14 DAY TRIAL // A new bunch of statistics provided for the first 30 days of May show that Windows 8 usage is on the rise, as more of those who were previously running Windows XP are jumping ship and looking for a new platform.
Statcounter figures indicate that Windows 7 continues to be the undisputed market leader with a global share of 55.09 percent, meaning that more than 1 in 2 PCs are currently powered by this particular OS version.
The second place goes to Windows XP, which now has a market share of 16.11 percent, followed by Mac OS X with 8.89 percent.
The biggest surprise, however, comes from the combined market share of Windows 8 and 8.1, Microsoft's modern operating systems that have both grown enough in the last few months that they are very close to overtaking Windows XP.
Windows 8 and 8.1 have a combined market share of 13.77 percent, very close to Windows XP's second place and likely to overtake this position if the same growth rate is maintained in the coming months.
At the same time, Windows XP is also expected to lose more users, as Microsoft continues its efforts to move everyone to a safer platform and thus boost the adoption of its modern operating system.
Windows XP no longer receives updates and security patches as of April 8, 2014, so those running it right now could become vulnerable to attacks in case a vulnerabilities that hasn't been fixed yet is being found.
Microsoft has been saying the same thing for years, but millions of users are still running it right now, despite the security risks that are more or less obvious since no other patches are planned.
A zero-day flaw has already been found in Internet Explorer 8, a browser that also works on Windows XP, and although Microsoft has already confirmed that it's developing a patch, users who are yet to upgrade won't get it.
The vulnerability basically allows attackers to run malicious code on an unpatched system with the help of malware distributed via a compromised website, so unless you're patching Internet Explorer 8 or you're switching to a different browser, you could easily become the victim of an exploit.
Microsoft is expected to address this vulnerability on next month's Patch Tuesday cycle, so in the meantime, make sure that you're not running Internet Explorer 8 to browse suspicious websites delivered via unknown channels.