14 DAY TRIAL // Windows XP, Microsoft’s operating system launched in 2001, will be retired in only 25 days, which means that time is running out for those still running this particular platform and planning to upgrade.
Of course, Microsoft continues its efforts to make more people aware of Windows XP end of support, so the company today rolled out an infographic to emphasize the risks of staying with this platform even though no other security patches and updates would be provided.
“Technical assistance for Windows XP will no longer be available, including automatic updates that help protect your PC,” Microsoft said in a statement.
“If you continue to use Windows XP after support ends, your computer will still work but it might become more vulnerable to security risks and viruses. Also, as more software and hardware manufacturers continue to optimize for more recent versions of Windows, you can expect to encounter greater numbers of apps and devices that do not work with Windows XP.”
And still, users are not at all afraid of Microsoft’s warnings and claim that they would continue running Windows XP even without updates.
Basically, their hope is that security products on the market, including anti-virus solutions and firewalls, would still work on Windows XP and thus add a new layer of security to their outdated computers.
However, Microsoft has expected that, so the company announced that Security Essentials, its freeware anti-virus product offered for free to Windows users, would no longer be available for XP machines after April 8, even though virus definition updates would still be shipped after this date.
“Microsoft will also stop providing Microsoft Security Essentials for download on Windows XP on this date. (If you already have Microsoft Security Essentials installed, you will continue to receive AntiMalware signature updates for a limited time, but this does not mean that your PC will be secure because Microsoft will no longer be providing security updates to help protect your PC),” the software giant said.
And even without Security Essentials, Windows XP users will still have a wide array of security products compatible with their machines, as most security vendors on the market have already announced that their applications will still work on this particular OS version for up to 2 years.
XP still has a market share of 29 percent, so app support until everyone completes the move to a newer OS version is a must have.