0patch offers two more years of updates for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2

[Alfonso Maruccia]

Forward-looking: Windows 7 will exit extended support very soon, but "micropatches" offered by 0patch are ready to take Microsoft's place in keeping the old operating systems safe and sound against Internet threats. At least for the most dangerous flaws discovered in modern Windows versions.

Created and managed by Slovak company ACROS Security, 0patch is a platform designed to deliver, apply and remove "microscopic" security updates to unsupported software products. The service is particularly interesting for consumers and companies still working on legacy Windows versions, as it offers a third-party alternative to keep the OS secure where Microsoft's official support is no longer available.

Patches released through the ACROS service belong to the "micropatch" category. These tiny, targeted updates are applied in memory (with no actual file modification on disk). Thus they don't require a system restart to become active. The 0patch support list includes Windows 7, its server counterpart Server 2008 R2, and older versions of Windows 10. Updates provided by 0patch focus only on vulnerabilities that are "sufficiently severe and likely to be exploited," which should be enough for the 10% of internet users still using Windows 7.

Organizations and business users can still apply for the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program, paying Microsoft a hefty sum to continue receiving security patches for Windows 7 machines until January 2023. An additional year of support is offered for Windows Server 2008 R2. There are also "unofficial" methods home users can use to install ESU patches.

However, after October 2024, all support for any version of Windows 7 will be unavailable. At that point, the only viable solution to keep the OS secure will be 0patch micropatching system.

The company has already promised "two more years" of critical security patches for the Windows 7 codebase, extending the support period "at least" until January 2025 with a possible further extension dependent on client demand.

0patch highlights the ongoing viability of Windows 7 as a no-fuss operating system. It's stable and does not force unneeded upgrades or worsen the user experience with ubiquitous ads and telemetry data sent to Microsoft servers. For many, it's a platform worth keeping safe and costs a fraction of the price business users pay for the ESU program.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/96309-0patch-offers-two-more-years-updates-windows-7.html

 

[psycros]

I have yet to find a single added benefit offered by Windows 10 versus Windows 7. All I've actually seen are drawbacks, regressions and forced incompatibilities.

 

[Darth Shiv]

I have yet to find a single added benefit offered by Windows 10 versus Windows 7. All I've actually seen are drawbacks, regressions and forced incompatibilities.

It isn't a great value prop but architecturally it's more solid security wise and graphics kernel code wise. Hard sells to Win7 users!

 

[BSim500]

I have yet to find a single added benefit offered by Windows 10 versus Windows 7. All I've actually seen are drawbacks, regressions and forced incompatibilities.

I have two PC's, one is dual-booting Linux & W10 the other is on W7. Outside of DX12 exclusives, there's quite honestly zero functional difference (inc security given how easy the ESU bypass is). Literally every new feature could have been added to W7 in a Service Pack including DirectX 12. In fact the last consumer W10 21H2 reaches its end of life (2023 Home-Pro / 2024 Edu-Ent) hardly any later than W7 does (Jan 2023).

That Microsoft did everything possible to steer people away from the only BS-free W10 version worth having (LTSC) shows the whole 2015-2022 "experience" was really all about one thing - pushing the Microsoft Store then tacking an OS onto the side as an afterthought and trying to normalize "consumers" thought processes into both accepting Windows as a 'service' and forgetting what the "P" in PC stands for...

 

[Bullwinkle M]

That Microsoft did everything possible to steer people away from the only BS-free W10 version worth having (LTSC) shows the whole 2015-2022 "experience" was really all about one thing - pushing the Microsoft Store then tacking an OS onto the side as an afterthought and trying to normalize "consumers" thought processes into both accepting Windows as a 'service' and forgetting what the "P" in PC stands for...

Microsoft did not "forget" what the P in PC stands for
They simply decided to gaslight the consumers into thinking you can still have a PC, but in reality, Windows 7 has a non-removable firewall backdoor just as Windows 10 does

They did the same thing with Zero Trust Computing and are telling consumers that Zero Trust is something you get by trusting Microsoft and nobody else

Zero Trust ACTUALLY means that you should not trust Microsoft or anyone else
That is why I created the Zero Trust model in the first place, because Microsoft could not be trusted!

The fact is, modern computers are no longer PC's, or "Personal Computers"
They are SP's, or "Spyware Platforms"