As you may have already heard, Microsoft is ending support for Windows 7 on January 14, 2020. This means Microsoft will discontinue all support and all updates, including security updates.
If you've been keeping up with your PC rotation plan (replacing 1/5 of your PCs each year), you should be prepared and all of your PCs should already be running Windows 8.1 or 10. If you've fallen a bit behind or you're not sure where your library stands, the rest of this post is for you!
What you can do
Check your library's Workstation Status Report and confirm that your library's PCs are up-to-date (in terms of both age and "installed OS"). If they're not, plan your replacements now! You can consult this recent blog post for ordering deadlines.
SCLS plans for SCLS-supported Windows 7 PCs
SCLS-supported Windows 7 PCs will be turned off on March 31st, 2020. If a major vulnerability is found between January 14th, 2020 (end-of-life) and March 31st, 2020, SCLS reserves the right to remove Windows 7 PCs immediately.
Windows 7 PCs not supported by SCLS
- Self checks and sorters - ILS staff will communicate with libraries about plans for Windows 7 self checks and sorters.
- SCLS-as-ISP computers - If your library has Windows 7 computers that have SCLS-as-ISP network connections, you should plan to replace these PCs. The library is responsible for any security issues introduced by computers on SCLS-as-ISP connections.
Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay