Microsoft has finally ended support for Windows XP

[Scorpus]

After what has felt like an eternity, Microsoft has finally ended all forms of official support for Windows XP, more than 12 years after the operating system launched, and still with a significant portion of users globally.

Today, April 8, 2014, marks the end of the extended support phase for Windows XP and Office 2003. Mainstream support for these products ended a full five years ago, in April 2009, and Microsoft has since been giving users plenty of warnings that all support will (and now has) come to an end.

Over the past few days, Windows XP users running Microsoft Security Essentials have been nagged with pop-ups indicating support will end, much to the frustration of those who refuse to upgrade. However Microsoft has a point with the consistent messages: from now on, Windows XP will no longer receive any security patches, fixes or updates, leaving systems running the OS potentially vulnerable to attacks through unpatched holes.

As much as 28% of the world's PCs are running Windows XP - nearly four times the entire Mac OS user population - mostly due to business and government departments who are yet to switch to a newer, and inherently more secure operating system. Attackers will almost certainly ramp up attempts to infiltrate these systems, making third-party security solutions more important than ever.

Some large organizations who are yet to upgrade are paying Microsoft for custom support packages; the UK government, for example, is forking out £5.5m (~US$9.2m) for 12 months of Windows XP support. For the rest of us, upgrading to a supported OS such as Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 is a much more sensible option.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/56307-microsoft-has-finally-ended-support-for-windows-xp.html

 

[theBest11778]

FINALLY!!! It's finally over... we can move on. After Windows 7 people really had no excuse NOT to upgrade. Sure some business HW didn't support Windows 7 at first, but if it doesn't by now it's probably time to get equipment from businesses that actually support their products. Now the world can move on.

 

[m4a4]

Took them long enough

 

[Nima304]

I can't wait to see articles talking about how many hundreds of thousands of XP computers have been infected. It's going to be great.

 

[Victor38077]

It doesn't bother me that support for Windows XP has ended, however, I do have a lot of legacy games that I like to play and sometimes require XP for those games. I wonder if we are still able to reactivate XP if we need to reinstall it for older software. I don't intend to install Windows XP as a native OS, but would like to option to use Windows XP on a virtual or emulated machine.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

If the UK government can afford to to pay MS these extortionist amounts for yearly support you'd think they could easily afford to upgrade to a more modern OS but governments aren't like that at all, they need to waste taxpayers money, it's in their DNA. That said I wonder if the end of XP support is a hint for me to move on from Windows 95.

 

[Matt12345170]

It doesn't bother me that support for Windows XP has ended, however, I do have a lot of legacy games that I like to play and sometimes require XP for those games. I wonder if we are still able to reactivate XP if we need to reinstall it for older software. I don't intend to install Windows XP as a native OS, but would like to option to use Windows XP on a virtual or emulated machine.

Yes, you will be able to install widows XP

 

[Guest]

"Windows XP will no longer receive any security patches, fixes or updates, leaving systems running the OS potentially vulnerable to attacks through unpatched holes."

Sooo...an OS that has been around for 12 years, has had three major service packs AND has been tweaked,plugged and patched over the course of It's life I'm now supposed panic because It's now more "potentially vulnerable" .
The same can be said about Vista,Win7 and Win8.
You're also "potentially Invulnerable" but saying It like that won't scare you Into buying the latest OS ,running up to date anti-virus and using a firewall I sleep good at
night.

 

[Guest]

Good riddance. XP is an ancient, outdated platform. Nobody who's tried 7 misses XP.

 

[Guest]

Yawn...

Logged into my WinXP workstation this morning and discovered the world hadn't ended. It took 5 years for applications to stop running well on Win2k, I suspect it will be no different for XP.

 

[Jad Chaar]

RIP XP. It is time to move on.

 

[Jim$ter]

Yeah XP is fine no matter what Microsoft and Hardware vendors would like you to think. I have seen unpatched XP machines perfectly fine for years. If you get a good antivirus and run Chrome or Firefox you can get many more years out of the system unless some major hole is found like in the firewall. Most patches deal with problems once you let a virus in...so if you have some smarts XP is no more vulnerable than it was yesterday. No reason to dump perfectly fine computers just because Microsoft wants us to buy new Windows. Our landfills will thank us if we don't listen to them. And no installing a alternative OS is not the solution. People will just dump the Pc's...alot of waste..no one thinks of that. If Microsoft was smart they would of made Windows 7 or 8 able to run on these older systems and made it upgradable from XP. I have calmed many people after Microsoft installed fear. Not receiving patch's isn't the end...its just another reason at some point you will have to upgrade but it doesn't have to be today.

 

[Benny26]

If the UK government can afford to to pay MS these extortionist amounts for yearly support you'd think they could easily afford to upgrade to a more modern OS but governments aren't like that at all, they need to waste taxpayers money, it's in their DNA. That said I wonder if the end of XP support is a hint for me to move on from Windows 95.

It's a bit of a shocker from my point of view. The government could have upgraded the systems earlier costing xxx amount of money, but instead chose to pay 5.5mil so that they don't have to upgrade until 12 months time...where they'll still have to pay xxx amount of money to upgrade the systems then. In effect, they've just totally wasted 5.5mil of taxpayer's money.

Nothing new with Politicians though.

 

[Guest]

For those than like Windows XP: don´t fear for your security you have many options avaible:

Free Antivirus with real time protection:
1. Avira Free Antivirus
2. Avast! Free Antivirus
3. AVG Antivirus Free
4. Comodo Antivirus
5. 360 Internet Security

Free Antivirus/Antimalware Scanners:
1. Malwarebytes' Antimalware
2. Trend Micro HouseCall
3. Panda Cloud Cleaner
4. Avira PC Cleaner
5. ClamWin Free Antivirus

Free Firewalls:
1. Comodo Firewall
2. OutPost Firewall Free
3. ZoneAlarm Free
4. Ashampoo Firewall Free
5. Privatefirewall

Other free software for 360 protection:
1. WinPatrol
2. Trend Micro HijackThis
3. ADSScanner
4. Autorun Eater
5. Xacti System Protect
6. XOSLAB Easy File Locker
7. SpywareBlaster
8. McAfee SiteAdvisor
9. Pctools ThreatFire, and
10. Comodo Time Machine.

All these are free, Who needs a patch ?

 

[oldikes]

I wish I could find something to make my windows 7 asthetically appear like XP...so much nostalgia behind XP asthetics

 

[Scshadow]

Wow, some horrible horrible comments on here. Windows 7 isn't a suitable replacement for machines that don't have any use for the power that platform requires. Microsoft is just forcing many businesses who have xp based applications like the majority of ATMs to migrate to linux. Better to use linux then to trash all their hardware and get new machines for windows 7. Its come to the point where Microsoft needs to maintain a separate line of lightweight OSes. Also, its stupid to say, throw a few scanners and a firewall and xp is good. Those both do jack once someone gets in and compromises a machine. Trust me, you do need patches.

 

[captaincranky]

Good riddance. XP is an ancient, outdated platform. Nobody who's tried 7 misses XP.

Why? XP is perfectly serviceable platform to come here and listen to empty barrels making the most noise. Take yourself as a prime example.

Your self esteem seems dependent on the OS you're using. Sad.

 

[Darkshadoe]

I can't wait to see articles talking about how many hundreds of thousands of XP computers have been infected. It's going to be great.

Exactly. Some of those computers may have you or your family's financial or personal information on them. It will be hilarious.

 

[cliffordcooley]

Exactly. Some of those computers may have you or your family's financial or personal information on them. It will be hilarious.

Only if Bill Gates is the target!

 

[Nima304]

Exactly. Some of those computers may have you or your family's financial or personal information on them. It will be hilarious.

Most businesses, at least, have known about WinXP's end-of-life for a long time now. For others, Microsoft's annoying popups have told them about it for a while now as well, certainly long enough to change operating systems. Those that chose to ignore the warnings were certainly told of the risks, so yes, it will be hilarious to me when they have their computers infected due to their complacency and false sense of security.

 

[captaincranky]

Most businesses, at least, have known about WinXP's end-of-life for a long time now. For others, Microsoft's annoying popups have told them about it for a while now as well, certainly long enough to change operating systems. Those that chose to ignore the warnings were certainly told of the risks, so yes, it will be hilarious to me when they have their computers infected due to their complacency and false sense of security.

First of all, there are machines in service, mostly pre-builts, that won't even accept an OS newer than Win XP.

When M$ first tried to jamb Vista down out throats, my eMachines T-5026 (circa 2005), flunked the "Vista Upgrade Adviser", with lowered colors. Who cares?

XP's vulnerabilities aren't cured totally by M$ upgrades, not by a long shot.

Firefox, the fact you can install "NoScript", plus the fact it WON'T ever support active X controls , goes a long way toward securing the aging OS. You can also install aftermarket security software, which STILL IS, being supported by XP updates.

M$ knew full well, when it released Vista, and later Windows 7, that they would obsolete almost all the machines in service. So, the computing public was supposed to go "all in" ,with a new machine, to go along with a new OS.

The master bungler, Steve Ballmer, suddenly found out he can't stuff his crap "one size fits all Windows 8", down the public's throat either. I'd much rather run XP, than that garbage

So for me, XP is plenty secure enough to surf "erotic art", day in, day out, without a problem. In fact, I only upgraded my XP SP-2 machines to SP-3, on a pure whim.

So, laugh all you want. I'd suggest you putting your money where your mouth is, and buying a few new machines for the"poor wretches", at which you're laughing. We both know very well, that's never going to happen. So, keep laughing, just do it alone. If you actually knew what you were talking about, I suppose you would be a chuckling a different story.

 

[Guest]

Finally, the hype is over! Glad to see those XP "Death Watch" countdowns gone.

Now, lets see if all of the hype is real or propaganda to scare the public into throwing out perfectly good hardware. Any computer can get infected, the greatest threat to any OS is the one controlling the mouse/keyboard.

A decent AV/IS suite, behind a well configured hardware firewall (a wireless router's proper settings) & smart use of the computer will go a long way towards keeping not only XP, but all OS's safe.

Finally, especially when installing "Free" software, take time to read the EULA & don't allow extra apps to piggyback, many of which is some form of ad/spyware.

Cat

 

[Guest]

Yawn...

Logged into my WinXP workstation this morning and discovered the world hadn't ended. It took 5 years for applications to stop running well on Win2k, I suspect it will be no different for XP.

Kind of like when the year 2000 arrived, time didn't stop. The only thing I heard were a few fireworks.

 

[Nima304]

First of all, there are machines in service, mostly pre-builts, that won't even accept an OS newer than Win XP.

When M$ first tried to jamb Vista down out throats, my eMachines T-5026 (circa 2005), flunked the "Vista Upgrade Adviser", with lowered colors. Who cares?

XP's vulnerabilities aren't cured totally by M$ upgrades, not by a long shot.

Firefox, the fact you can install "NoScript", plus the fact it WON'T ever support active X controls , goes a long way toward securing the aging OS. You can also install aftermarket security software, which STILL IS, being supported by XP updates.

M$ knew full well, when it released Vista, and later Windows 7, that they would obsolete almost all the machines in service. So, the computing public was supposed to go "all in" ,with a new machine, to go along with a new OS.

The master bungler, Steve Ballmer, suddenly found out he can't stuff his crap "one size fits all Windows 8", down the public's throat either. I'd much rather run XP, than that garbage

So for me, XP is plenty secure enough to surf "erotic art", day in, day out, without a problem. In fact, I only upgraded my XP SP-2 machines to SP-3, on a pure whim.

So, laugh all you want. I'd suggest you putting your money where your mouth is, and buying a few new machines for the"poor wretches", at which you're laughing. We both know very well, that's never going to happen. So, keep laughing, just do it alone. If you actually knew what you were talking about, I suppose you would be a chuckling a different story.

Sure, WinXP would be a secure OS with the proper configuration of Firefox or Chrome, no versions of Java or any Adobe product installed, and an up-to-date antivirus program. However, most people I know who still run WinXP don't do any of that. They normally have a ton of Adobe products installed and some old version of Java, with Internet Explorer or Firefox 3.5, with a free antivirus that they don't update. For these people, WinXP will be an immensely insecure OS over the coming weeks, but you are right in the sense that if those people updated without changing their habits, they wouldn't be much more secure.

However, what they would get from a newer OS are security patches that would close zero-day exploits for the OS, and continued support from companies who provide software. There's no guarantee that businesses will still release software updates for WinXP two years from now, but there's a huge chance that people will still run WinXP by that time.

And as for buying PCs for those still on WinXP, I do something even better. I help run a charity that takes WinXP machines that businesses are getting rid of, installs Ubuntu 12.04 LTS with a variety of applications, and gives them to students who don't have computers. Don't throw accusations if you don't know what people do for a living.

 

[captaincranky]

Sure, WinXP would be a secure OS with the proper configuration of Firefox or Chrome, no versions of Java or any Adobe product installed, and an up-to-date antivirus program. However, most people I know who still run WinXP don't do any of that. They normally have a ton of Adobe products installed and some old version of Java, with Internet Explorer or Firefox 3.5, with a free antivirus that they don't update. For these people, WinXP will be an immensely insecure OS over the coming weeks, but you are right in the sense that if those people updated without changing their habits, they wouldn't be much more secure....[ ].....

Well first, if you're going to do any imaging, and you at least have a clue what you're doing, Adobe Photoshop is almost indispensable. It's the adjustment layers, GIMP doesn't have them.And WINE is usually several editions behind reality.

Plus, Adobe is fairly aggressive in pursuing updates to Flash, its pet sieve, (and everybody else's pet peeve).

Besides, M$ has "update Tuesday", once a month, that really works against your "zero day exploit" patch scenario, unless of course, everybody releases their exploits, once a month, on the Monday before M$ releases theirs. In reality,"zero day", could abruptly turn into "zero + 28 days".

And given "Microsoft Security Essentials" recent test ratings, M$ is the last company you'd expect to be on top of eradicating exploits. If they can't shore up their A/V product, how can they be expected to secure their OS in general?

It's counter-intuitive to say that M$ updates to XP are solely going to ward off all the evils of the web, or that they're holding disaster at bay. In any event, the individuals you're describing seem as though they think they know it all, while in fact the are tragically oblivious to reality.

But, are they funny? Probably not.

More would be achieved with my strategy of updating the security functions, and leaving the XP installation, alone.

And Ubuntu, while certainly one recourse, is still, by all accounts, the novelty of desperation.