by Dave Moore, CISSP
12/25/2022
If your computer uses Microsoft’s Windows 8.1 operating system, and you are not prepared, you may be in for a shock, next month.
Support by Microsoft for Windows 8 ended in 2016. Support for its younger brother, Windows 8.1, ends in January, 2023. Long-time computer users will remember when Microsoft did the same thing to other versions of its Windows operating system, ending support for Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.
People hate change. Unfortunately, Microsoft doesn’t care too much about that; about the only thing you can count on with computers is they will never stay the same. They will always change. If your computer runs Windows 8 or 8.1, it’s time to change.
“End of support” means your computer will no longer be safe to use on the Internet. The computer may turn on and function with no problems, but there will be no more “support” from Microsoft. That means no more updates, no more patches, no more security fixes, nothing; you are on your own. You may still use the computer for typing chores or playing games, but forget email and website surfing. No more updates, patches or security fixes means no more Internet for that computer.
A criminal hacker’s field day will begin, just like what happened when Microsoft ditched support for Windows 7 in 2020. New security problems were found, but no more fixes were possible. Folks who stubbornly ignored reality and continued to use their Windows 7 computers on the Internet opened the floodgates to a world of trouble.
Many Windows 8.1 computers can be freely upgraded to Windows 10, however, allowing their owners to avoid having to buy a new computer. This will buy you a few years, as Microsoft is set to abandon Windows 10 in 2025, forcing a move to Windows 11.
Sadly, many computers will not be able to handle a move to Windows 11; the hardware just won’t support it. That means millions of people around the world will need to buy a new computer. Countless millions of computers worldwide will need to be replaced.
If you think, like some people do, that you can avoid all this upgrade mania by buying an Apple computer instead of using one that has Microsoft Windows, you would be mistaken. Apple does the same sort of thing to their products. Operating systems that “expire” and forced upgrades are part of Apple’s business model, too. This is why a computer should never be looked on as an investment; computers are an expense.
I have a feeling that next January I am going to be very busy, because the story will be all over the news, and millions of people will all realize on the same day, “Oh, no, I must do something!” If you are using a Windows 8.1 computer, I urge you to make the change now. Don’t try to “tough it out,” using your obsolete computer on the Internet; you won’t last. It won’t be pretty.
Dave Moore, CISSP, has been fixing computers in Oklahoma since 1984. Founder of the non-profit Internet Safety Group Ltd., he also teaches Internet safety community training workshops. He can be reached at 405-919-9901 or www.internetsafetygroup.org