All the other versions of Windows have already been patched

Apr 20, 2017 08:53 GMT  ·  By

Shadow Brokers leaked a pack of Windows hacking tools that have allegedly been used by the NSA to break into systems running Microsoft’s operating system, and since the whole thing went public just before the weekend, there were concerns that the 1+ billion Windows computers out there would become vulnerable to hackers.

Fortunately, this is not the case, as Microsoft quickly issued a response, explaining that all vulnerabilities exploited by these leaked hacking tools were already patched in supported Windows.

The key word here, however, is supported, as this means that the vulnerabilities were patched in Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7, and Windows Vista, while Windows XP, which continues to be the world’s third most popular desktop operating system with nearly 7 percent market share, didn’t get any fix.

Windows XP received the last patches in April 2014, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that the world abandoned it. The migration off Windows XP advances at a terribly slow pace, and the recent leak shows why it’s so critical to run supported Windows.

Just upgrade

Security experts warn that even in the case of Windows versions that are still getting patches, it’s critical to always keep computers fully up to date, pointing out that the risks of being hacked go well beyond Windows when such leaks happen.

“Looking at the issue at a wide scale, this isn’t something that is restricted to Windows. Vulnerabilities exist in all software and operating systems. For the average individual, and SMB’s, zero days aren’t historically proven to be a big threat. Rather these are saved for specific targeted attacks,” Javvad Malik, Security Advocate at AlienVault, told us in a statement.

With the hacking tools now available in the wild, the number of exploits aimed at Windows XP users is likely to grow substantially in the coming months, especially because no other patches are being developed. Of course, the only way to remain secure is to either remove the Internet connection on Windows XP systems or simply upgrade to newer Windows if this is possible.