14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft will launch a set of seven different security updates next week, as part of its monthly Patch Tuesday rollout, with Windows XP again to be left out and thus not getting any improvements that could block potential exploits.
In the advance notification for this month's Patch Tuesday updates, Microsoft said that two of the vulnerabilities it found are critical and affect Internet Explorer, Windows, and Office.
The first bulletin is supposed to address a critical security flaw in all versions of Internet Explorer, including the very latest Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 8.1. No other details have been provided right now, as Microsoft still wants to keep users protected until it officially rolls out the patches.
A second bulletin is supposed to repair a critical hole in Windows and Office. The remote code execution vulnerability exists in the majority of versions, with the exception of Office 2013.
The remaining five bulletins are considered to be of a critical severity rating and are supposed to address flaws in Office and Windows, the company revealed.
As you can see, Windows XP is again left out of Patch Tuesday, after the software giant pulled the plug on it on April 8. XP computers won't be getting any other updates, which makes users still running it even more vulnerable because some of the vulnerabilities found in the other Windows versions could also exist on Windows XP.
The difference is that all the other Windows builds will actually get patches, while XP systems are left vulnerable to attacks.
Microsoft has been telling the same thing for months, warning that once support comes to an end, Windows XP computers are very likely to become hackers' preferred target due to the large market share this operating system still owns.
“For starters, it’ll become five times more vulnerable to security risks and viruses, which means you could get hacked and have your personal information stolen,” Microsoft said.
“While it's true that you can keep using your PC with Windows XP after support ends, we don’t recommend it.”
And still, that doesn't necessarily mean that users are ready to give up on Windows XP. Stats released earlier this month indicate that more than 25 percent of the desktop computers worldwide are still running it right now, despite the many warnings released by Microsoft in the last couple of years.
Windows XP's market share, however, is expected to drop significantly in the coming months, especially because many large companies with thousands of computers are projected to complete the transition to a newer operating system by the end of the year.