March 12th 2019 – Microsoft are scheduled to release a critical update for Windows 7 users.
As you know from our articles on the 2020 problem, support for Windows 7 is set to end in January 2020. However updates to Win7 will end in March 2019 if you don’t install Microsoft’s next patch due on the 12th.
Surprisingly (the surprise being that it is not already in place) Microsoft is putting in place a new system to ensure that the operating system updates have not been tampered with. It will use an SHA-2 hash algorithms to authenticate the updates. The problem is, the SHA-2 algorithm is not supported in older operating systems.
So, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 2008 SP1, and SP2, which all use the older SHA-1 encryption, need updating with support for SHA-2 and this is planned in an update on March 12th. If you’re a Windows 7 user and don’t install this critical update, you will not receive any future Windows patches.
In summary on March 12th Microsoft will roll out a stand alone update for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 which you need to install. LIS managed services customers will receive this automatically and we will also deploy it to all unmanaged customers with our control software installed. Just leave your desktop or laptop turned on and let us sort it out.
After that, you’ll be in a position to receive all remaining updates until next year. It’s also a chance to grab a few extra months to decide on which upgrade path to take. Do you want a new Windows 10 PC or to upgrade your existing machine? Contact LIS for a quote when you have decided or for advice if you are not sure.