The end of Windows 7 support is weeks away. Microsoft says small businesses can pay for extended security updates just like their enterprise cousins. But my experience says they don't really want your money.
Support for Windows 7 ends in just a few weeks. After Jan. 14, 2020, Microsoft will no longer provide free security updates and bug fixes for the venerable operating system to the general public.
Those updates will be available, however, to Microsoft customers who are willing to pay for the privilege. The Windows 7 Extended Security Update (ESU) program runs for an additional three years, through January 2023, and it's been officially available since Dec. 2, 2019.
When Microsoft first announced the Windows 7 ESU program, in September 2018, the company said these updates would be available to its most valuable customers: Giant corporations and government agencies with volume licensing subscriptions and medium-sized businesses and educational institutions with Windows 10 Enterprise or Education subscriptions.
Then, in October 2019, Microsoft extended the program to businesses of all sizes. If you run a small business (even a sole proprietorship) and you want to keep using Windows 7, that should be good news. But as I learned this week, Microsoft doesn't seem particularly interested in taking your money if your business is too small.