<p>Microsoft has recently announced the general availability of Windows Defender ATP, Advanced Threat Protection for older operating systems Windows 7 and 8.1. Advanced Threat Protection was initially introduced for Windows 10 with the release of the Fall Creators update. Back then it was an exclusive feature of Windows 10.</p>
<p>Just a couple of months later, Microsoft has announced that they will also bring Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection support for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 operating systems. Windows Defender ATP is part of the Windows Defender Security Center which is a central console for security events.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s worth saying that ATP is and probably will remain a feature of Windows 7 <strong>Enterprise and Pro</strong> versions only. If you wonder why is Microsoft bringing Windows 10 only features to older operating systems that will soon become unsupported, here&#8217;s the answer.</p>
<p>The reason lies in the fact that Microsoft wants its customers to stay secure while upgrading to Windows 10. As you already know, support for Microsoft&#8217;s Windows 7 will end in January 2020 with the option for Enterprise customers to <a href="https://www.wincert.net/microsoft-windows/windows-7/microsoft-announces-pricing-for-windows-7-extended-support/">extend the support</a> period for up to three years.</p>
<p>Windows 8.1 support ends in January 2023, and it is still unknown if Enterprise customers will get an option to extend the support period for that operating system as it was the case with Windows 7.</p>