微軟在本月14日起停止為窗口操作系統Windows7提供免費安全更新，意味著安裝該系統的電腦，將更容易受到惡意軟件和黑客的攻擊。根據微軟官方網站信息，對Win7等系統終止支持后，用戶電腦仍然可以繼續工作，但是微軟官方將不再提供任何問題的技術支持、軟件更新、安全更新或修復等服務。

Cyber-security experts are urging Windows 7 users to upgrade their operating system.

網絡安全專家敦促Windows 7用戶升級操作系統。

Microsoft is going to stop supporting Windows 7 from Tuesday so that it can focus on "newer technologies".

微軟將從周二（1月14日）開始停止支持Windows 7，以專注于“新技術”。

As a result, Windows 7 users will no longer receive the all-important security updates and patches that keep their machines safe.

因此，Windows 7用戶將不再收到至關重要的用以確保計算機安全運行的安全更新和補丁。

all-important [???l ?m?p??tnt]：adj.極重要的，至關緊要的

One in four Windows users is running Windows 7, according to statistics website StatCounter.

統計網站StatCounter的數據顯示，四分之一的Windows用戶正在使用Windows 7。

這意味著什么？

It means that Microsoft is ending the cat-and-mouse game with hackers seeking to exploit software bugs in the Windows 7 operating system.

黑客們一直試圖利用Windows 7操作系統中的軟件漏洞用來攻擊電腦，這意味著微軟將結束與黑客之間這場貓捉老鼠的游戲。

If perpetrators find a flaw in Windows 7, Microsoft will not fix it.

如果侵入者發現了Windows 7的一個漏洞，微軟不會再對其進行修復。

Without continued software and security updates, Windows 7 machines are more likely to be infected with viruses and malware, Microsoft wrote on its website.

微軟在其官網寫道，如果沒有持續的軟件和安全更新，安裝Windows 7操作系統的電腦更有可能感染病毒或被植入惡意軟件。

malware [?m?lwe?(r)]：n.惡意軟件

"Running an unpatched machine means that the flaws in the code will never be fixed and as exploits for those flaws become known and widespread, your chances of being successfully attacked grow very rapidly," said Rik Ferguson, vice-president of security research at Trend Micro.

趨勢科技負責安全研究的副總裁里克?弗格森說：“運行一臺未打補丁的電腦意味著，代碼中的漏洞將永遠無法修復。隨著利用這些漏洞的行為變得眾所周知并廣為傳播，電腦遭到攻擊的幾率將迅速上升。”

David Emm, a senior security researcher at Kaspersky Lab, added that people need to move to a supported operating system as soon as possible.

卡巴斯基實驗室的高級安全研究員戴維·埃姆補充說，人們需要盡快改裝受支持的操作系統。

有哪些風險？

Hackers use malware to invade, damage or disable computers.

黑客使用惡意軟件入侵、破壞或使電腦無法使用。

It can be used to steal personal and financial data, spy on other users without them knowing, and to hold companies to ransom until a payment is made.

它可以被用來竊取個人和財務數據，在其他用戶不知情的情況下監視他們，還可以用來向公司勒索贖金。

In May 2017, the NHS was hit by the WannaCry ransomware attack.

2017年5月，英國國家醫療服務體系（NHS）遭受了“永恒之藍”勒索軟件攻擊。

A government report in 2018 concluded that the attack could have been avoided if NHS Trusts had updated their computers and applied the necessary security patches.

2018年的一份政府報告得出結論，如果NHS信托機構更新了電腦并應用了必要的安全補丁，那次攻擊本可以避免。

Hackers exploited weaknesses in unpatched versions of Windows 7, as well as to a lesser extent the earlier Windows XP, which Microsoft had stopped supporting.

黑客們利用了Windows 7未打補丁版本的弱點，也部分利用了微軟已停止支持的較早版本Windows XP的弱點。

to a lesser extent：在較小程度上

該如何處理你的Windows 7電腦？

Computers running Windows 7 will still function after Tuesday but they will become less and less secure.

周二（1月14日）之后，使用Windows 7的電腦仍將正常運行，但安全性將越來越差。

Microsoft is urging people to move to Windows 10, a newer operating system that it sells for ￡120.

微軟敦促人們改用Windows 10，這是一款更新的操作系統，售價120英鎊（約合人民幣1077元）。

"Going forward, the best way for you to stay secure is on Windows 10," it said. "And the best way to experience Windows 10 is on a new PC."

微軟稱：“今后，讓電腦安全的最佳方式是安裝Windows 10。體驗Windows 10最好的方式是換一臺新電腦。”

It is possible to install Windows 10 on old PCs but Microsoft warns that it may not run smoothly.

用戶可以在舊電腦上安裝Windows 10，但微軟警告說，它可能運行得不順暢。

In order to run Windows 10, PCs must have a 1GHz processor, 16GB of hard drive space, and 1GB of RAM memory.

要運行Windows 10，個人電腦必須擁有1GHz處理器、16GB硬盤空間和1GB內存。

"While it is possible to install Windows 10 on your older device, it is not recommended," Microsoft said.

微軟表示：“雖然可以在舊電腦上安裝Windows 10，但不建議這么做。”

That said, Windows 7 users do not need to upgrade if they use their PC offline.

雖然如此，如果Windows 7用戶離線使用電腦，就不需要升級。

對企業有何影響？

Some companies rely heavily on applications that only work with Windows 7.

一些公司嚴重依賴只能在Windows 7上運行的應用程序。

Businesses can pay Microsoft if they want to continue getting updates for Windows 7 Professional or Windows 7 Enterprise.

如果企業想繼續升級Windows 7專業版或Windows 7企業版，可以向微軟付費。

The Windows 7 Extended Security Updates will be available until 2023 for businesses of all sizes.

所有規模的企業都可以使用Windows 7擴展安全更新到2023年。

Charges range from $25 per device to $200 per device and increase each year. The costs will mount quickly for organisations with lots of computers.

每臺電腦的收費從25美元到200美元不等，并逐年增加。對于擁有大量電腦的機構來說，成本將迅速上升。

For businesses, it is not always easy to upgrade to a newer operating system, Mr Ferguson said.

弗格森表示，對于企業而言，升級到更新的操作系統并不總是那么容易。

"There may be business-critical applications that will not run on newer operating systems, or there may be significant costs associated with upgrading those applications," he said.

他說：“可能有一些對業務至關重要的應用程序不能在新的操作系統上運行，或者升級這些應用程序可能會帶來巨大的成本。”

Places like hospitals and factories may have equipment that is designed to run exclusively on Windows 7.

醫院和工廠等地可能有專門設計用于運行Windows 7操作系統的電腦。

英文來源：BBC

翻譯&編輯：yaning