One of the major concerns that all Windows 7 users are planning to hold even after End of Support was support from their existing Antivirus. The good news is that most Antivirus vendors will support Windows 7 for at least two more years. We already knew Microsoft planned to roll out updates Microsoft Security Essentials for all the Windows 7 users, but support for others is exceptionally pleasing news.
Antivirus vendors to support Windows 7 for 2 years
The good news comes as a result of an effort by AV-TEST. They appear to have inquired with several manufacturers as to how long they will continue to support their products under Windows 7 and provide program and signature updates for their software. Here is the list of security solutions and antivirus product supports for the next two years.
Since not all of them have given an official confirmation, I have tried verifying most of the details below, and have updated with whatever I found is more accurate than what has been reported. The details which I had collected were using online chat support and any official thread on their blog and forum.
List of Antivirus Solutions and their status
| AhnLab | No end of support announced, at least another two years expected |
| AVG & Avast | No end of support announced, at least another two years expected |
| Avira | Support ends on 01.11.2022 |
| Bitdefender | Following Microsoft’s decision to end support for Windows 7, Bitdefender is also announcing the end of support for Patch Management for these operating systems, starting January 14, 2020. |
| BullGuard | No exact ETA, but it will still work on Windows 7, at least for another year. |
| Carbon Black | No end of support announced, at least another two years expected |
| ESET | ESET Windows XP EOS was in Dec 2019. So I am guessing you will get the update for the next 2-3 years for sure. |
| FireEye | No end of support announced, at least another two years expected |
| F-Secure | F-Secure will continue to support Windows 7 with our home products until 14.01. 2021 at least. |
| G Data | Similar to ESET, GData supports some features on Windows XP and Windows Vista. Expecting to likely support Windows 7 for the next 2-3 years. |
| Ikarus | No end of support announced, at least another two years expected |
| Kaspersky | According to this forum thread, Windows 7 support looks promising for a couple of years. |
| K7 Computing | K7 products will support Windows 7, Windows XP, and above versions until users usage. |
| McAfee | McAfee expects to provide the current level of support across existing McAfee products on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008/2008 R2 until December 31, 2021. Extended support options are available until December 31, 2023. |
| Microsoft (Security Essentials) | End of support for program updates, still offering only signature updates |
| Microworld | No end of support announced, at least another two years expected |
| PC Matic | According to this forum thread—PCMatic with Super Shield will continue working as it does and will protect against malware just as it does now. However, the thread is from August 2019 |
| Quickheal | Official Blog Post says—Quick Heal products will continue detecting malware files/infections and providing support on Windows 7 OS just as on any other supported Microsoft OS. |
| Seqriite | The products will keep working on Windows 7 as per the official announcement. |
| Sophos | Support on-premise until December 2020, Cloud-managed until June 2021 |
| Symantec / NortonLifeLock | Symantec will continue to release 32-bit and 64-bit definition sets that are compatible across all 32-bit and 64-bit Windows platforms supported by the product, even as Microsoft stops publishing new functionality and security updates for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 in 2020. |
| ThreatTrack / Vipre | No end of support announced, at least another two years expected |
| TotalAV | No end of support announced, one year expected |
| Trend Micro | No end of support announced, at least another two years expected |
It is good to see so many Anitvirus will support Windows 7. At least with these around, you won’t have to lock down Windows 7 to keep it safe, and you can keep using them. Browsers like Chrome will also support Windows 7 for the next 18 months, which should be the default browser on Windows PC, keeping safety in mind.
That said, do remember that if there is a problem with Windows 7, the Antivirus or Security solution cannot help. So use Windows 7 at your own risk.
