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But because Windows 7 was so popular with businesses, Microsoft took the unusual step of offering three additional years of optional, paid update support for the operating system. Most people stopped receiving general-purpose security updates for Windows 7 back in 2020, around a decade after its original release. If you thought that Windows 7 had already stopped getting security updates, you’re not wrong. Because the underlying Chromium engine in both Chrome and Edge is open source, Microsoft could continue supporting Edge in older Windows versions if it wanted, but the company is using both end-of-support dates to justify a clean break for Edge. The end-of-support date for Edge coincides with the end of security update support for both Windows 7 and Windows 8 on January 10, and the end of Google Chrome support for Windows 7 and 8 in version 110.
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Further Reading “Too much and too soon”-Steven Sinofsky looks back at Windows 8, 10 years later
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