Instead, it seems Microsoft has decided to break its promise and issue a new update for Windows 7. Of course, the company is still issuing updates to those who have paid for its Extended Security Updates (ESU), including education and large businesses that typically take a little longer to transition over to new systems, or might have compatibility issues with newer software. Enterprise customers will still be able to receive security support until 2023 if they sign-up for Extended Security Updates (ESU), which is still available.
It’s unusual for Microsoft to issue public patches and updates to desktop operating systems that is has marked as out of support as this might discourage customers from buying ESUs.
Roughly 440 million people are still using Windows 7 worldwide – although not all of these will be without support from the Redmond-based company, since many will be business and education users. The update to fix the wallpaper glitch isn’t the first time Microsoft has issued updates to out of support operating systems.
In the past, Microsoft has issued public patches for Windows XP to help prevent ransomware attacks.
In a statement, Microsoft said: “If you continue to use an unsupported version of Windows, your PC will still work, but it will become more vulnerable to security risks and viruses. Your PC will continue to start and run, but you will no longer receive software updates, including security updates, from Microsoft.”