Nearly three years after launching the OS into the market, Microsoft is drawing curtains on Windows 8, along with older versions of Internet Explorer. January 12 marks a significant footnote for Microsoft –one that is highly uncharacteristic of the Redmond giant.
Although Windows 8 will no longer be supported by Microsoft, those using Windows 8.1 and above will continue to receive updates. Hence it is undoubtedly the original, Windows 8 that Microsoft wants to Shift+Delete in its forgettable upgrade to the Windows lineage.
The Internet Explorer versions that will no longer receive updates, including vital security patches are IE 8, IE 9, and IE 10. This means that users can still use the software, but only on accepted security risks. Microsoft as a precautionary measure has warned its users that continuing to use defunct software will expose the users to malware online. The company added that “upgrading and staying current is important,” on its website.
The rather unprecedented move to halt updates to older versions might be a strategy by Microsoft to push users to try newer versions of the software that is Microsoft Edge. As to why it decided to end the short span existence of Windows 8 is unclear.
Microsoft stated that IE 11 has better security patches, is faster and supports the latest and widely preferred web standards by developers and users alike. Users running IE 11 on their systems will continue to get updates on Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. For those users who are still faithful to Windows Vista will get updates for IE 9 on their system.
Bringing an end to IE version 8, 9 and 10 means that Microsoft stands a chance at losing 20 percent of those internet users who browse with these versions of IE on the desktop. According to a data from Netmarketshare, 4.18 percent use IE 10, 6.67 percent use IE 9, and 8.95 percent are still running IE 8 on their systems.
Today will be the final patch day for the Windows 8 OS, after which it will no longer get any updates from the company. This prompts all Windows 8 users to upgrade to Windows 8.1 and above if they want to keep their systems protected from latest security threats.
Microsoft has even released a set of dates, until which Windows 8.1 and above OS will continue to get updates. Windows 8.1 will be active until January 10, 2023, Windows 7 until January 14, 2020, while the latest version of the OS, Windows 10 will become defunct after October 14, 2025.
It’s been the endeavour of Microsoft to make Windows 10 universal on all the devices running on Windows. The company had stated earlier that it plans to turn over a billion PC’s into Windows 10 systems in the coming years. As of now it has managed to get over 200 million devices upgraded to the latest version. The now defunct, Windows 8, however, is still active on over 30 million devices – roughly 2 to 3 percent.
