14 DAY TRIAL // Windows XP end of support is approaching, so Microsoft together with its partners are now urging users still running the ancient platform to upgrade as soon as possible.
Microsoft and Lenovo recently hosted a chat session with Windows XP users to discuss the risk of staying with the 12-year-old OS, explaining that consumers who’ll stick to this platform will be exposed to major risks, including more hacker attacks trying to exploit found vulnerabilities.
“Their computers will still work, but they should keep the following in mind: Microsoft will no longer supply security updates, which means their systems will be exposed to hacker attacks, and there will be no supported fix for them,” Steve Leeds, worldwide technical curriculum manager for Lenovo, said during the chat.
Leeds also warned that businesses that will continue running Windows XP on their workstations could fail audits and even lose certifications, which makes upgrading to Windows 7 or 8 critical for them.
“An unsupported OS will cause businesses to fail audits and possibly lose certifications. Companies will become non-compliant with government regulations such as HIPAA,” he pointed out.
Bruno Nowak, senior product marketing manager in the Windows Commercial Marketing team, also participated to the chat, adding that those who stick to Windows XP won’t be able to use new-generation software such as Office 2013. Of course, he put the emphasis on Windows 8.1, noting that all these apps run just fine on the recently-released operating system.
“One thing some customers may not be aware is if they have Office 2013 or Office 365 they can't run those versions under Windows XP. The combination of Lenovo Devices (Carbon X1 and Tablet 2 come to mind as I have used both), Windows 8.1 with touch and Office 365 basically gives anyone the same modern technology platform that most Global 500 companies use,” Nowak said.