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Earlier this week, Valve released a big update for the Steam client, bringing gamers new features like gameplay recording and other improvements. Sadly, all those goodies are not for those sticking to now-unsupported Windows versions, namely Windows 7, 8, and 8.1. Valve made it clear that the latest Steam update will not work unless you are on Windows 10 and newer (that also applies to older macOS versions, but who cares, right?). Here is what Valve said in the release notes: It is worth noting that Steam still works on Windows 7, 8, and 8.1. Therefore, you can still access your library and play games if updating to Windows 10 is not an option. However, Valve will not provide you with tech support in case something happens, and there is a high chance that Steam will soon stop working on pre-Windows 10 releases altogether. Valve dropped Windows 7 and 8/8.1 support in January 2024, one year after when Microsoft ended the Extended Security Update program for those operating systems. As a result, Google and other mainstream browsers ditched Windows 7 as well. Since Valve relies on Chrome, it should align its Steam support with what Google does to the browser. Also, Steam requires some features and security updates that are only present on Windows 10 and newer. According to Valve, Windows 7 still has a small chunk of users. According to the Steam Hardware and Software Survey results for October 2024, roughly 0.28% of all Windows users on Steam run Windows 7. Sadly, those wanting to move away from Windows 7 or its failed successor are in a tricky situation as Microsoft closed the ability to update to Windows 10 for free. Now, the only choice is to buy a new license or an entirely new PC with Windows 10 or 11 preinstalled. Via VideoCardz Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. 2023: Over 5,800 news posts | 2024 (till end of October): 4,832 news posts RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

It is safe to assume that Microsoft wants people to upgrade to Windows 11 and it explained via a recent advertisement why and how 11 is a great OS. The latest market share numbers by Statcounter show Windows 11 having around a fourth of the desktop market. However, the stern system requirements for Windows 11 are what has prevented many from upgrading to the latest OS. As such, when the tech giant reminds users about the end of servicing for Windows versions, it also points to upgrading ineligible PCs too. The same was the case for Windows 8.1 as well. Interestingly, those on Windows 8 who do not wish to upgrade their hardware or may not have the budget to do so, have a legitimate way to experience Windows 11. Twitter (now X) and tech enthusiast Bob Pony found that Windows 8 users who do not have a PC compatible with Windows 11 can upgrade by selecting the Windows 11 version 24H2 IoT Enterprise Edition during the OS setup. Unfortunately, this trick is unlikely to work with those who sport some really old processors that lack PopCnt or SSE4.2 instructions. In case you have not been following, the company is experimenting this block on 24H2 Insider builds. This happens to be one of the several ways that the system requirements on Windows 11 can be bypassed. Earlier last month, in April, another way to bypass the block was discovered which involves selecting the Windows 11 Enterprise LTSC edition and it works on non-LTSC machines as well. As the Windows 11 24H2 slowly approaches RTM, Insider testing for hardware compatibility is currently underway. Source 170+ views, you're welcome...

Microsoft stopped supporting Edge on Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 in January 2023, which means Edge 109 was the final browser update available for those operating systems. Still, as revealed by Microsoft at the beginning of this year, the company is willing to release intermittent security updates and critical patches. One such patch has just landed, bringing Windows 7, 8, 8.1, and Server 2012 R2 users an important update. If you are still using pre-Windows 10 versions, do not get too excited about the latest Microsoft Edge update for your old operating system. It is based on Edge 109, the last version to support old Windows releases, and it adds nothing but fixes for security vulnerabilities, namely for heap buffer overflow in WebP in Chromium versions prior to 116.0.5845.187 that allowed a remote attacker to perform an out-of-bounds memory write using a specially crafted HTML page. Here is how Microsoft describes the update in its documentation: Version 109.0.1518.140: September 15, 2023 This update was done for our M109 Windows down-level extended support. We're shipping 109 to Win 7, 8, and 8.1 (including Server 2012 R2 which is based on Win 8.1). Microsoft has a fix for CVE-2023-4863 to Microsoft Edge Stable Channel (Version 109.0.1518.140), which has been reported by the Chromium team as having an exploit in the wild. For more information, see the Security Update Guide. This backport was done to our M109 Windows down-level extended support." It is worth noting that Microsoft will soon stop releasing even those rare security updates. M109 down-level extended support for Windows 7, 8, 8.1, and Server 2012 R2 will end on October 20, 2023. After that, Firefox will become the only mainstream browser actively supporting now-dead Windows versions. Mozilla Foundation plans to keep releasing security updates for Firefox for one more year, with the end of Firefox 115 Extended Support Release (ESR) scheduled for September 2024. As a reminder, according to Statcounter, old Windows versions still account for about 4.45% of all PC users. Source

Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 have officially reached their end-of-life. And now, Google is dropping support for the Drive desktop app on these OSs. Google Drive app enables synchronization between the devices and the cloud. Users must upgrade to Windows 10 or Windows 11 to continue syncing files with Google Drive. According to Google Drive release notes, starting in August 2023, Google Drive will no longer support Drive for desktops on Windows 8/8.1, Windows Server 2012, and all 32-bit versions of Windows. However, users of 32-bit Windows can still access Google Drive through a web browser. In February, Google discontinued support for Google Chrome on Windows 8, 8.1, and Windows 7. This aligns with Google's strategy of breaking services on legacy operating systems. While Google Chrome will continue working after the update, it will no longer receive any feature updates and security patches on devices running these OSs. More recently, Mozilla reveals the end of support date for Firefox on Windows 7, 8, and 8.1. According to a document, customers unwilling to upgrade to Windows 10 or 11 can use Firefox 115 Extended Support Release (ESR) until September 2024. Mozilla pledges to continue shipping security updates for 15 more months. Windows 8 and 8.1 received mixed reviews due to their departure from the traditional Windows interface. Microsoft's decision to sunset these operating systems emphasizes the importance of migrating to a more modern and supported platform. Windows 8.1 holds a measly 0.5% market share, according to StatCounter. Of course, another end of support will probably mean nothing to die-hard Windows 8 fans. It is worth reminding that using a connected PC that no longer receives security updates is not a great idea. Given that more apps are dropping support for the OS aside from Drive, users should finally upgrade to Windows 10 and 11. Google Drive app ends support for Windows 8/8.1 and 32-bit OS in August

The team that is responsible for the open source email client Thunderbird has released Thunderbid 115 earlier this week. The new version of the email client features a new design and several new features, including new folder views, different new layouts for the client, improved calendar and address books and more. The new release is not yet available via the built-in updating functionality of the email client, and it may take a while before the upgrade is enabled. Some users noted that some of their extensions stopped working in the new Thunderbird and there are issues to be sorted out first. Support for older versions of Windows and macOS Thunderbird 115 will be the last version that is compatible with Microsoft's Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 operating systems. It furthermore is also the last version compatible with Apple's macOS 10.12, 10.13 and 10.14 systems. Microsoft ended support for Windows 7 and 8.1 in January 2023. These operating systems are no longer supported by Microsoft. Similarly, Apple does not support the older macOS versions anymore. Most Windows 7 and 8.1 devices can be upgraded to Windows 10, a version of Windows that is supported until October 2025. Microsoft did not change the system requirements between the older versions of Windows and Windows 10. Thunderbird 115 supports the operating systems. The email client will be supported until late 2024, just like Mozilla Firefox 115 ESR. Thunderbird users on these operating systems will receive the update to Thunderbird 115 eventually, just like users on newer systems. The email client will then receive regular updates throughout 2023 and most of 2024 on the older systems. Users on these systems can't install newer versions of Thunderbird anymore, however. Thunderbird 116, which is available as a Beta currently, won't install on these systems anymore. Closing Words Windows 7 and 8 users, and macOS 10.14 and earlier users, may continue using Thunderbird until late 2024. This should give most users ample time to move on to a new operating system on the same device or another device. Source

steamLike many other services, PC gaming giant Steam is soon dropping support for Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1. The major change will make the Steam client inoperable on these legacy operating systems, with users losing access to their games library unless they are using an updated version of Windows. The support drop will occur on January 1, 2024, with Valve saying that "after that date, the Steam Client will no longer run on those versions of Windows. In order to continue running Steam and any games or other products purchased through Steam, users will need to update to a more recent version of Windows." The change was announced in the latest Steam beta update by the company. Beta versions will now alert players running Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 with an "End of Life" notice with a recommendation to switch or upgrade to a newer version before support goes away. The alert should arrive to the regular Steam client soon as well. "The newest features in Steam rely on an embedded version of Google Chrome, which no longer functions on older versions of Windows," added Valve explaining the reasoning behind the change. "In addition, future versions of Steam will require Windows feature and security updates only present in Windows 10 and above." According to Valve's own survey data, 1.86% of Steam's user base is on the three operating systems getting the boot. The vast majority of Windows users, which amount to 96.37% of total active accounts on the platform, are using Windows 10 (62.33%) and Windows 11 (32.06%). Steam won't run on Windows 7/8/8.1 starting in 2024 as support goes away

Nvidia stopped issuing GPU drivers updates to systems running Windows 8 and 7 in late 2021. Still, the company promised to release periodical security patches to unsupported devices until September 2024. One such update has just become available to those refusing to upgrade to Windows 10 or 11. Driver 473.81 is available only to systems running Windows 7 and 8, and it contains no new features or game-related fixes. According to the release notes, the driver brings only security patches, and all the details will soon be available on the Nvidia Product Security Page. Nvidia says users with supported hardware need to update to Windows 10 and 11 to receive performance enhancements, new features, bugfixes, and game-specific improvements. Hardware-wise, Nvidia GeForce 473.81 driver supports desktop graphics cards from the GTX 600 to RTX 3000 Series and mobile GPUs from the GeForce 800 Series to RTX 3000 Series. Users can download the latest release from the official Nvidia website. On the AMD side, owners of older Radeon GPUs received an unofficial driver that enables AMD's latest AI-based noise suppression technology. Official drivers allow using the new tech only on the Radeon 6000 Series, but you can get it using a third-party driver from NimeZ without investing into a new graphics card. Nvidia issues driver security update for unsupported systems with Windows 7 and 8

Back in 2012, Microsoft released its Windows 8 operating system. The Windows 7 successor opened up to mixed reviews and many were particularly annoyed by the removal of the Start button, among other things. However, there is no denying that a ton of work and other resources go into the development of a new OS and the same was true for Windows 8 as well. Recently, former President of the Microsoft Windows division, Steven Sinofsky, shared some of the early concept photos of Windows 8 features. According to Sinofsky, the images, in the form of a video presentation, were shown off during final meeting where the collective idea and plans behind the whole project were shared among the Windows 8 development team. You can watch the video below: We have included the pictures of the mockups below. In the first row we have the Start menu, Internet Explorer 9, and Microsoft Excel. Alongside Excel, there is also a demonstration of live tiles in Widgets with a finger indicating touch gestures. Moving on, in the second row, we have File Explorer with a ribbon copying several files and also downloading a 5GB movie. Beside that, we have a multi-monitor wallpaper demo alongside multi-monitor taskbar. Lastly, we have a very different looking Task Manager. While we are on this topic, another ex-Windows director, Jensen Harris, also shared some interesting trivia about Windows 8. For the first time ever, the canceled startup sound was revealed and you may find it extra-intriguing since you are already likely familiar with it. Via: Deskmodder, WinFuture Ex-Windows boss shares early Windows 8 multi-monitor, Task Manager, IE 9 images

Jensen Harris, who served as a Director for user experience (UX) at Microsoft, has been sharing tidbits of info about previous Windows versions and canned projects during his time there. Recently, he revealed the Windows 8 start-up sound that was axed, though chances are you may probably have heard it somewhere else. Harris also chimed in recently to talk about the Windows 11 Start menu revealing how "shocked" he was at the (terrible?) experience. A few days ago, in a follow-up discussion related to the topic, Jensen Harris showed off what was meant to be the original Windows 8 Start button right click context menu. The idea behind the Start button context menu, dubbed "Command Center" then, was to make it much more useful for power users and was planned to be customizable via Registry tweaks or other power user-based applications. Sadly, however, the Command Center project was dropped as there was a lack of time to complete the whole thing and it was also a difficult task to balance the needs of power users and less experienced ones all within the ambit of the same UI experience. Hence, the additional power features, like the ability to be tweaked via Registry edits, never made it to final version. Ex-Windows UX guru reveals concept behind Windows 8 Start "Command Center" context menu

Ex-Windows chief reflects on the risks and rewards of taking Windows in a radical new direction. On October 26, 2012, Microsoft released Windows 8, a hybrid tablet/desktop operating system that took bold risks but garnered mixed reviews. Ten years later, we've caught up with former Windows Division President Steven Sinofsky to explore how Windows 8 got started, how it predicted several current trends in computing, and how he feels about the OS in retrospect. In 2011, PC sales began to drop year over year in a trend that alarmed the industry. Simultaneously, touch-based mobile comping on smartphones and tablets dramatically rose in popularity. In response, Microsoft undertook the development of a flexible operating system that would ideally scale from mobile to desktop seamlessly. Sinofsky accepted the challenge and worked with many others, including Julie Larson-Green and Panos Panay, then head of the Surface team, to make it happen. Windows 8 represented the most dramatic transformation of the Windows interface since Windows 95. While that operating system introduced the Start menu, Windows 8 removed that iconic menu in favor of a Start screen filled with "live tiles" that functioned well on touchscreen computers like the purpose-built Microsoft Surface, but frustrated desktop PC users. It led to heavy pushback from the press, and PC sales continued to decline. The iconic Windows 8 Start screen, with its colorful live tiles and Metro interface. Microsoft Despite its drawbacks, some aspects of the Windows 8 interface predicted how we use tablets and other mobile devices today, including some features (like side-by-side apps and screen edge swiping) once considered too complex that Apple later adopted on the iPad. Necessary refinements aside (such as restoring the Start button for desktop users, which happened in Windows 8.1), one could argue that Windows 8 was ahead of its time, or "too much and too soon," as Sinofsky puts it in the interview below. The Ars interview: Steven Sinofsky To understand Steven Sinfosky's background at Microsoft, it's useful to know that he worked at the company for 23 years, beginning in 1989 as a software design engineer. After joining the Microsoft Office team in 1994, he worked his way up to managing the development of Office 2000, XP, 2003, and 2007. Two years later, he became president of Microsoft's Windows Division and oversaw the launch of Windows 7, which became a widely successful product for Microsoft. Following the launch of Windows 8, Sinofsky left Microsoft in December 2012. Steven Sinofsky at a Windows event in 2012. Microsoft In 2020, Sinofsky began writing detailed historical accounts of his time at Microsoft, and they turned into a Substack newsletter called Hardcore Software, which he publishes regularly. He's been thinking deeply about his history a lot recently, which makes this prime time for a retrospective interview, which we conducted via email. His answers have been lightly edited for formatting, punctuation, and brevity. Ars Technica: What was the No. 1 driving force behind Windows 8’s interface design changes? The iPad? Steven Sinofsky: You never say No. 1 reason, but the primary motivations for changing the interface of Windows 8 was because Windows had run its course. If you look at how Windows was thinking when we built Windows 7 (2006–2009), the world was very focused on how the PC would be computing for what the industry called "the next billion." Windows 7 ended up being built at the tail end of a vision that would never be realized: The PC powering computing for the billions using PCs. As we know now, with the iPhone in 2007 (+apps in 2008) and Android in 2008 (+/-), not only the next billion but the next billions were those on smartphones. Given that is how people were going to exclusively use computers, if there was any hope of growing the use of PCs, it would come from having an experience more aligned with smartphones. This applied to the basic user interface (launching programs) and metaphors (touch) as well as the underpinnings such as cloud storage and all-day battery life and also the way mobile hardware platforms raced beyond PCs, such as with sensors. The whole point was to modernize computing on a PC to be in line with the modern computing experience on smartphones. This could easily be seen as "catching up," but really, the whole design was about taking the essence of a PC and pushing it beyond smartphones: Sharing between apps, advancing touchscreen typing, life files, file management, device support (printing!), and so on, that didn’t exist on smartphones. Ars: Which came first: Microsoft Surface hardware or Windows 8? Sinofsky: They were designed in parallel. We saw the need to have a computer that reflected the design of the software and to have software that could exploit a modern hardware platform. We saw the Surface+Windows as a stage for *your* apps and content. Windows Division President Steven Sinofsky, left, and Panos Panay, general manager for Microsoft Surface, introduce Microsoft Surface in 2012. Microsoft Ars: Who designed the tile-based Metro interface? Did you consider any alternatives? Sinofsky: The tiles arose from a synergy with the "Metro" design language, which itself was an evolution at Microsoft, going from Expedia to Windows Media Center to Windows Phone. We had many alternatives, but the essence of the Start screen and live tiles were such that the combination addressed the major shortcomings we saw with how the Start menu, taskbar (including how we innovated in Windows 7), system tray, gadgets, and notifications had become so "unusable" in Windows. Ars: What role did Windows Phone have in the design of Windows 8 and RT? Sinofsky: Windows Phone and Windows 8 shared a name, of course, but with the "Metro style" interface, we wanted to have a family feel and intentionally chose a similar graphical language. Ars: What do you think Windows 8 did best? Sinofsky: I believe what we did with connecting apps to each other via what we called "contracts" was an incredible innovation. Apple did not extend this to third-party apps until 2014, I think, and as late as iOS 13, though much of what was done in Windows 8 still hasn’t made its way there (like app-to-app sharing). But in 2011, we showed developers how to share content from one app to another, how to search across apps, or how to cross the secure file spaces of apps and wire that up in apps with almost no code. Even small things, to this day, that were broadly discussed as hard to use are now standard, such as swipe gestures from the edges or simply typing to launch programs. These were not there for "advanced," users but [part of] the basic user experience. Ars: What did Windows 8 do worst? Sinofsky: The least satisfying aspect of Windows 8 was that there was no real Windows 8.1 and 8.2. Like any Microsoft project, we started knowing we were on a 10-year journey. As a comparison, consider the iPad in 2010 to today’s iPad (or compare the Surface RT to the iPad). Even comparing one year after release would have made a huge difference, as we saw with iPad. Perhaps the thing I regret the most was that unlike most everything Microsoft ever did that was successful (Windows itself, Microsoft Word, Windows NT, and more), Microsoft really did just back completely off the idea of transforming Windows when really the platform (WinRT API), the hardware (Surface for ARM), and the overall user model could have made substantial progress had the company stuck with it. While that’s not the "worst feature," it is the thing I think of the most when I think of what could have changed with a future of Windows 8. Of course, you can’t explore the counterfactual, so I can’t sit here today and say this would have changed the outcome, only that the final judgment of Windows 8 probably could have used more time, just as we did for everything that was successful at Microsoft (and many things that were not, to be complete). Ars: How did it feel to see some of the negative press reaction to Windows 8? Sinofsky: The most interesting thing about the press reaction to Windows 8 was how that reaction has been revised over time. The product did what it did in the market, and I am not in any way disputing that, but to say something like I’ve heard people say, such as "everyone knew it wouldn’t work" or "it was a bad idea from the start" goes against what kind of feedback we received as we were building the product. For example, at the Build conference in September 2011, we unveiled the full product and provided code to over 500,000 people. There were reviews and first looks that were positively glowing about the product. For example, Paul Thurrott tweeted, "Hello, Windows 8? This is iPad. You win," and James Governor of RedMonk wrote, "The experience still felt magic, and that's what really counts. Well done Microsoft." Ars: Do you think the critical reaction to Windows 8 was unfair? Sinofsky: I would never call a reaction unfair. I'm sure people writing and reacting believed they were fair. What I would suggest and as a teaser for what is to come in Hardcore Software is that what was going on was a huge tectonic shift in computing, definitely driven by Apple (though, as discussed, they were first, but we also started before they were public, so definitely a case of convergent evolution). This shift made a lot of people uncomfortable. In particular, Apple was out there talking about how tablets were the future of computing. A lot of people didn't accept that and really pushed back with tablets as "consumption devices" and not for productivity. We had a decidedly different point of view that was not tablet-centric but was "computer centric." We believed that there was a convergence of "mobile," "tablets," and "laptops," and that it was entirely possible for one OS to span these and be optimal across them. That is why at every Windows 8 event we showed devices of all form factors and sizes running Windows 8. Similarly and orthogonal, we thought of the cloud as an integral part of the experience from the start: Windows 8 + Windows Live was the product definition from the earliest days. We were super focused on productivity and mobility, and that is why we designed an integral keyboard experience with Surface. We saw users always having a keyboard, even if it was folded over the back as a cover. At the same time, the kickstand was about using the device for laid-back consumption, or as I showed it, hands-off productivity (the camera in Surface was angled so it would point correctly on a desk when standing on the kickstand). From the start, we designed the OS to be in landscape mode primarily and designed the "multitasking" support to assume a widescreen layout for apps such that two apps side by side would work great. Ars: How has your opinion of Windows 8 evolved or changed over the past 10 years? Sinofsky: First, so much of the feedback about Windows 8 focused on removal of the Start menu—the literal menu—which we knew at the time had reached its functional limits. So in many ways, I think the feedback overplayed the role of the Start menu much the same way the early Windows critics overplayed the removal of "C:\>" from the core experience. Yet, of course, like the early Windows, we had affordances to keep that around (the desktop in Windows 8). Second, 90 percent (that's a rhetorical stat) of computing is now done via grids of apps, launched by touch, filling a screen. Mobile browsing dominates desktop browsing, and overall screen time on mobile vastly outpaces desktop. Desktop computing is on a decline. That assumes desktops are used at all, and for a few billion people, they will never see desktop computers as traditionally envisioned. So in that way, I think we tried to bring Windows to the natural next step of computing. Our vision for doing that was just too much and too soon, and as a result Windows ended up not moving forward and today retains its secure position—though that is in a shrinking desktop world, one also challenged by Mac much more so in 2022 than it was in 2012. Ars: What do you want people to remember Windows 8 for the most? Sinofsky: Windows 8 will be remembered for how it worked in the market. Nothing will change that. My hope is that, over time, some people will reflect on what was done, revisit the initial reactions, and realize that what Windows 8 tried to do was the classic effort businesses should do—it is always better to disrupt yourself than to get disrupted by another company. That's what we tried to do. In many ways, there was a crazy (or even absurd) amount of innovation in every level of the system, from the lowest layer of hardware/software system API, the UI, the app runtime, and the user experience in the system. Windows 8 is an example of something that failed because it had "too much" innovation, if that's a thing. The market couldn't absorb all that at once, even though all the pieces turned out to be relatively prescient on so many fronts. Innovation and business are like that—everything has to align. Often, getting that alignment is much more difficult for an incumbent. Microsoft designed its Surface tablet in parallel with Windows 8. Microsoft Ars: Do you think Windows 8 is underrated among historical Windows releases? How would you rank it against, say, Windows 95 or Windows 7? Sinofsky: One of the most interesting phenomena in tech is that people remember products that were wildly successful and then also remember cataclysmic failures. But people also remember products that were not so successful and yet remember them as though they changed a great many things, almost more successful than they were. There's a full range in there, from the Altair, to Zune, to Windows Phone, to Newton, to Amiga. None of those were successful businesses, but each has incredible fans today—irrational fans. I would love for people to recognize that from swipe gestures from the edges, to the APIs, to ARM support, to window management, to share/search/picker contracts, to live tiles, and more, Windows 8 had not only a broad set of innovations, but many went on to occupy places in the leading platforms of iOS and Android even though Windows 8 itself was not successful in bringing those to Windows users directly. Ars: Has it been cathartic or emotionally helpful to write about Windows 8 for your Hardcore Software Substack? Sinofsky: I would say it has been neither of those. Mostly I am documenting conversations I had with hundreds of groups and companies over the past 10 years. There's a huge interest in the "how and why" of strategic and management choices, and these stories resonate with managers, product leaders, engineers, and more. What Windows experienced might have been a bigger or higher high than many businesses achieve, but every business will be faced with existential moments. Part of writing, too, has been a great reminder of what I recognized at the time, which is that Windows 8 was the very best of Microsoft. It was a time that the whole company came together to deliver. “Too much and too soon”—Steven Sinofsky looks back at Windows 8, 10 years later

Nvidia has a new graphics driver for those still using Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 despite their no-support state. Although Microsoft and other developers already abandoned these operating systems, Nvidia still releases periodic driver updates to improve security. Version 475.06 is one such driver. Nvidia 475.06 is a non-WHQL driver because Microsoft no longer accepts driver submissions for WHQL certification for Windows 7 and 8/8.1. Also, the update does not contain any gaming or feature-related fixes, optimizations, and new features. Even if you have a supported Nvidia GPU, such as one from the GTX 10 Series, all the new stuff and improvements are now exclusive to Windows 10 and Windows 11. Nvidia understands that some users cannot upgrade (Microsoft recently closed the upgrade door to Windows 10), so every now and then, it provides a security update to patch things up. According to Nvidia, critical security updates for its drivers on unsupported operating systems will be available through September 2024. After that, you are on your own. For now, there is no information on what exactly the latest driver fixes. Most likely, Nvidia waits for more customers to update to 475.06 before disclosing the patched vulnerabilities. If you are curious about what was fixed in version 475.06, check out the official Nvidia Product Security page in a few days. Compared to Windows 10 and 11, Windows 7 and its misfired successor have tiny market shares. Statcounter claims that Windows 7's global market share is at 2.86%. On the gaming side, Windows 7 has only 0.38%. While those numbers look small, you should keep in mind that there are over 1.5 billion Windows PCs, so even less than 3% is quite a lot of devices. If you have a PC powered by Windows 7 or 8/8.1 and an Nvidia graphics card, we are not judging you, but at least update the remaining bits of supported software by downloading the latest Nvidia driver here. Full release notes for 475.06 are available here. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every single day for many years. 2023: Over 5,800 news posts | 2024 (till end of May): Nearly 2,400 news posts