id="article-body" class="row" section="article-body"> Sarah Tew/CNET If you use a Microsoft laptop or desktop running Windows 7, your security is already obsolete. Microsoft officially ended support for that operating system on Jan. 14, which means that the company no longer offers technical assistance or 주식 거래 software updates to your device -- including security updates and patches. 

The move came as part of a planned effort to phase out Windows 7 software and migrate Windows users to Windows 10, the more recent version of your laptop's operating system, and the one that will receive all of Microsoft's security patches and updates. 

(If you're a Windows 8.1 user, you don't have to worry yet -- extended support for that OS won't end until January 2023.) 

To cut down on your risk of malware from potential flaws and software loopholes, Microsoft recommends that you either upgrade your current device to Windows 10 (you can do this for free), or else buy a new Windows 10 machine. But if you really want to keep running Windows 7 for whatever reason, there are a few things you can do to keep the unsupported OS as secure as possible until you upgrade to Windows 10, one way or another. 

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Windows 7 does have some built-in security protections, but you should also have some kind of third-party antivirus software running to avoid malware attacks and other problems -- especially since almost all victims of the massive WannaCry ransomware attack were Windows 7 users. Hackers will likely be going after Windows 7 machines even more often now that Microsoft support has ended. 

Most of the major antivirus vendors are not yet ending support for Windows 7 devices, according to independent IT security research institute AV-Test. These include Symantec / NortonLifeLock,

  Bitdefender and Trend Micro, which CNET also recommends for Windows 10 antivirus. 

Read more: Everything you need to know about Windows 10 now that Windows 7 support is over

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