Windows 7 will use pop-ups to warn users of the operating system's impending death

Pop-up ads have proven to be a PR nightmare before. Will they again?

- Mark Hachman

Windows 7 support ends about nine months from now (go.pcworld.com/glry), on January 14, 2020— and if you’re a Windows 7 user, you’ll see more than this story reminding you of that date. In fact, according to Microsoft, you could see several pop-up reminders warning you to upgrade to Windows 10 before the year is out.

Microsoft says (go.pcworld.com/says) that Windows 7 users will see a notification appear on their PC “a handful of times” before the year is out. The company didn’t say what message it would contain, though, or when or where it would appear.

“By starting the reminders now, our hope is that you have time to plan and prepare for this transition,” Microsoft said in a blog post. “These notifications are designed to help provide information only and if you would prefer not to receive them again, you’ll be able to select an option for ‘do not notify me again,’ and we will not send you any further reminders.”