RIP : Microsoft Windows XP

Here’s a reminder for all our readers – Microsoft will no longer be providing any services to Windows XP operating system from April 8, 2014. In other words, machines still running this OS, will no longer receive security updates, and will be out of all kinds of support (paid or otherwise). 

Needless to mention, without all these updates, such computers would be increasingly vulnerable to malware attacks, and would be exposed to compliance risks, as well. Get a detailed insight into how the absence of such updates may affect you, in this post.

Users of Windows XP are recommended to upgrade the operating system to the latest available version immediately. Read more about this in Microsoft’s official site.

 Windows XP has remained popular because it was stable, fast, powerful, and relatively simple to use. What’s more, many people still run XP simply because after more than a decade, it’s what they’ve become accustomed to using. But every life cycle must end eventually, and for Windows XP, that end date was April 8, 2014. It’s a lifetime that’s seen two US presidents, three UK prime ministers and three popes but Microsoft is finally ceased support for Windows XP.

According to a survey conducted by Net Applications, nearly forty percent of global desktops still use Windows XP, only slightly fewer than those using Windows 7, which has forty-five percent market penetration. All of the alternatives, Vista, Windows 8, Linux and Mac OS X account, for five percent or less of the desktop operating system market.

“OK,” you may say, “we still use XP but we’ve never contacted Microsoft for any support. Why is this relevant to me?”

It’s true that your XP machine won’t suddenly die right now, but its days are certainly numbered. The biggest problem is that you may not be able to trust it any longer. Without the Microsoft security updates from now on, if (or more likely ‘when’) the bad guys detect a security hole, that lets them take over an XP machine without the owner’s knowledge, they will.

If the machine is yours, they’ll be able to monitor your activity, read your emails and crack your online banking security. You’ll probably only notice when you lose your broadband connection (as your ISP identifies you as a source of thousands or millions of spam emails), or when you spot suspicious withdrawals from your bank account, or worse. Anti-Virus programs such as Norton, McAfee or any of the others will not protect you completely from this type of risk.

While closes the useful life of Windows XP, Microsoft ends the support for Office 2003. So, using Office 2003 after the support ends will expose your business to application limitations and security risks, leaving you vulnerable and exposed to potential cyber-attacks and can also limit your productivity and efficiency.

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