14 DAY TRIAL // Windows XP continues to be one of the most popular operating systems worldwide and despite all Microsoft’s efforts to move users to a newer platform, its market share is increasing every single month, according to third-party statistics.
And since Windows XP usage doesn’t seem to go down at all, Microsoft has decided to extend support in China, which means that users in the country can continue running this particular OS version after April, even though the rest of the world won’t receive updates and security updates anymore.
Microsoft said in a short post on its official Sina Weibo (a social networking website in China) account that it was going to work with Chinese security vendors to keep Windows XP users protected, even if they decide to stick to Windows XP after April 8.
Of course, that’s pretty good news for Windows XP users in China, but also disappointing for all the others, as Microsoft should have extended support for basically everyone and not for those in a single country.
Even though Windows XP is phased out across the world, it continues to be powering more than 29 percent of computers out there, which is clearly an indication that not everyone is ready to make the move to a newer platform.
Microsoft, on the other hand, warns that sticking to Windows XP after retirement is a very risky decision because hackers would attempt to exploit any single vulnerability found in the operating system and third-party security products won’t be able to help.
“If you continue to use Windows XP after support ends, your computer will still work but it might become more vulnerable to security risks and viruses. Also, as more software and hardware manufacturers continue to optimize for more recent versions of Windows, you can expect to encounter greater numbers of apps and devices that do not work with Windows XP,” Microsoft said.
If you’re not living in China and you’re still running Windows XP, Microsoft will continue to provide virus definition updates to Security Essentials, the company’s very own anti-virus product that’s offered free of charge to Windows users.
“Microsoft will also stop providing Microsoft Security Essentials for download on Windows XP on this date. (If you already have Microsoft Security Essentials installed, you will continue to receive AntiMalware signature updates for a limited time, but this does not mean that your PC will be secure because Microsoft will no longer be providing security updates to help protect your PC),” the company noted.
Of course, everyone is strongly recommended to update to a newer OS version as soon as possible, as support for Windows XP is ending in less than 40 days.
Update: Microsoft says that it's not extending Windows XP support in China and recommends all users to move to a newer OS version as soon as possible.