Microsoft Windows Vista turned 10 years old and reached its end-of-life (EOL) on April 11, 2017.  As such, Microsoft no longer offers security updates, technical support, software, and content updates for Vista.  Machines running Vista no longer meet UT minimum security requirements, leaving these systems vulnerable to attacks. In addition, new hardware, software, and third party software updates may no longer work with Windows Vista. In short, keeping Windows Vista installed on your systems is a disaster waiting to happen.

If you are running Windows Vista today, it is highly recommended that you plan to upgrade your system, or migrate its functionality, to Windows 7 or Windows 10 as soon as possible. 

It is of the utmost importance that we protect the University community from malicious activity, as well as protect University data and resources.  Computer systems running unsupported software are exposed to an elevated risk to cyber-security dangers, such as malicious attacks or electronic data loss.

After April 11, 2017, you MAY continue running Windows Vista on campus for a short while; but at some time in the not-too-distant future, the UT Information Security Office (ISO) will start quarantining such machines as non-compliant.  If you do need to run machines past April on Vista, you should file a security exception request with the ISO.  But please be aware that should a major security issue arise affecting Windows Vista after April, the ISO may immediately quarantine such machines due to that threat.

As always, the CNS OIT staff is available to help with upgrading your University owned machines.  For help, contact the CNS Help Desk at https://www.cns.utexas.edu/help/.

Written by Eric Rostetter, Senior System Administrator
Questions or comments? The best and easiest way to contact us is via the CNS Help Desk form.