obsolete, but specs are at least 5 years behind with i7 4710-MQ and GT740M. Struggles to play some titles even on low settings.

Still, the Windows 10 minimum requirements on Microsoft's website are pretty reasonable:

Even countries forgot to upgrade Windows  ;D

Germany will pay 800.000€ to extend Windows 7 support. Germany fails to upgrade before the deadline and they have more than 33.000 machines still running Windows 7  :o

https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/22/21076653/microsoft-windows-7-extended-security-updates-german-government-cost-price