Microsoft has ended Windows 7 and 8.1 extended security updates as of January 10th, 2023. Microsoft will also be ending support for Microsoft Edge for these Windows versions as well. An exception is Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry, which ends support on on July 11, 2023.
More information is available at the Windows End of Support page. A list of the life cycle of Microsoft products may be found here.
Major web browsers have removed support for FTP (File Transfer Protocol) for security reasons. This includes:
FileZilla is an open-source option available for FTP servers.
Microsoft now has made their Edge browser Chromium compatible with its latest release on January 15, 2020. New Edge browser extensions are also available.
The new Microsoft Edge will replace Microsoft Edge Legacy with the Windows 10 Update on on April 13, 2021. Other changes include vertical tabs and new privacy settings.
Internet Explorer Mode in Microsoft Edge is available to view older websites that do not run as intended using modern web browsers.
Update: Internet Explorer 11 desktop application will be retired on June 15, 2022 for certain versions of Windows 10. More information on this is available at the FAQ page.
Adobe no longer supports Flash Player as of January 1, 2021, and recommends that all users immediately uninstall Flash Player to help protect their systems. They stated that developers should move Flash Player content to newer platforms such as HTML5 in a prior post.
Microsoft Windows update KB4577586 will also permanently remove Flash Player. This update will be installed automatically as part of regular Windows updates.
The No More Ransom project website has free decryption tools for many known ransomware types. Avast Decryption Tools, Trend Micro Decryptor, and ID Ransomware are other websites that can help victims of ramsomware. A list of antivirus software providers for Windows may be found here.
The United States Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has a site with tips on how to prevent ransomware attacks.
Google Chrome comes with Chrome Cleanup, a web browser feature that creates alerts when it detects unwanted software and allows the user to remove the software and return Chrome to its default settings.
If a decryption tool is not found, one option is to replace the hard drive and operating system and save the locked drive offline. A decryption tool for the ransomware strain may become available months later to free the data at that point.
Google announced the upcoming general availability of Dynamic email for Gmail on July 2nd 2019. AMP for Gmail allows email users to use emails like web pages for data entry and other purposes. Users who wish to send this type of email must be approved by Google first.
Opera is currently testing its free VPN service in its Opera for Android browser. Free VPN is currently available for the Windows and Mac desktop versions of Opera for extra privacy when browsing the web, and it is especially useful when connected to public Wi-Fi networks.
Google has requested that its Chrome browser be updated as soon as possible due to a security vulnerability logged as CVE-2019-5786. Users should make certain that the installed Chrome version is 72.0.3626.121 or higher.
Microsoft plans to end support for Windows 7 after January 14th 2020 and will no longer provide security updates. For volume license customers, Windows 7 Extended Security Updates (ESU) will be available for a fee through January 2023. A future option may be Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) for Windows 7, which was announced in 2018 but not yet available in Preview mode.
Office 2010 will no longer be supported as of October 13th 2020. Microsoft is also ending support for Windows 10 Mobile OS for smartphones on December 10th 2019 and recommends that customers move to a supported Android or iOS device.
Internet Explorer 11 will be the last release, and Microsoft has released more information at its Internet Explorer FAQ page.
Support life cycle dates for Microsoft products can be found at support.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/search.
Microsoft announced that their Edge browser will be changed to become Chromium compatible (and behave more like Google Chrome) in order to standardize web development. The Edge development team has shared more details on the transition to the open source Chromium project at its Developer Blog site and GitHub pages.