Everyone should upgrade as soon as possible, it says

Apr 29, 2014 08:43 GMT  ·  By

Windows XP won't receive any other updates and security patches, which means that once a vulnerability is discovered in the operating system, users running it will remain completely unprotected against the attacks supposed to exploit it.

This moment has come, as Microsoft yesterday confirmed that an Internet Explorer zero-day flaw also exist in Windows XP and other OS versions, including Vista and Windows 7.

The Internet Explorer security glitch can be exploited by getting users to a compromised website hosting malware designed to take advantage of it. Microsoft has already confirmed a limited number of attacks aimed at Internet Explorer users and said that while Internet Explorer 10 and 11 are fully protected, it's also investigating the issue to make sure that everyone will be on the safe side as soon as possible.

That's not going to happen for Windows XP users though, as this OS version no longer receives updates and security patches, so computers running it will basically stay unprotected.

CERT UK, however, recommends users to switch to a different browser, especially if they're running Windows XP, as both Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox do not have such a vulnerability in their engines. Of course, the same thing has also been said by many other security experts across the world, but it remains to be seen how many users actually get this message.

“To mitigate this vulnerability for machines running Windows XP, users should consider downloading Microsoft’s Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) 4.1, which in its default configuration should help to mitigate this vulnerability. Users should also consider using alternative browsers, such as Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox; and ensure that their antivirus software is current and regularly updated,” a notification rolled out this morning reads.

At the same time, the UK government body also explained that upgrading from Windows XP to a newer OS version is always a better choice because Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 come not only with more secure builds of Internet Explorer, but also with enhanced stability and performance that could help you if similar problems occur in the future.

“In the longer term, our advice remains (as per alerts issued during March and April 2014) that where possible users and enterprises should implement a controlled migration from Windows XP to later versions of the operating system,” it said.

Windows XP is still being used by 28 percent of the desktop computers worldwide, but figures are very likely to drop as many large companies are completing the transition to a newer OS.