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Half of all businesses in Northampton will be affected when Microsoft kills off some of its popular software in January – and still, many are unaware.
The Windows 7 operating system; Office 2010 and some much used server software officially reaches ”end of life” in about 3 months’ time.
Now a local IT security specialist is warning businesses that using this software afterwards would be a major data security risk.
“End of life means Microsoft no longer supports the software,” explained Peter Ravi of Proactive IT Support.
“So while it will continue to work, it will not be fixed by Microsoft if it’s compromised. In my mind, that makes end of life software a major target for hackers.
“In fact, I believe that some hackers are already storing up vulnerabilities they’ve found in this software, and will unleash them next year. Once Microsoft stops supporting it, there will be no-one to stop them.”
The full list of software that will be affected is:
· Windows 7
· Office 2010
· Exchange 2010
· Small Business Server 2011
· Windows Server 2008
Peter added: “Half of all businesses round here use at least some of this software. And they need to take action quickly.
“It can be replaced or upgraded fairly easily. But that takes time… and the best IT support companies are running out of upgrade time between now and the new year.”
Peter has written a book to show local business owners and managers how to identify whether they are using any of this software.
It’s been written in “human”, not in “tech”! Anyone can get a copy of this book free at https://fastproactiveit.com/2020-problem/
Proactive IT Support was formed many years ago, and now looks after hundreds of local businesses in the Northampton and Milton Keynes area. They also specialise in bespoke custom built computers.
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