This year marks the end of support for Windows Vista. Unlike XP, Vista was not adopted in such a widespread manner. But it did bring a suite of new security features to Windows that still exist to this day. It goes to show how important security is and how much it has shaped user experience. At the time of Windows Vista’s release, many users hated User Account Control because it caused the operating system to prompt many times for a single action. Sometimes just copying a file from one place to another caused four or five prompts to appear. It was annoying, but it was an important first step to bettering computer security. Not only did UAC mean that a compromised application couldn’t access the whole computer, it promoted better coding; developers had to build their applications in ways that did not require administrative rights.

End of support means that Microsoft will no longer provide any security updates to the operating system. This means that much like Windows XP, the operating system is still usable but will not be very safe. Hackers are more likely to target the operating system because Microsoft will not patch it. Once a vulnerability is found, it will be open season.

For users of Windows Vista, the recommendation is to upgrade to Windows 10. Unfortunately, as Windows Vista was released 10 years ago, there is a good chance the computer may not be suitable for Windows 10. For more information, read the Windows 10 system requirements. Novaworks will no longer officially support Microsoft Vista after April 11, 2017. Users are encouraged to upgrade to Windows 10.

Change in this case is not a bad thing. Microsoft has learned from Windows Vista and made UAC much less intrusive. Further, application developers have learned how to code in a more secure fashion. Windows Vista may have been a rocky start to better security, but it was an important step toward a more secure computing world for businesses and personal users alike.

Sources:

Products Reaching End of Support for 2017 (support.microsoft.com)