As Microsoft makes a push for customers to upgrade to Windows 7, the tech giant announced this week that Windows Vista is no longer supported.

In a blog post, Microsoft’s Brandon LeBlanc reminds users that service is no longer supported, and suggests “folks” upgrade to its latest operating system.

“I wanted to remind folks that as of today July 12th, Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is no longer supported. We recommend folks look at upgrading to Windows 7 which is the fastest selling operating system in history selling over 400 million licenses to-date,” LeBlanc writes. “Windows Vista users can also use Windows Update to update their PC to the latest service pack available which is Service Pack 2 (SP2). Visit this end of support page on Windows.com to learn more about how to ensure your PC is on the latest service pack.”

What this means is if you’re running either one of these versions – SP1 or SP2 – after support ends, you won’t get security updates for Windows, according to Microsoft’s website.

Company officials said moving to Windows 7 helps users simplify everyday tasks, helps make your PC safer, and “makes new things possible.”

If you haven’t taken the hint yet that Windows 7 is in your immediate future, the company also announced that July 11 was the 1,000th day in the countdown “to the end for Windows XP, and that afterward they don’t plan on offering any type of support for their once-flagship operating system,” according to a Geek.com report.

Breaking away from the XP seems hard to do: According to a recent survey, almost half of Windows users are still running Windows XP on their computers, even with the forthcoming arrival of Windows 8 and Mac OX X Lion, TechZone360 reported.

“Even with the advent of six new versions of Apple’s Mac OX X, as well as the release of Windows Vista and Windows 7, Windows XP usage is still going strong in its 10th year,” reported TechZone360’s Tammy Wolf.

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