14 DAY TRIAL // The registry hack that we first reported about last month and which allows Windows XP computers to continue receiving updates despite end of support seems to be up and running right now, despite the Patch Tuesday fixes rolled out by Microsoft a couple of days ago.
While many people expected Microsoft to block this tweak as part of the Patch Tuesday cycle, it appears that the company has ignored it for now, so all PCs which have been tweaked to receive the updates also got a handful of fixes this week.
Several of our readers who are still running Windows XP confirmed for us that their computers received multiple updates, including KB2957503, KB2939576, and KB2957509, which are all supposed to address security issues in the operating system.
What's more interesting is that Windows XP machines that have been configured to be detected as POSReady 2009 and thus continue receiving updates are also getting an Internet Explorer 8 patch developed to fix a zero-day flaw in Microsoft's browser.
Microsoft, however, still recommends users to avoid resorting on such tweaks, pointing out that upgrading to a newer operating system, such as Windows 7 or Windows 8, is basically the only option to remain secure.
“The security updates that could be installed are intended for Windows Embedded and Windows Server 2003 customers and do not fully protect Windows XP customers. Windows XP customers also run a significant risk of functionality issues with their machines if they install these updates, as they are not tested against Windows XP. The best way for Windows XP customers to protect their systems is to upgrade to a more modern operating system, like Windows 7 or Windows 8.1,” Microsoft said in a statement last month.
Windows XP is at this point installed on more than 25 percent of the desktop computers worldwide, but these figures are likely to drop in the coming months as more companies complete the transition to a newer operating system, be it Windows 7 or Windows 8.
Statistics indicate that Windows 7 continues to be the preferred choice for those still running Windows XP, pretty much because of its familiar interface that also includes a Start menu.
An upgrade to Windows 8.1 usually involves hardware improvements as well, so many of XP users are going for Windows 7 in an attempt to keep costs as low as possible and delay the acquisition of a new PC.