Microsoft dropped support for Windows 7 in January, and your antivirus company is free to drop support as well. Will your antivirus keep working even if you don’t upgrade?

微软在一月份放弃了对Windows 7的支持，您的防病毒公司也可以自由删除支持。 即使不升级，防病毒软件也能继续工作吗？

By Neil J. Rubenking

由 尼尔J. Rubenking

Nothing lasts forever, and when a new version of Windows arrives, the end-of-life timer starts ticking. Even Windows 10—the “last” version of Windows—has a “best used by” date coming up in 2025. The simple solution is to continue upgrading, but that’s not always possible. If hardware considerations, legacy software, or some other snag keeps you stuck on a defunct operating system, what happens to your antivirus protection?

什么都不会永远持续下去，当新版本的Windows到来时，寿命终止计时器开始计时。 甚至Windows 10(Windows的“最后”版本)也有一个“最佳使用日期”出现在2025年。简单的解决方案是继续升级，但这并不总是可能的。 如果硬件方面的考虑，旧版软件或其他故障使您无法使用已失效的操作系统，则防病毒保护会如何？

This is an especially important consideration for users of Windows 7, which died this month. If you don’t upgrade, you won’t get security updates from Microsoft, which isn’t great. Even worse would be the possibility that your security software might abandon your devices. Will that happen then? The researchers at AV-Test Institute in Magdeburg, Germany, decided to find out.

对于Windows 7的用户而言，这是一个特别重要的考虑因素，该用户已于本月死亡 。 如果不升级，则不会从Microsoft获得安全更新，这不是很好。 更糟糕的是，您的安全软件可能会放弃您的设备。 那会发生吗？ 德国马格德堡AV测试研究所的研究人员决定找出答案。

防病毒测试 (Antivirus Testing)

AV-Test Institute is known worldwide for its testing of antivirus products. Reports come out every few months, like clockwork. Testers rate each antivirus on three criteria: Protection, Performance, and Usability. Protection naturally refers to the product’s essential ability to fend off malware attacks and wipe out malware infestations. A good performance score means the product did its job without dragging down system performance. Mistakenly flagging a valid app or website as malicious lowers the product’s usability score.

AV-Test Institute以其抗病毒产品的测试而闻名世界。 报告每隔几个月发布一次，就像发条一样。 测试人员根据以下三个标准对每种防病毒软件进行评级：保护，性能和可用性。 保护自然是指产品抵御恶意软件攻击并清除恶意软件侵扰的基本能力。 良好的性能得分意味着该产品可以在不降低系统性能的情况下完成其工作。 错误地将有效应用或网站标记为恶意，会降低产品的可用性得分。

A given antivirus can receive up to six points in each category, for a maximum of 18 possible points. Those that manage 17.5 or better receive the designation “Top Product.”

给定的防病毒软件在每个类别中最多可以得到6分，最多可以得到18分。 管理17.5或更高水平的企业将获得“最佳产品”称号。

While the latest tests all use Windows 10, this lab used to cycle between all active Windows versions. That gave the researchers plenty of experience with validating protection on multiple operating systems. For the report on continued Windows 7 support, they checked company websites and queried the manufacturers directly about continued support for Windows 7.

尽管所有最新测试都使用Windows 10，但该实验室用来在所有活动Windows版本之间循环。 这为研究人员提供了在多个操作系统上验证保护的丰富经验。 对于有关Windows 7继续支持的报告 ，他们检查了公司网站，并直接询问制造商有关Windows 7继续支持的信息。

对大多数人来说都是好消息 (Good News, for Most)

Most of the manufacturers announced no specific date to drop support for Windows 7, which AV-Test experts took to mean support would continue at least two years.

大多数制造商宣布没有具体日期放弃对Windows 7的支持，AV-Test专家认为这意味着支持将至少持续两年。

This group includes: AhnLab, Avast, AVG, BullGuard, Carbon Black, ESET, FireEye, G Data, Ikarus, K7 Computing, Kaspersky, Microworld, NortonLifeLock, PC Matic, Quickheal, Seqrite, and Vipre. If you’re using one of these on Windows 7, you’d be wise to check from time to time in case the company does announce an end date for support. TotalAV likewise doesn’t have a specific end date, but will offer support for at least a year.

该组包括：AhnLab，Avast，AVG，BullGuard，Carbon Black，ESET，FireEye，G Data，Ikarus，K7 Computing，Kaspersky，Microworld，NortonLifeLock，PC Matic，Quickheal，Seqrite和Vipre。 如果您在Windows 7上使用其中一种，则最好不时检查一下，以防公司确实宣布支持终止日期。 TotalAV同样没有具体的结束日期，但将提供至少一年的支持。

A few provided more specific dates. Bitdefender will support Windows 7 until Jan. 11, 2022, while McAfee’s support ends in December 2021. F-Secure will continue support until at least December 2021 and Avira until November 2022.

一些提供了更具体的日期。 Bitdefender将支持Windows 7到2022年1月11日，而McAfee的支持将在2021年12月结束。F-Secure将继续支持到2021年12月至少，Avira直到2022年11月。

Windows 7 news from Sophos seems to refer to the company’s large enterprise business, not so much to the home products we’ve reviewed. Sophos will offer on-premises support until December 2020 and cloud-managed support until the following June. Finally, Trend Micro doesn’t state any plans for ending support, but offers only limited tech support for those who continue to use Windows 7.

Sophos的Windows 7新闻似乎是指该公司的大型企业业务，与其说是我们评测过的家用产品，不如说是该产品。 Sophos将在2020年12月之前提供本地支持，并在次年6月之前提供云托管的支持。 最后，趋势科技没有说明终止支持的任何计划，但只为继续使用Windows 7的用户提供有限的技术支持。

If you don’t see your antivirus or security suite provider noted above, you may need to check with the company directly. You could also bookmark AV-Test’s report and check from time to time, as the company plans to expand it with any new information that arrives.

如果您没有看到上述防病毒或安全套件提供商，则可能需要直接与公司联系。 您还可以在AV-Test的报告中添加书签并随时检查，因为该公司计划使用收到的任何新信息进行扩展。

嘿，关于Windows XP？ (Hey, What About Windows XP?)

Windows XP reached its end of life in 2014, but it still shows up in the most surprising places, like on Vladimir Putin’s desk. If you’re somehow stuck using Windows XP, your pickings for antivirus protection are quite a bit slimmer.

Windows XP在2014年寿终正寝，但仍然出现在最令人惊讶的地方，例如弗拉基米尔·普京(Vladimir Putin)的办公桌上 。 如果您因某种原因无法使用Windows XP，则防病毒保护的选择将变得更加苗条。

Looking at our top antivirus picks, Bitdefender, ESET, F-Secure, Kaspersky, McAfee, NortonLifeLock, and Trend Micro have all dropped support for Windows XP. Webroot comes closest, hanging onto support for Windows Vista, but that still doesn’t help if you’re stuck on XP.

查看我们精选的防病毒产品，Bitdefender，ESET，F-Secure，Kaspersky，McAfee，NortonLifeLock和趋势科技均已放弃对Windows XP的支持。 Webroot最接近，支持Windows Vista，但是如果您坚持使用XP，那仍然无济于事。

BullGuard and Panda aren’t at the top of our list, but the system requirement lists for these two product lines indicate that they support all Windows versions back to Windows XP. Avast and AVG both maintain XP-specific old-school versions of their free antivirus products-but if you choose one of these, be sure to opt out of sharing data. Comodo also used to offer an XP-specific free antivirus, one that still shows up in search results. However, clicking the search result link just takes you to the standard antivirus.

BullGuard和Panda不在我们的列表中，但是这两个产品系列的系统要求列表表明它们支持所有Windows版本以及Windows XP。 Avast和AVG都维护其免费防病毒产品的XP特定的老式版本，但是，如果您选择其中之一，请确保选择不共享数据 。 Comodo还曾经提供过XP专用的免费防病毒软件，该病毒仍会出现在搜索结果中。 但是，单击搜索结果链接只会带您到标准防病毒软件。

如果可以升级 (Upgrade If You Can)

So why exactly are you still using Windows 7? If you’re stuck maintaining an antique PC that can’t support an upgrade, there’s nothing you can do (except buy a new PC). Likewise, if you rely on legacy software that can’t handle the upgrade. But if it’s just laziness, well, fire up your energy and get the upgrade.

那么，为什么仍要使用Windows 7？ 如果您坚持维护的老式PC无法支持升级，那么您将无能为力(购买新PC除外)。 同样，如果您依赖无法处理升级的旧版软件。 但是，如果只是懒惰，那么，请消耗精力并进行升级。

As AV-Test’s experts discovered, Microsoft really wants you to upgrade away from Windows 7. Even though the time period for a free upgrade to Windows 10 expired multiple times, it’s still open for Windows 7 users. Presuming your Windows 7 installation is legitimate, with a valid license key, you just download the Windows 10 Upgrade Assistant, run it, and follow instructions. Welcome to the modern world!

正如AV-Test的专家所发现的那样，Microsoft确实希望您从Windows 7升级。即使免费升级到Windows 10的时间段多次到期，它仍然对Windows 7用户开放。 假设您的Windows 7安装合法且具有有效的许可证密钥，则只需下载Windows 10升级助手 ，然后运行它并按照说明进行操作即可。 欢迎来到现代世界！

Originally published at https://www.pcmag.com.

最初发布在 https://www.pcmag.com 。