Windows 7's support deadline may expire in July, if you don't apply this patch

Windows users still running Windows 7 already face a deadline of Jan. 14, 2020, when Windows 7 support expires. But if you routinely block updates, break that habit briefly to allow an upcoming March patch. Otherwise, Windows 7 support will effectively stop in July.Here’s what’s going on: Microsoft delivers updates using either the SHA-1 or SHA-2 encryption algorithm for security’s sake. But the company recently decided to phase out support for SHA-1 entirely in an upcoming security update, due to begin delivery on March 12. That update will mark Windows’ shift to using the more secure SHA-2 hash algorithm. In July, Microsoft will begin delivering Windows 7 security updates using SHA-2. The upshot: if your Windows 7 PC hasn’t installed the March 12 update enabling SHA-2 support by July 16, your Windows updates will effectively end.To read this article in full, please click here