Microsoft to Make Nearly Half of PCs in Vatican Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks in April

Moving users from Windows XP to another platform by April is Microsoft’s big challenge these days given the fact that the operating system will be retired in less than 3 months, but it’s pretty obvious that plenty of computers would remain vulnerable to attacks after this date.

So is the case of Vatican, the state where 45.45 percent of desktop computers are still running Windows XP, which means that unless they migrate to a newer platform, nearly half of these PCs would be vulnerable to cyber-attacks after April.

Figures provided by market researcher StatCounter indicate Windows XP and Windows 7 (38.19 percent) are clearly dominating the OS market in Vatican, while Mac OS X is still far behind with 8.52 percent.

According to Wikipedia, Vatican has a popular of 839 people and assuming that each of them would have at least one desktop computer running Windows XP, it means that 381 PCs are still stuck on Microsoft’s ancient operating system.

That’s not a lot, that for sure, at least not when compared to market shares posted for some other countries, such as China, where Windows XP usage remains unbelievably high, but it’s another sign that in some regions the percentage of users still running XP is at least overwhelming.

Microsoft, on the other hand, continues to issue warnings with every single occasion, reminding users that sticking to Windows XP would be extremely risky after April 8.

Here’s what the company said in a statement issued during the weekend, in a new warning supposed to emphasize the risks of staying with XP:

“It’s time to move on, not just because support for Windows XP is ending and analyst firms such as IDC recommend it, but also because the new Windows—whether Windows 7 or Windows 8—offers the opportunity to help you better meet the needs of today’s mobile health professionals.”