The Federal Government has warned Nigerians on the dangers inherent in the continued usage of Microsoft Windows 7.
The warning was handed down on Friday by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, through his Technical Assistant, Mukhtar Sadiq.
He said the warning is necessitated by the decision of Microsoft to officially end support for the Windows 7 Operating System (OS).
The tech giant announced official support for Windows 7 came into effect on 14th January 2020, and the company will no longer provide technical support and security or software updates for the platform.
“Systems running on Windows 7 OS will continue to work, however, they will be progressively more vulnerable to viruses and malware.
“In light of this, the Minister is alerting the general public on the risks of using Windows 7 powered devices for internet-based services that require the use of sensitive information such as internet banking.
“The best way to remain secure is to use the latest Operating Systems available”,Microsoft warned.
In the light of this, the ministry, therefore, called on all Windows 7 users to take extra caution in protecting themselves from breach of privacy and loss of data.
Steps to be taken include keeping security software up to date, keeping all other applications up to date and being more skeptical on downloads and emails accessed so they can continue to be safe online.
