14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has already announced that starting April, when Windows XP support is scheduled to come to an end, download links for Security Essentials with support for this particular OS version would be removed, in an attempt to convince users to move to a newer platform.
The company today rolled out a new pre-release build of Security Essentials, but as compared to previous releases, this new one no longer supports Windows XP and provide compatibility with Windows 7 and Windows Vista.
If you are running Windows XP, you need to download the stable build, Microsoft says on the download page, so if you really want to try out the prerelease version, you have no other option than to update the Windows OS versions you’re running right now.
Microsoft warns that even if your Windows XP computer has Security Essentials up and running after April 8, the machine won’t be fully protected, as an anti-virus software solution cannot block incoming attacks trying to exploit vulnerabilities.
“As a result, after April 8, 2014, technical assistance for Windows XP will no longer be available, including automatic updates that help protect your PC. Microsoft will also stop providing Microsoft Security Essentials for download on Windows XP on this date,” Microsoft says in a note.
“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.”
Windows XP is currently powering approximately 29 percent of desktop computers worldwide, despite Microsoft’s efforts to move more users to Windows 8.1. Of course, that’s very unlikely to happen until April 8, but the company hopes to cut XP’s share down to 13 percent by this date.