0patch, which takes over Microsoft, will provide security patches for Win7 until January 2025

CTOnews.com More than two years ago, Microsoft announced the end of support for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, but at the time the company offered its paid Extended Security Updates (ESU) program, which allows organizations still running those operating systems to receive critical security updates to help them stay safe from cyber threats.

Through ESU, Microsoft will deliver the last security updates for Windows 7 in January 2023, but a platform called Patch 0 will take over Microsoft and keep the old operating system safe from cyber threats. 0patch announced this week that it will provide micropatches for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 devices through January 2025.

0patch wrote in a blog post: "We have decided to continue providing security patches for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 to fix critical vulnerabilities that may be exploited. "

0patch is applied directly to the memory of the running process, rather than changing the executable file, so users do not need to restart their computer to install the update.

If users are under Microsoft's ESU program and want to continue receiving security updates at patch 0, they only need to apply all remaining ESU updates. They then need to install 0patch"free agents" on their Windows 7 or Server 2008 R2 PC and register them to their 0patch account.

CTOnews.com has learned that in March of this year, the 0patch team released an unofficial fix for an old Windows vulnerability. Three months later, they also deployed a patch for a zero-day vulnerability in a Microsoft support diagnostic tool.