You won’t be able to use Gmail from February 8, confirms Google!

If you haven’t yet updated to the latest version of Google’s Chrome browser, you might want to do that as soon as possible.
From Feb. 8, Google will start showing a banner at the top of Gmail for users who are still on Chrome version 53 and below encouraging them to upgrade. Chrome 55, the latest version of the browser, contains “several important security updates” you’ll want as you surf the Web, Google says.

Chrome Browser version 53 and below are vulnerable to security risks as Microsoft has discontinued their operating system support for Windows XP and Vista. “Gmail users that are still on Windows XP and Windows Vista are the most likely to be affected, because Google stopped supporting those outdated operating systems after Chrome 49. As previously announced in April 2015 and November 2015, these systems are no longer maintained by Microsoft, and we strongly encourage you to migrate to more secure and supported systems,” mentions Google on its blog.
If you continue to use Chrome Browser v53 or lower on the older operating systems, your Gmail could be vulnerable to attacks and you won’t be able to get any security patches or bug fixes. However, Google did mention that you will be able to continue using the affected browsers through 2017, but will be redirected to the basic HTML version of Gmail.
“Google does not typically announce when we discontinue support for older versions of Chrome browser because of our current supported browser policy, which states that only the most recent version of Chrome is supported. This announcement was made given the expected impact on Windows XP and Windows Vista users and known security risks,” Google added on its blog.
For those with newer systems, Google’s Chrome supports automatic updates, which are enabled by default. To check which version you’re running, navigate to the three dots at the top-right of your browser > Help > About Google Chrome.
Meanwhile, another Gmail security change is also in the works. From February 13, Google will start blocking JavaScript (.js) email attachments by default, the company announced last week. JavaScript files are dangerous because they can trigger a download, which could have a malicious payload attached.