Browsers and Windows

[Howard Davis]

Edge and Chrome no longer support Win 7 which I now run, or Win 8. As an apparent result, my Malwarebytes web protection does not work with these browsers. 

 

Logging onto my Malwarebytes account has been temporarily blocked due to "invalid attempts."

 

Installing Win 10 or 11 would probably resolve this issue, but I am reluctant to take the chance as some of my old software may not work with it or other problems could arise.

 

I am notified that msedge_elf.dll is missing from my computer. Not sure if this is related to the above.

 

Advice from you experts would be greatly appreciated!

[spaceelf]

I think most peoples advice would be...suck it up?  You've had years to plan for this.

If you absolutely need to keep 7/8 you can install a supported OS on a new partition or drive.

[+virtorio MVC]

Upgrade to 10 or 11 and use a Windows 7 virtual machine (using VirtualBox or VMWare Workstation Player) for any software that may not work.

[+InsaneNutter MVC]

Firefox should still work on Windows 7: Firefox 109.0 System Requirements (mozilla.org)

Beyond that I'm not sure what else you can really do other than upgrade to Windows 10. I suspect your hardware will probably not officially support Windows 11 given you are still on Windows 7, however Windows 10 should work fine.

You could image your hard drive first so you can always restore that image if Windows 10 doesn't work with something.

[ZakO]

MalwareBytes isn't going to save you from the unpatched security vulnerabilities that will soon plague Windows 7, even extended support for critical updates has just stopped (as of 10th Jan 2023).

I'd install Windows 10, worst case in the event that your software doesn't work with Windows 10 you could always run it in a Windows 7 virtual machine. What software are you using that you think won't work?

[shockz]

On 28/01/2023 at 12:14, Howard Davis said:

Edge and Chrome no longer support Win 7 which I now run, or Win 8. As an apparent result, my Malwarebytes web protection does not work with these browsers. 

 

Logging onto my Malwarebytes account has been temporarily blocked due to "invalid attempts."

 

Installing Win 10 or 11 would probably resolve this issue, but I am reluctant to take the chance as some of my old software may not work with it or other problems could arise.

 

I am notified that msedge_elf.dll is missing from my computer. Not sure if this is related to the above.

 

Advice from you experts would be greatly appreciated!

Upgrade to Windows 10, make sure you clean install too, who knows what terrible exploits are roaming around your system. 

[+Good Bot, Bad Bot Subscriber¹]

WTF? You are worried about possible software that may not be compatible with Windows 10/11? Huh? Maybe time to upgrade that 15 year old version of Quickbooks. What you should be worried about is your OS is NOT secure.

 

Edited January 30, 2023 by Good Bot, Bad Bot

[+Good Bot, Bad Bot Subscriber¹]

On 29/01/2023 at 16:58, InsaneNutter said:

Firefox should still work on Windows 7: Firefox 109.0 System Requirements (mozilla.org)

Beyond that I'm not sure what else you can really do other than upgrade to Windows 10. I suspect your hardware will probably not officially support Windows 11 given you are still on Windows 7, however Windows 10 should work fine.

You could image your hard drive first so you can always restore that image if Windows 10 doesn't work with something.

As much as I am a fan of Firefox a different browser is not the solution at all. The OP needs to switch to an OS that is actually supported. Some software doesn't work with Windows 10/11? Windows 7 in a VM for that software or pick up a cheap second box for Windows 7 and not connected to the Internet if possible.

[Howard Davis]

Can't thank you all enough for the advice!

Looks like I'll be getting Win 10 but waiting to hear from a tech friend before doing so.

 

[+Warwagon MVC]

It's too long to explain it here. But it is possible to clone and virtualize your existing windows 7 installation and run it in VirtualBox on your windows 10 /11 machine.

[+Warwagon MVC]

On 29/01/2023 at 19:29, Good Bot, Bad Bot said:

WTF? You are worried about possible software that may not be compatible with Windows 10/11? Huh? Maybe time to upgrade that 15 year old version of Quickbooks. What you should be worried about is your OS is NOT secure.

 

Due to intuits greed, I think a lot of people will be death gripping their old version of QuickBooks.

You used to be able to buy QuickBooks outright for about $250. Now it's $444 PER YEAR! Looks like in July 2023, it's going to be increased to $550 per year.

I used to upgrade once every 4 years for $250. Now those same 4 years would be $1,776.

I'm death gripping my 2018 version.

My QuickBooks computer is a dedicated computer for JUST QuickBooks. That computer never browses the web, all it does is QuickBooks. So, I'll run that in a VM if I have to. 

 

[+Good Bot, Bad Bot Subscriber¹]

On 30/01/2023 at 12:17, Warwagon said:

Due to intuits greed, I think a lot of people will be death gripping their old version of QuickBooks.

You used to be able to buy QuickBooks outright for about $250. Now it's $444 PER YEAR!

I used to upgrade once every 4 years for $250. Now those same 4 years would be $1,776.

I'm death gripping my 2018 version.

My QuickBooks computer is a dedicated computer for JUST QuickBooks. That computer never browses the web, all it does is QuickBooks. So, I'll run that in a VM if I have to. 

 

I knew someone would say they were using an old version of Quickbooks. LOL I mentioned using any old software in a VM or on a separate computer with no Internet if possible in another comment.