We encourage you to upgrade from Windows 7. The internet is a dangerous place filled with increasingly sophisticated attacks, and we always recommend using up-to-date software with the latest security patches. Without browser security patches, a malicious website could compromise your system after you open a web page. Eventually, browsers and other applications you use will drop support for your operating system. You’ll be stuck using out-of-date browsers, and that is especially dangerous. But, as more time goes by, you’ll be using a version of Windows with more and more unpatched security holes that attackers know about.

It likely won’t be too dangerous on January 15, 2020. Is continuing to use Windows 7 dangerous? Well, that depends.

RELATED: How Windows 7's 'Extended Security Updates' Will Work Will It Really Be Dangerous? That’s the kind of future that awaits Windows 7 users. Many Windows XP systems in the wild are still vulnerable. Unfortunately, this patch was not delivered through Windows Update, so you had to hear about it before downloading and installing it manually. The company released a patch for a bad security hole in Windows XP in 2019. It’s possible that, if a particularly dangerous security hole is found, Microsoft will patch it anyway. Windows 7 will still have an open security hole that attackers know about. Now, when attackers find such a security hole and Microsoft patches it, those patches will be applied only to Windows 8 and 10. Often, security holes are found for all recent versions of Windows. Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, and 10 are all built on the same underlying architecture. In other words, Microsoft won’t release any new security patches to Windows Update. Now that Microsoft has axed support, Windows 7 will no longer get security patches. RELATED: RIP Windows 7: We're Going to Miss You So What Changes?

If you do keep using this operating system, it’s now especially important that you have security software (like an antivirus) installed and take steps to secure your PC.

You may see some nags informing you that “Your Windows 7 PC is out of support,” but that’s it. Microsoft won’t stop you from using your PC. If you have a PC running Windows 7 or Windows XP, you can use it on January 15, 2020, just as you could on January 13, 2020. Windows 7 will keep working normally, just like Windows XP does.

Windows 7 computer