Microsoft announced the Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 platforms have reached end-of-support on January 14, 2020. These Windows desktop and server platforms will no longer receive updates, and it has been our general policy to end support for a platform that is no longer supported by Microsoft. However, it is expected that Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 will continue to be used as businesses and end-users continue the process of transitioning to Windows 10 and Windows Server 2019.
If you continue to use Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2, it’s important to understand the risks, particularly if those systems are connected to the Internet. They will no longer receive critical security updates, which leaves them potentially vulnerable to viruses, spyware and other harmful software that can compromise your data. It also lacks many of the security improvements available with the current version of Windows.
Because Windows Server 2008 is based on the Windows Vista code base from 2007, it has additional limitations in terms of the version of TLS that it supports, and what cipher suites are available for secure connections. It is recommended that you update the system to Windows Server 2008 R2 at a minimum, because that version shares the same code base as Windows 7. Secure connections using TLS 1.2 are not supported on Windows Server 2008, only on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.
To be eligible for support on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, you must have Service Pack 1 (SP1) installed and the system must be current with all updates that are available, including the “rollup” update that was released in April 2016. Windows Server 2008 systems must be updated with Service Pack 2 (SP2) released in May 2009. This includes both development and end-user systems, as well as virtual machines (VMs) that may be used for testing purposes.
You must upgrade to SocketTools 10 to continue to receive support on Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2. We cannot provide technical support for older versions of SocketTools on unsupported Windows platforms. If you have any questions or concerns about upgrading your software or future support for these Windows platforms, please contact us.