[Now that Microsoft is no longer offering free security updates for legacy operating systems, usage will decline, but it will not plummet overnight. Many antivirus companies have promised to provide virus definition updates for at least two more years.

This is a welcome decision by AV companies who have chosen to continue supporting Windows 7 indefinitely. It is also not that surprising. After all, even Microsoft has stated that it will push out Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) definition updates on Windows 7 systems, although the built-in AV software program itself will never again be updated.

There is a list compiled by AV-Test, an independent testing organization, as to which third-party programs will continue to party.

If you are using Windows 7, it is more important than ever to keep your AV program, whether it is MSE or one of the third-party solutions. upgrading to a supported OS, whether Windows 10 or Linux, is an even better idea.

Don't overlook browser updates either. [Browsers, especially those used for surfing the web, should always be up-to-date because they may contain vulnerabilities or offer their own defense mechanisms," says AV-Test. Google has publicly assured Chrome users that it will provide further security updates until at least July 2021, "since the latest version of Microsoft Edge for Windows 7 relies on the same HTML engine as Chrome. No official announcement from Firefox has yet been made.

Many of the above AV programs have no set end date, so support may be extended beyond 2022.