14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft warns that Windows XP is no longer a secure operating system with every single occasion, but it appears that some users and organizations across the world can't simply live without the product that came to be in 2001.
New Zealand's Defense Ministry is one of the government bodies that are still relying solely on Windows XP, with local authorities now working out plans to move all computers to a newer operating system.
A report published by Stuff today reveals that all 73 members of the Defense Ministry are using Windows XP, even though Microsoft New Zealand Operations Director Frazer Scott has specifically warned them that running Windows XP makes their computers “vulnerable to harmful viruses, spyware, and other malicious software which can steal or damage valuable information.”
Secretary of Defense Helene Quilter explained that the ministry didn't want to purchase custom support from Microsoft to protect these computers still running Windows XP because all machines will be upgraded to a newer operating system in the near future.
Of course, some people are still worried that hackers could find an unpatched vulnerability in Windows XP before the transition to the new platform is completed, meaning that all Defense Ministry computers could be exposed to attacks from all over the world.
“Issues associated with use of the operating system … are mitigated due to the move and the way that the ministry’s terminals are connected and configured,” Quilter explained.
Microsoft has already discussed with the local government on ways to stay secure until the upgrade is completed, but at the same time, the company warns that without support, Windows XP machines are insecure and could easily be hacked if someone manages to reverse engineer some of its newest patches in order to break into these computers.
“Retiring a product is a normal part of the product lifecycle. Windows XP was released in October 2001, and its development began in the late 1990s. While most Microsoft software is supported for 10 years, Windows XP has been supported for more than 12 years, longer than any other Windows version,” Microsoft said in a statement launched before retiring the old operating system.
“It's been a great run for this popular and even beloved operating system; it's now time for Microsoft, along with our hardware partners, to retire support for Windows XP so we can focus on supporting more recent technologies for delivering great customer experiences.”