Google has announced that its Web browser, Chrome, would no longer work on any laptop and computer that still use Windows 7 or 8.1 as its operating system.
“With the release of Chrome 110 (tentatively scheduled for February 7th, 2023), we’ll officially end support for Windows 7 and Windows 8,”the Tech Giant says, on its support page.
The company is therefore encouraging the users concerned to upgrade to Windows 10 O.S or later so as to continue receiving future Chrome releases.
Google’s decision to end support for these platforms matches matches Microsoft’s end of support for Windows 7 ESU and Windows 8.1 extended support on January 10th, 2023.
According to Statcounter GlobalStats, Windows 8.1 only makes up 2.7% of all Windows systems, whereas Windows 7 is still in use by over 10% of computers around the world.
More than 65% of all users are also on Google Chrome, with Safari coming in at around 18% and Microsoft Edge at 4.32%.
Based on these numbers alone, a lot of people will be unsupported if they will not upgrade their Windows operating system and will be accessing an unsupported web browser, which might lead them to several security risks.
Updating with the latest Windows OS will help you get the latest security updates and improvements rolled out by Chrome. It is also critical to keep your system up to date to protect it from malicious attacks.
