Security expert warns that going online is a very risky thing with a Windows XP system

Apr 14, 2014 05:37 GMT  ·  By

Windows XP no longer receives support and security patches, but 28 percent of the consumers worldwide are still running it, despite all of Microsoft’s efforts to move everyone to a newer operating system.

Although there are many ways to protect a Windows XP computer that won’t get any other security patches, Wolfgang Kandek, chief technology officer for Qualys, said in a statement for eWeek that the best way to stay secure is to cut off Internet connection on devices still running the retired operating system.

Basically, Windows XP computers still work just fine, but without security patches, every found vulnerability could be easily exploited by cybercriminals online. However, if you decide to disconnect the computer from the Internet, no one could break into your computer, even though malware distributed via removable drives still pose a threat.

“You need to not be connecting to the Internet to be safe,” he said. “Just because you have a firewall and antivirus, does not make it safe. Ultimately, you want your endpoint to be as robust as possible.”

The majority of security vendors out there already announced extended support for Windows XP, so it should be really easy to find an anti-virus solution that still works on the retired operating system. While Kandek warns that a Windows XP computer running third-party protection tools aren’t 100 percent secure, they could still block a large share of malware attempting to exploit found vulnerabilities.

28 percent of the desktop computers worldwide are still running Windows XP, but Kandek believes that by the end of the year the share could drop significantly, especially in case someone finds an unpatched security flaw in the operating system.

“By the end of the year, everything will be in the single digits,” he added. “The visibility of the problem has been raised, and we are getting a lot of questions about it.”

Microsoft hopes everyone still on Windows XP will move to a newer operating system such as Windows 8.1, but such a transition process also requires hardware upgrades that make the entire migration very expensive, especially for companies that need to do the same thing for hundreds of computers.

Nonetheless, many have decided to delay the move to a newer OS and purchased extended support for Windows XP until they complete the transition to Windows 7, a process expected to be finalized sometime in the next 12 months, according to various organizations worldwide.