Microsoft offers paid Windows 7 extended security support

Microsoft will offer a paid security support add-on for Windows 7 after official support ends, as it works to support - while quickly shifting - users to newer versions of the OS.

The company said following extended support for Windows 7 ending on January 14 2020, Extended Security Updates (ESU) would be offered through 2023.

“While many of you are already well on your way in deploying Windows 10, we understand that everyone is at a different point in the upgrade process,” wrote Jared Spataro, corporate vice president for Office and Windows marketing in a blog post late last week.

The price of the Windows 7 ESU will increase each year and be sold on a device-by-device basis. Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus, the software suite that users receive with an Office 365 subscription, will be supported on Windows 7 machines carrying with the ESU.

The ESU will be available just to Professional and Enterprise editions of Windows 7 that are part of a volume licensing agreement.

The offer comes as Microsoft extends its support for Office 365 ProPlus on its other operating systems, support for which would have otherwise ended on January 14 2020. ProPlus support has been extended to January 2023 on Windows 8.1, which is also when support for 8.1 will cease.

Office 365 ProPlus will continue to be supported on Windows Server 2016 until October 2025.

Microsoft also noted support extensions for Windows 10 Enterprise and Education editions. Announcing that: “All currently supported feature updates of Windows 10 Enterprise and Education editions (versions 1607, 1703, 1709, and 1803) will be supported for 30 months from their original release date.”

“All future feature updates of Windows 10 Enterprise and Education editions with a targeted release month of September (starting with 1809) will be supported for 30 months from their release date.

Windows 10 editions with a targeted release of March would continue to be supported for 18 months from release, as would all Home and Pro versions of Windows 10 irrespective of their release month.