Windows 7 has reached end of life

Published: 17 January 2020

We recommend you move to a Windows 10 to continue to receive security updates from Microsoft.

You may have seen in the media recently that Windows 7 has reached end of life and Microsoft have been sending warning messages to Windows 7 users about this since October 2019. This means that Microsoft are no longer making security updates freely available and so Windows 7 devices are potentially at risk. The University of Glasgow reserves the right to remove devices from the network if necessary.

What do I need to do?

If you are using a centrally managed desktop or laptop sometimes also called SSD, (you will know this because you agree to University acceptable use policy during the login process), then you don’t need to take action this time. You have either already been upgraded by IT Teams across the University to Windows 10 or will be soon. Information Services will ensure your machine receives the security updates to ensure compliance with University policy until it can be upgraded.

Checking Windows version

You can check which version of Windows you're running

  1. Click the Start button.
  2. Type winver in the search box and press Enter.

I am using Windows 7

If you are still using Windows 7 and you are not using a centrally managed machine we strongly recommend you upgrade to Windows 10 immediately. Failure to do this is a serious risk to you and everyone else at the University.

Contact us

If you have any questions or require further advice please contact the UofG Helpdesk


First published: 17 January 2020