Study: Around 1.8 million PCs in Germany have unsafe Windows systems

Online security company Eset said the majority of insecure systems, around 1.15 million devices, are still being operated with Microsoft Windows 7. — Photo by Clint Patterson on Unsplash

BERLIN: Over 1.8 million computers with Microsoft’s Windows operating system in Germany have an outdated system that is no longer protected against online security threats, a study showed.

Online security company Eset said the majority of insecure systems, around 1.15 million devices, are still being operated with Microsoft Windows 7.

According to Eset, just under 630,000 devices are still equipped with Windows 8 or 8.1.

US technology giant Microsoft discontinued support for these systems a year ago.

Windows XP, which received its last major update from Microsoft 15 years ago, has not completely disappeared from the scene either. Eset still counted installations of XP on around 90,000 computers in Germany.

“It’s depressing to see that millions of German users are still using outdated Windows operating systems despite years of information campaigns,” said Thorsten Urbanski, IT security expert at Eset.

This exposes users to immense dangers at home or in the office, he said.

“Anyone who doesn't act now is being grossly negligent,” added Urbanski.

Windows 7 came onto the market in October 2009 as the successor to the unsuccessful Windows Vista and was used by PC manufacturers until 2014. Windows 11 is the most current operating system. – dpa