So few hours divides divides us to last updates for 7 / Server 2008 R2. Interesting what MS give as last gift.
It's over guys. The final update is live. Don't worry though. 1) Until the next Patch Tuesday, the OS is gonna have the same patches as the other, newer versions, so it will be perfectly secure. 2) Browser support won't be over for a long time (if it will ever be). 3) NT6.x was coded by people who knew what they did, differently from NT10 which is partly coded by AI and has a huge amount of flaws. What remains unpatched on NT6.x is nothing compared to the issues current NT10 has.
Installed 2026-01 Security Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-base Systems (KB5073695) just minutes after it came out, no issues. It's been a great ride, thanks to everyone here and I wish you all a good time either continuing on Windows 7, or moving to something new!
Spoiler: Ode to Windows 7 **Ode to Windows 7 (After the Last Patch)** O Windows Seven, calm and blue, With glassy panes and edges true, You wake without a thousand cries, No nags, no clouds to synchronize. Your start menu hums a softer age, A steady desk, a well-worn page. They said your time would surely end, A final bell, no patch to send— January’s last security seal, A quiet note, a closing deal. Yet still you stand, composed, complete, A measured pulse beneath my feet. You never begged to know my name, Nor phoned the skies to play the game Of metrics, ads, and shadowed logs— You simply worked. You never hogged The night with updates, forced and deep, While I just wished the screen would sleep. O Aero glass, translucent grace, Where function wore a human face, You knew restraint, you knew when not To change the thing that wasn’t broke. In that restraint, a wisdom lay Now paved over, update by day. And here’s the truth we whisper low: That patches fix what we are shown. Disclosed, admitted, given light— The visible cracks they choose to fight. But underneath, the iceberg sleeps, In modern builds, in hidden deeps. For newer Windows, loud and vast, Promise the future, bury the past, Yet patch by patch they smooth the tip While deeper waters tighten grip. What’s fixed is what we’re told to fear; What’s not disclosed stays quietly here. So stand, old friend, beyond support, A finished thought, a final port. Not perfect—no, but honest, plain, A system built for work, not gain. When progress meant a careful hand, Not endless churn by vague command. O Windows Seven, end-of-line, You age like code that still runs fine. Long after updates cease their flow, You teach us what we used to know: That software, like a well-made tool, Can end—and still remain quite cool.
I have a feeling we'll see one last update in April to complete the WDS changes that are being started in Server 2008/R2 with this update. Won't affect consumer editions since WDS is a server feature.
I feel proud today to be a 7 user and I will still feel proud to be a 7 user on this same day next year, and the next year, and the next...
Another success for Bypass ESU! Enjoy this one month that Windows 7 is the most secure Windows version of all time. Why? It is extremely mature now. With 16+ years of revisions, fixes and improvements. We can assume that most things security holes in Win7 have been found and patched already. It does not have much of the newer Windows code such as modern/metro apps and subsystem, AI copilot, and the entire UI overhaul of Win8/10/11. And what is not there, cannot be exploited or hacked. Of course, in the future there will still be issues found in Windows 7 that were not found in the 16 years of support. But there still are antivirus and firewall software to harden Win7 against exploiting those. But for now, Enjoy the peak of Windows client security!
Well. Farewell NT 6.0 and 6.1 Updates. it has been long journey my boys. For 16 or 17 years and 19 years for NT 6.0 But don't worry. We're going to see the upcoming updates in February, 2026 Patch Tuesday. I had no idea, If it's going to be extended (or not, not a stupid question. but the statement is likely unknown in February, 2026, But we're going to see about that.) I did actually install ESU Bypass on my real laptop back in September, 2022 after I done some testing in VM before I took the risk on my real laptop. and it was working well. I installed about 3 ESU updates until November, 2022. Before next a few days. I upgraded to Windows 10 22H2. But yet. I still did set my new VM because I deleted the old one. and I been continue using the ESU Bypass on my Windows 7 VM for testing. I will say big thanks to abbodi1406 for his hard work that made us to install the ESU updates on Windows Vista and 7 for 6 more years to keep everyone's PCs and laptops well-secured <3 But still. GG for Windows Vista and 7. Now. Time to boot my Windows 7 VM and install the final updates from Windows Update....
It will cost us nothing but a little bit of time to check back occasionally to say hello & to check out any changes or additions. I like following the update history of Win11 as it breaks itself across time with every update.
Idk why I feel it will happen In February 2023, Microsoft sent the last CU for Win7, one month after ESU ended
Six beautiful more years to be able to work with a sane and safe operating system. Big time! Thank you very much @abbodi1406 and all the rest of people who contributed on this tool and still doing so, making us possible to avoid the W11 hell for probably the same many more years. Highly appreciated!
FYI, the last Windows 7 x64 build is numbered 6.1.7601.28117. The last x86 build is 6.1.7601.27366 from October 2024. The last Vista build for x86 and x64 is 6.0.6003.23717.
That's because Server 2008 has a Premium Assurance Plan (6-year ESUs after OS EOL). Though this plan was stopped selling in 2018, M$ promised to continue providing the PA ESUs for customers who purchased it.