User:Mjb/Simplix
For most users, Windows 7 support ended on January 14, 2020. So the average Windows 7 system is now full of known but unpatched security holes.
However, Microsoft has an Extended Security Updates (ESU) program which issues new "critical" and "important" security updates for Windows 7 through January 10, 2023. Only corporate customers with a volume license key can officially subscribe to ESU.
The good news is that some clever Windows 7 fanatics have figured out a way to bypass the volume license key check and install the ESU updates themselves. This functionality has been included in an automatic installer of security updates called Simplix.
The forum where it is discussed requires logging in to see the download links, so I just did this:
- Check the forum where Simplix is discussed, go to the end of the thread and see what the latest version is. When I did this in February 2021, I found that it was version "21.1.15" (January 15, 2021). A new one comes out every month, so the numbers will be different by the time you read this.
- Google that version, i.e.: simplix 21.1.15 and see what you get. One of the better results I got was "Update Pack 7 / 2008 R2 21.1.15" on Softpedia. (For some reason, searching Softpedia itself brought up an older version.)
- Download this from Softpedia. This file was called UpdatePack7R2+.exe and was fairly small. This is because when you run it, it downloads the actual updater app, UpdatePack7R2-21.1.15.exe, which is 800 MB. Don't run this app until you are ready to actually update your system.
- Close other apps.
- I am not sure if the updater does this, so just to be sure, create a restore point. (Computer > Properties > System Protection > Create).
- Run the updater app and walk away because it may take several hours. It will check your system and install all the missing security updates, except those which enable telemetry in one swoop. I don't think it will acknowledge if you have intentionally disabled any updates. It will reboot your system for you.
I encountered one quirk when doing this for the first time in February 2021:
After the first automatic reboot, my automatic login failed, so I had to manually login. Then it continued installing and doing cleanup. Then, after another automatic reboot, I had to login again. After that, my system was up and running, and all seems to be fine.
