Microsoft said it would extend free security support for Windows 7 “for only one year” and this is only for the companies that have an active corporate license. This step comes about four months before the end of support for Windows 7 which is scheduled on January 15th 2020. By this date, it will have been 10 years since the release of Windows 7.

Microsoft usually provides the users of its products with free repairs, upgrades, security and non-security updates for five years after its launch. When the product comes out of the (natural support) phase, the (extended support) phase, which often lasts for another five years, begins.

During the (extended support) phase, the company will keep users supplied with security updates free of charge, while they have to pay for other types of updates. Then comes the (End of Support), which means that there will no longer be any free or paid security or non-security updates.

The end of the (extended support) may be a problem for many companies that still use Windows 7 because after January 14th they will become vulnerable to malware, especially 37% of Windows users on PCs, whether individuals or organizations, still use Windows 7.

Microsoft said on the Windows 7 and Office 2010 support (FAQs) page: Customers who have an active subscription to licenses: Windows E5, Microsoft 365 E5, and Government E5 will receive extended security support for about one year free of charge. But after the end of the year, they will have to pay $50 for each device for updates, then $100 for the following year.

The company clarified that the subscriptions should be effective till the end of this year and during the support period next year, but in case the subscription expires before that, the security support will stop.