Retailer says that Windows XP computers are now being upgraded

May 1, 2014 17:57 GMT  ·  By

Staying on Windows XP is a very risky decision, everybody seems to be warning these days, but Kingfisher, a large DIY retailer based in the United Kingdom, says that all its computers are fully protected and there's no immediate risk for its XP users.

The secret, a company representative told Computing, is a so-called patching factory that takes care of all computers still running Windows XP, but some upgrade programs have also been started to move systems to Windows 7.

“We've got a patching factory to keep us as up-to-date as possible. It's something we've opened recently and we've got a way of prioritising security updates and getting them as up-to-date as quickly as we can,” Stacey Card, Kingfisher IT risk manager, was quoted as saying.

“We've done a very large risk assessment on this. It's been the hot topic for a number of months now, and there's no immediate risk there for us. We're quite comfortable where we are.”

Microsoft warns that without custom support, Windows XP computers could easily become vulnerable to attacks if someone finds an unpatched flaw in the operating system.

So much with the “if,” however, as Microsoft already confirmed a security glitch in Internet Explorer that affects all operating system versions, including Windows XP, and which could be used to get into one's computer and get the same privileges as the logged-in user.