14 DAY TRIAL // While Net Applications figures are showing that Windows 8.1 adoption is actually going very well, StatCounter data claims otherwise and indicate that the market share of Microsoft's new OS version is actually only slightly better than Windows Vista's, often referred to as Microsoft's biggest failure in the OS market.
According to figures for April 2014, Windows 7 continues to lead the charts with a market share of 55.11 percent, followed by Windows XP with 17.16 percent.
Mac OS X comes third with 8.85 percent, followed by Windows 8 with 7.81 percent and Windows 8.1 with 5.24 percent. Windows Vista is only sixth in the charts with a 3.57 percent market share.
Windows XP support was officially retired on April 8, but millions of users worldwide are still running it, which basically means that they could all become vulnerable to attacks once a vulnerability is found.
This already happened however, as Microsoft recently confirmed that an Internet Explorer flaw that affects all Windows versions on the market also exists in Windows XP and would allow cybercriminals to get into your computer using a malicious website hosting malware designed to take advantage of the issue.
Net Application figures for the month of April 2014 claim that Windows XP is currently installed on more than 25 percent of the world's desktop computers.