SpiderBlog

Microsoft ends support for Windows XP and Office 2003

Written by SpiderGroup | Nov 6, 2013 6:00:00 PM

Blog by Bryan Parson

Microsoft Windows XP was first released to the public over 12 years ago in October 2001, since then it has been superseded by Windows Vista, 7 and 8, yet it is still in use on around 30% of computers.

On the 8th April 2014 Microsoft will officially withdraw support for Windows XP. At this point you may be thinking that it won’t really affect you, perhaps you’ve never required any support or you have your own IT Company to support your PC. Sadly this isn’t the case and without taking action soon, your PC will be affected.

When Microsoft say they are ceasing support for an operating system they are saying they will no longer be providing any software updates or patches for it. So when another security hole is discovered it will remain just that, a security hole.

Over time more holes will be discovered, Windows XP will become more and more vulnerable to attack. When Microsoft withdrew support for XP Service Pack 2 its infection rate was 66% higher than the soon to be unsupported Service Pack 3 within 2 years.

Even supported, Windows XP is a dated operating system which struggles to support many of the new technologies and has an infection rate 6 times higher than Microsoft’s latest operating system.

What should you do?

Stop using XP as soon as practical, ensure all your machines are using Windows 7 or 8. There are two ways of doing this:

  • Upgrade the operation system on your existing machine – if your PC is still running XP it’s likely it’s quite old, you could try upgrading the operating system but you might be flogging a dead horse!
  • Buy a new PC – Any PC you buy now will come with Windows 8 installed.

If you need further advice please get in touch with us and we can advise about the best upgrade path for you.

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