Windows 7 applications removal

There has been a very positive response from the end of life of Windows 7 post, with a lot of people requesting assistance with moving to Windows 10.

For those still on Windows 7, there is another aspect that we also need to consider – it’s not just the operating system itself that needs to be updated. We’ve recently seen a number of the software applications we’ve installed on Windows 7 have vulnerabilities reported in them, which means that we have had to consider their future.

Given the ever-shrinking number of Windows 7 computers that we are looking after, we have to carefully balance the time and effort that we are putting into keeping these updated, and we’ve had to reach the decision that we aren’t going to be able to update every package that may need it. Instead, we will review packages when vulnerabilities are reported and investigate the importance of the package on the remaining Windows 7 PC. Where there is similar functionality in another installed package we will look to remove the vulnerable one, to reduce the risk to the University, rather than putting effort into upgrading it. We have already made a start on this, by removing the VLC media player from Windows 7 PCs as it has recently been reported to be vulnerable to attack and much of its functionality is covered by Windows built-in Media Player.

If you need to continue to use the packages that we decide have to be removed, then the best option would be to ask us to look into upgrading your PC to Windows 10 – it’s going to have to be done eventually anyway. With Windows 10 you will still have access to current versions of supported software. If you're interested in upgrading to Windows 10, please complete our request form and an IT Supporter will be in contact.