Information Technology Services (ITS) has started a project to upgrade the remaining university-owned computers currently running a version of Windows older than Windows 10. Microsoft will be ending support for those versions on January 14, 2020, and it is our goal to be operating completely on Windows 10 by this date.
Windows 10 was released in July of 2015, and has been available on campus since 2016. Currently, approximately 67% of computers on campus are already running Windows 10, including all classrooms and labs that are either owned or managed by ITS.
When Microsoft ends support, they will no longer release security updates for the older operating systems. Not only are the computers running older versions of Windows and the data they contain vulnerable, the entire campus network is also at risk, since that computer could be compromised and used to attack other computers on the network.
ITS does recognize that certain departments may have old software or hardware that is not compatible with Windows 10. We encourage you to contact us to discuss upgrade options as soon as possible. If there is a business case for a particular computer to remain on an earlier version of Windows after Microsoft ends support for the operating system, the computer will need to be removed from the general campus network for security reasons.
There will be a lot to do over 2019 to get us ready for the transition, and we are grateful for your patience and support. Please visit our website at www.bgsu.edu/windows10 if you are interested in learning more about this project.