[Solved]Will Opera also ends support for Windows 7 and 8.1
-
passenger-chi last edited by leocgGoogle ends Chrome support for Windows 7 and 8.1 in early 2023 (ghacks)
https://www.ghacks.net/2022/10/25/google-ends-chrome-support-for-windows-7-and-8-1-in-early-2023/I don’t suppose this will have any effect on Opera updates?
Just checking. -
leocg Moderator Volunteer last edited by
@passenger-chi I wouldn't be surprised if Opera stops supporting at least Windows 7 in 2023.
-
burnout426 Volunteer last edited by
If Chromium quits running properly on Windows 7 and 8.1 (because of the use of some Windows APIs that are only available in newer versions of Windows for example), I predict that Opera will not try to work around the issues and will end support for Windows 7 and 8.1.
However, if Opera can just enable some build flag to re-enable support for Windows 7 and 8.1 where everything's fine, I predict Opera will do so, for a little while at least.
-
blackbird71 last edited by blackbird71Much depends on how the Google end-of-support decision evolves in the chromium code itself. There are always different ways of doing things, and if code exists in chromium that specifically supports certain Win7/8.1 unique peculiarities, one can expect such code will rather quickly be removed in order to clean up the remaining code. That can have major impact on downstream browsers using chromium code (like Opera and others). Likewise, if vulnerabilities continue being discovered in chromium code, remedies may be introduced that don't take unique needs of Win7/8.1 into account and all such updates will thereafter not be suitable for those OS's.
Whether a downstream browser that depends on chromium code (like Opera) will add its own work-arounds to support using future chromium code for Win7/8.1 depends greatly on the complexity of such tasks, but it's very unlikely that much energy/resources will be expended in such ways... the Win7/8.1 'market' has simply become too small to justify much effort.
At the end of the day, this is the trajectory for how an out-of-support OS finally "dies" - it's support by application software becomes too costly to bother with, and so the number of available application programs that are being updated withers away over time.
-
passenger-chi last edited by
It's much easier to change browsers (say to Firefox) than to change OSes, and Windows isn't even a Google product. My guess is they are not trying to force you to upgrade, they just don't want to bother about regression testing new features. And after all, Chrome isn't their primary source of revenue.
In my opinion the best way is to have lots of browsers installed and switch around as needed.
For that matter, the obsoleted browsers will still continue to work, at least for a while. So it's not a "crisis" even in the worst case.
-
leocg Moderator Volunteer last edited by
@passenger-chi It simply doesn't make sense to keep supporting an OS whose authors stopped supporting since a long while. As said, the costs of doing it turns to be higher than eventual benefits.
-
blackbird71 last edited by
@passenger-chi said in Will Opera also ends support for Windows 7 and 8.1:
... For that matter, the obsoleted browsers will still continue to work, at least for a while. So it's not a "crisis" even in the worst case.
It's not a "crisis" until it becomes one - which it will. With a continual parade of new browser exploits being discovered by the bad guys, there has to be a continual parade of corresponding security updates by developers to keep a browser safe online. Once a browser goes unsupported and those security updates stop, the risks of a system becoming infected increase steadily as time goes by.
Visited websites (and any malicious code thereon) are necessarily made immediately aware of the browser version when it connects to the site. If the site is tailoring its features to various 'latest' browser versions, those sites may soon begin failing to work with an obsoleted browser, even if the user is resorting to 'spoofing' his user=agent string to a non-obsolete version. In a worst case, if the site is infected, the infection code will read the visiting version and deliver a custom batch of malware that exploits the known (and unpatched) vulnerabilities of the obsolete browser version.
As a result, a user of an obsolete browser is forced to rely increasingly on their antivirus, extensions, or other software means of blocking such malware that adapts to their browser version. Unfortunately, makers of those protection tools are also unwilling to keep updates flowing for their software for systems with obsolete OS's... hence it becomes increasingly difficult to find a truly safe way forward. Because history has shown that even many "reputable" sites have been hacked by malware injection, there is really no "safe" way to take an obsolete system online, and the risks of doing so literally grow daily.
In my own experience, when a system's OS goes obsolete from its maker, within a year or so most browsers will have gone unsupported. Within another 2 or 3 years, virtually all browsers will have gone unsupported for an obsolete OS, as well as most protective software. At that point, I make sure those systems are no longer taken online (I pull their Ethernet connections and kill their WiFi setups), and I then only use them as tools for certain offline "tool" software unique to those OS's or for offline gaming use with old and obsolete games.
-
urdrwho10 last edited by leocg
@blackbird71 What started out as a nice, cool thing is now a Big Big headache. Continual upgrades for what reason...the bad guys?
I've been using computers since my first commadore 64 and I have never been hacked. If you want to run around to porn sites and other nonsense you'll get what you deserve. Stay on clean sites, know your sites but that isn't how people work is it. As always the few make it hard the the many.
-
blackbird71 last edited by
@urdrwho10 I've been using computers per se daily since the IBM mainframe era, through microcomputers (Intellec8, etc), through DARPA-net days with the earliest PCs, up until now. Personally, I've only been hacked once (in Win95 days via malware planted on a hacked news website)... but I attribute that success mostly to safe hex: keeping my systems well-patched, using updated anti-malware screening (which have trapped a number of hack attempts), never ever opening unsolicited email links or attachments, and - yes - avoiding "sketchy" websites. However, from my observations among coworkers, friends, and online reports, the hacking of 'reputable' websites to cause drive-by infections (especially in their Javascripting and 3rd-party ad callouts) occurs more often than many folks imagine, so avoiding shady websites is no guarantee of online immunity.
A major part of the problem is that code and online protocols of both browsers and websites are now so complex that new flaws and vulnerabilities are continually being discovered therein to be exploited by "bad guys"... so the parade of "fixes" for these never ends, lest the software involved becomes hopelessly compromised.
Add to that the march of technological evolution in hardware and software concepts, which forces corresponding changes to software programs, stir in the irresistable desire to continually add a few new "features" in the code to improve the software's competitive posture... and you have the constant drumbeat of software updates that we see today. At some point, mere updating become unwieldy and entirely new program architecture becomes necessary... at which point, new flaws and vulnerabilities are baked in to be later discovered and exploited -- and the cycle repeats endlessly.
Unfortunately, this is life in today's digital universe - particularly with the entire world freely accessing one gigantic public network and able to try their hand at hacking anything and anyone.
-
urdrwho10 last edited by leocg
@blackbird71 Yeah I get all of that but I also feel that the people using computers is also a problem. People don't take the risk management protocols to help stop the hacking. I'm 70 years old now and not as spry as I once was at new technology. I was the teacher and now my son rolls his eyes at some of my questions. I've become the student.
I'm looking into the future and thinking, how the heck will I keep up? I have probably 10 computers in the house with 6 being used and kept up to date. The remainder are the things ya fire up once in a while and say -- oh look it still runs.
Of the six being used, four are dual boot and one is win 11 only, the other is Win 7. Win 7 is my business computer with proprietary expensive software that I'm not about to spend $8,000 to upgrade. Errrr! The darn thing does what it is supposed to do, run my CRM, act as a fax/answering machine, keep my books and go online at times.
Not being able for that box to go online would not be a deal killer but would add one more layer of things that I need to do before finishing a task. If it comes down to it I have my other computers to use for browsing.
My other Big Errrrr is that I am a buyer, not a renter. Once the software engineers decided that the income stream is better if you make people rent, the end of reasonable priced software was over. I don't mind paying a small sum every X amount of years to update.
Its kind of like some car manufacturers are now requiring an annual subscription for your computer controlled heated seats to keep working. This is the old death by drip - drip - drip.
"Car Makers Plan to Require Monthly Subscriptions to Use Heated Seats, and Other 'Luxuries'"
-
awkward last edited by
IDK about future but last 2 development commits stop work on my Windows7 normally. I always get message what GetProcessMitigationPolicy missing in Kernel32.dll.
And i can't stop browser autoupdate. I just don't see that option.Looks like i will must to delete this browser (sad,sad)
-
-
-
blackbird71 last edited by
@andrew84 said in Will Opera also ends support for Windows 7 and 8.1:
Answer regarding the Win 7/8 support
https://forums.opera.com/post/296760The key words in that answer are: "we are aware that Chrome is dropping support for Windows 7 and 8 but we wanted to keeping those platforms updated as long as it wouldn't require lot of additional maintenance from our side." (my italics)
Probably no one knows how long that support will actually continue since no one knows the precise evolution path of the chromium codebase going forward after Win7 and 8 requirements are officially deprecated. But it's highly likely that after that compatibility is no longer required, codebase changes will occur and accumulate that seriously conflict with those Windows versions... at that point, supporting Win7 and/or 8 in a chromium-based browser will indeed require a lot of maintenance on the part of the browser developers - and that will be the end of support.
-
andrew84 last edited by
@blackbird71 Yes. sure.
But some supporting period (unknown or short) is better than nothing. -
-
caseyschroen last edited by caseyschroen
I recently asked a similar question on Reddit and received some helpful insights from the community. Many users mentioned that as time goes on, it's becoming increasingly difficult for software developers to maintain compatibility with older operating systems like Windows 7 and 8.1. Likely, Opera will eventually phase out support for these platforms, especially if they encounter technical challenges due to the use of newer Windows APIs. However, it's possible that Opera could temporarily re-enable support if they can find a workaround. If you're interested in learning more, check out the windows 10 Reddit key.
-
blackbird71 last edited by
@caseyschroen said in Will Opera also ends support for Windows 7 and 8.1:
If you're interested in learning more, check out the windows 10 Reddit key.
Uhmm... what does obtaining a 'cheap' Win10 key have to do with the question of Opera maintaining support for Win7 and 8.1?
-
-
blackbird71 last edited by blackbird71
@burnout426 said in Will Opera also ends support for Windows 7 and 8.1:
Yes. Supported has ended.
For the sake of those reading this thread now or in the future who are unwilling or unable to follow the referenced link, the key categorical statement by Opera's Product Marketing Manager on 31 January 2023 is: "From our side, we wouldn’t be able to guarantee the user experience and security that we strive for in our products. As a result, we have had to make the tough decision to stop supporting Windows 7 and 8.1 as well."
