Although Microsoft officially ended support for Windows 7 on 14 January, the company continues to provide qualifying Enterprise users with updates through its Extended Security Updates (ESU) programme.
Users who sign up for this support continue to receive critical security updates at a cost of between $25 (R370) and $50 (R740) per year. Reports indicate that this amount could double each consecutive year.
However, a hack devised by members of the My Digital Life (MDL) Forum allows any Windows 7 user to bypass a test performed by the OS to confirm if a device is eligible for the programme.
Still working
The workaround was first reported in December 2019, but many expected Microsoft to eventually block the bypass. It now appears that the hack still works after Microsoft's latest Patch Tuesday update.
To use the workaround, users must first download and install the bypass, which is available on the MDL forum. After this, Microsoft's test update can be installed.
Once this is done, users can restart their systems and install several of Microsoft's KB updates. It remains unclear how long this will continue to work, however.
Windows 7 bugs
Users who chose to stick to Windows 7 have had to turn to other unofficial workarounds in recent days, due to a number of bugs that have plagued the OS.
One bug saw users' wallpapers turn black if they chose the "Stretch" mode, while another resulted in users being unable to shut down or reboot their systems.
Microsoft rolled out a fix for the first problem, but the shutdown issue required users to edit registry entries or change Group Policy settings.
