Whoa! Windows 7's market share surged, tripling in users last month

Submitted ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨spicehoarder@lemmy.zip⁩ to ⁨technology@lemmy.world⁩

https://www.pcworld.com/article/2928103/whoa-windows-7s-market-share-surged-tripling-in-users-last-month.html

As the article notes, the increase seems to be driven mainly by users in Asia, where recycling and reusing older hardware is quite common. I wonder if third-party companies are offering extended security patches there, which could make affordable second-hand Windows 7 machines more appealing for people who just need them for browsing or light tasks. It would certainly make sense given recent fiascos and Microsoft’s current stance on AI, especially with generative AI being used to develop system-level code.

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Kailn@lemmy.myserv.one ⁨23⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago
So more ppl are re-purposing old, legacy win7 machines despite security risk…
Completely clueless about anything linux or floss in that matter wether even if there where lighter distros with better hardware support & enough apps for everyday office needs & more.

Like win7 can’t even run any UWP apps, photoshop or steam anymore.
It’s great livin’ in 2025

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NateNate60@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
They should make a Windows version called Windows 10P which is the same as Windows 10 but only the bare-bones necessities and no extra crap or required online services, and sell it for $59.99 (seeing that Windows is already de facto freeware). That’s probably an order of magnitude than what they make from intrusive advertising anyway to a single user over the lifespan of a computer.

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- MehBlah@lemmy.world ⁨42⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago
  No way they will do that. The value for microsoft these days is in harvesting their victims info and forcing them in to their walled garden.
  
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- jaxxed@lemmy.world ⁨54⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago
  It would be of lower value to them without the data-gathering and the AI injection.
  
  The data makes them money. The AI helps th justify their investment, but also gives them data to ad to their models.
  
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radix@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
Windows 7 was used to browse web pages on a subset of sites that use the Statcounter plugin, and mostly in one area of the world.

But that doesn’t make a good headline.
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- ArchmageAzor@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Could it be that something is spoofing a Win7 signature?
  
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  - ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    I personally just edited the registry to stom my Win10 upgrading to 11. If it fails, it’s Manjaro time.
    
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- pelespirit@sh.itjust.works ⁨23⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  I think that it’s a possibility for the rest of the world.
  
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- frongt@lemmy.zip ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Still, it’s unusual for that to happen.
  
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- stupidcasey@lemmy.world ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Thanks Microsoft spokesman.
  
  Why is it that these scores are taken at face value until a corporation doesn’t like them? What you think 4% of a random set of servers suddenly started using Windows 7 to bot pages to drum up Windows 7 support?
  
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  - squaresinger@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Look at the data: gs.statcounter.com/…/asia/#monthly-202408-202509
    
    Or more specifically gs.statcounter.com/…/singapore/#monthly-202408-20…
    
    All the data is nice and smooth, slow rises or declines, as usual.
    
    And then all of a sudden in July and only ins Singapore, Windows 7 goes from <2% to 92%. All other asian countries stay about the same.
    
    Does this sound likely to you that 90% of users uninstall Win10 and Win11 in Singapore to install Win7 and all that in a span of just two months?
    
    Or is it more likely that there’s some bug (or some botnet) causing false stats?
    
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SleafordMod@feddit.uk ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Nobody should be using old versions of Windows that no longer get security updates. Either switch to Linux and install all of the latest security updates, or enable the coming year of security updates on Windows 10, or run Windows 11.

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- BCBoy911@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
  Agree for a main computer but there’s no risk when using Windows 7 or XP on an offline machine.
  
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  - SleafordMod@feddit.uk ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
    Fair point, I guess some people might want to do that to play old games or something like that.
    
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Luci@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
It’s okay, Windows 10 will be the last version of Windows you’ll need!!!

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- Pat_Riot@lemmy.today ⁨23⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  It was. Linux Mint has been beautiful since I switched last year. Certainly nicer than windows.
  
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  - Marshezezz@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨23⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    My laptop runs so much better now with Mint after getting rid of windows
    
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  - LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net ⁨23⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    I’m thinking about mint vs Ubuntu. Got any thoughts about which is easier for a tech-illiterate moron like me?
    
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  - SapphironZA@sh.itjust.works ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Yep, Bazzite has been great for me on my gaming PC. Never going back.
    
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- hanrahan@slrpnk.net ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  True enoigj, I chanhed to LMDE from 10 2 yeaes aho. Started on 3.1 (from MS DOS)
  
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CosmoNova@lemmy.world ⁨23⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Possibly from people booting up 15 year old laptops to see if they‘re still running so they can install linux on them before trying it on the big machine. Yes, this is my made up narrative but I believe that more than in a Win7 comeback.

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carrylex@lemmy.world ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Image

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BilSabab@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
It’s almost as if there’s a demand for meat and potatoes OS.

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TaterTot@piefed.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
Year of the Windows 7 Desktop?!

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mormund@feddit.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
Don’t have a link to the thread on Mastodon, but it was only in Singapore. So it is likely a troll or some glitch.

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- spicehoarder@lemmy.zip ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Not from Mastodon, but from looking at the map for September: Map showing 92.09% of traffic coming from Singapore is reported as coming from Windows 7
  
  Here’s a link to the rest of the map You’ll have to mouse over the different countries here, but regardless of whatever the heck is happening in Singapore, windows 7 is still sitting between 15-5% in other countries across Asia. and 10 is still nowhere near the “safe” levels for EoL coming up.
  
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rozodru@piefed.social ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
within the past month? what all these people in Asia suddenly found a stockpile of machines with Win7 on them and all, collectively, decided “yeah lets just use these”?

I don’t buy it.

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False@lemmy.world ⁨23⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
This is almost certainly a sampling error.

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- squaresinger@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  gs.statcounter.com/…/singapore/#monthly-202408-20…
  
  Win7 grows in Singapore from <2% to 92% within two months. All other asian countries stay the same. Yeah, that’s a sampling error.
  
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- yes_this_time@lemmy.world ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  It makes me a bit sad that there is a whole article on a (very likely) mirage
  
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Brkdncr@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

One caveat here: Statcounter provides no explanation for this unusual surge, so these figures should be treated with a certain amount of skepticism. Could there be a measurement error involved?*

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- LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world ⁨23⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  A bot farm changed their spoofing to show Windows 7 by accident. /s. But it would be funny if that’s what happened
  
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  - Wispy2891@lemmy.world ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    It’s 100% what happened
    
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wuffah@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
massgrave.dev

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tio_bira@lemmy.world ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Tbf proton evolving fast as he doing, soon i won’t even will need windows beside my workplace notebook

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- hornywarthogfart@sh.itjust.works ⁨24⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago
  Switched to Linux a couple years ago and at this point it is rare that a game doesn’t “just work” and even rarer when it still won’t work after trying other versions of proton in the Steam compatibility settings for the game.
  
  Depending on if there is a specific game you know doesn’t work that is a deal breaker for you, it might be fine at this point to switch. Just throwing that out there. You may not need more compatibility than what is available.
  
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  - prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨11⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago
    Yeah I think a lot of people don’t understand how far it’s come. Often even games that Steam lists as “unsupported” will work with some very light tinkering.
    
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ozymandias@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨22⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
they’re using AI to generate system level code?
holy shit this is the dumbest way to destroy civilization

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SnoringEarthworm@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
Any chance this will lead Microsoft to re-evaluate its use of AI?

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- TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  Absolutely zero.
  
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- magic_lobster_party@fedia.io ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  Why should we hope for that? Let’s use this moment to embrace Linux instead and never look back.
  
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- NaibofTabr@infosec.pub ⁨23⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  lol no, VC funding line goes up
  
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HugeNerd@lemmy.ca ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Yes indeed.

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