Windows XP is one of the factors behind a recent increase in spam activity

Jun 10, 2014 08:16 GMT  ·  By

Windows XP is officially an unsupported operating system and Microsoft isn't releasing any other security updates and patches for this particular platform, leaving all computers still running it vulnerable to any potential attacks that might be based on found vulnerabilities.

While it's pretty obvious that PCs still running Windows XP could indeed become vulnerable to attacks, security experts warn that computers that are yet to be upgraded might actually harm each and every one of us because they can be, in their turn, used for other malicious activities.

Michael Hamelin, lead X-Force security architect for IBM Security Systems, said in a statement for eSecurity Planet that the spam activity has increased lately, partially due to the number of computers that are still on Windows XP, despite the many warnings received by users.

“We saw a correlation between countries where large percentages of people still use Windows XP and countries where botnets sending Spam are originating from,” Hammelin explained. “There is a correlation between people who are still using XP and users who don't apply patches so the hosts are often susceptible to attack.”

“There are no shortage of people coming up with malware to target Windows XP users -- it's just an easier and more vulnerable target,” he added.

Microsoft itself has warned that Windows XP could be used for malicious activities, pointing out that computers still using it should be upgraded to a newer OS version as possible.

The company has also removed Windows XP support from Security Essentials, so users who are still using the ancient platform and want to get Microsoft's free anti-virus product can no longer do this. Existing installations, however, will continue to be updated for one more year, the company said.

“Windows Internet Explorer 8 is also no longer supported, so if you use it (or any other browser) to surf the web, you might be exposing your PC to additional threats. Microsoft has also stopped providing Microsoft Security Essentials for download on Windows XP,” the software giant noted.

Windows XP, however, continues to be installed on more than 25 percent of the desktop computers worldwide, which is probably the strongest indication that users aren't yet ready to make the switch to another operating system. The majority of third-party security vendors on the market are still supporting XP for another year, so powerful protection for such a system can still be found if you know where to look.