Microsoft launches KB5003233 security update for Windows 7

After January 14, 2020, Microsoft has completely abandoned Windows 7’s extended security updates, and updates such as patches are gone. However, Microsoft has quietly released the KB5003233 security update for Windows 7. The KB5003233 includes improvements and fixes.

Changelog KB5003233 

• Addresses an issue in the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol which may cause frequent crashes with Stop error 0xA on devices that run Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1).
• Security updates to Windows App Platform and Frameworks, Windows Silicon Platform, and Microsoft Scripting Engine.

However, general Windows 7 users cannot upgrade this patch, because this is for Extended Security Update (ESU) customers.

After the update stopped in January last year, Microsoft only updates the security patches for paying users, for the longest period of time until January 2023. And the price of ESU will increase every year, this year the charge will be $50 per device, and next year it will double to $100/device. The cost of commercial customers who have built a large number of Windows 7 systems is not low.

Although the Windows 7 operating system has been released for more than ten years, and there is no update support, there are still many people using Windows 7. As of April this year, Windows 7 still has a 16.3% market share.