With the release of latest firmware update, Microsoft officially ended the software support for the company's 2006 series Vista OS from this month.
This does not surprise many, as Mozilla Firefox and Google, last year had actually announced to end support for their respective apps -- browser and Gmail -- running on Microsoft's decade-old Vista OS, in late 2017.
Also read: All you need to know about Microsoft Windows 10 Creators Update
What will happen when Microsoft ends support for Windows Vista OS?
End of support means Microsoft is no longer obligated to provide automatic fixes, updates, or online technical assistance.
That's not all. Without Microsoft support, you will no longer receive security updates that can help protect your PC from harmful viruses, spyware, and other malicious software that can steal your personal information.
If you are still using Windows Vista on your PC, it is advisable to move on to the next version Windows 7 (Service Pack 1) or leap jump to the latest Windows 10 to avoid disruption in PC operation.
Will you upgrade to Windows 7 or go for Windows 10?
To help you make the decision easy, we have grouped all the information related to Microsoft Windows OS versions' mainstream and extended support timeline.
| Microsoft Windows OS version | Latest version you need to upgrade for longer assistance | Mainstream support end date | Extended support end date | |
| Windows 7* | Service Pack 1 | January 13, 2015 | January 14, 2020 | |
| Windows 8 | Windows 8.1 | January 9, 2018 | January 10, 2023 | |
| Windows 10 (applies to Windows 10 Home, Home, Pro, and Enterprise editions) | V1703 | October 13, 2020 | October 14, 2025 | |
Windows 7*: Support for Windows 7 RTM (without service packs) ended on April 9, 2013. You have to upgrade to Service Pack 1.
For those unaware, 'end of mainstream support' means that users are no longer eligible to claim any warranty and Microsoft will no longer accept any request for change in UI design and new features. It will also not provide any non-security fixes unless the OS version has extended support.
As far as the 'end of extended support' is concerned, Microsoft will completely end all the assistance to the software. Be it a glitch or emergence security loophole, you cannot claim for fix from Microsoft, similar to what just happened to the Windows Vista.
Considering the fact that Windows 7's end of support is less than three years away and Windows 8 series has an unappealing user-interface, we recommend Windows Vista users to swiftly move to the latest Windows 10 series, as Microsoft guarantees technical assistance, including security patches till 2025. On top of that, it also supports all the latest Xbox compatible games as well.
