14 DAY TRIAL // Windows XP support will come to an end tomorrow, so those who are still running this old version are exposing themselves to a number of security risks, experts and Microsoft alike warn.
Will Markham, security practice lead at Colt, made a very interesting analogy between the end of Windows XP and a car driven on the highway with the driver wearing no seatbelts.
“[Using Windows XP after end of support is] like driving down the motorway with [your] seatbelt on and then suddenly taking it off. You might have a crash, you might not, but you have seriously increased your risk [if you do],” he was quoted as saying by ITPro.
Windows XP is still powering 28 percent of computers worldwide, but Microsoft hopes that after end of support more users would move to a newer OS version.
Of course, that’s very unlikely to happen, especially because so many users are refusing to abandon Windows XP because of its advanced support for old hardware. As of tomorrow, on the other hand, the operating system launched 13 years ago will no longer receive updates and security patches, so those still running it could be easily hacked if cybercriminals discover an unpatched vulnerability.
Security apps will, however, continue to work on Windows XP, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find an anti-virus solution working smoothly on your old computer.