Microsoft will also stop supporting Security Essentials on January 14 14

Microsoft will end support for Security Essentials on January 14, when support for Windows 7 ends. Security software Security Essentials only works on Windows 7, but it is separate from it.

Microsoft makes this known in a support article. In Windows versions that followed 7, Security Essentials is built-in under the name Windows Defender. Defender is also included in Windows 7, but only offers protection against spyware. In addition to spyware, Security Essentials also protects against viruses and rootkits, and is free software. Support for the related Windows Essentials, including Live Mail and Writer, ended in 2017.

It is likely that the software, like Windows 7 itself, will not stop working after January 14. Instead, it will just stop getting updates, which in the case of security software essentially means that it no longer works. Users would do well to get another security package, although that will also come to an end sooner or later, given the age of Windows 7.