RIP Windows XP

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Windows XP, Wikipedia and the first Harry Potter movie were all released in 2001. Over a decade has passed and technology is among the many things that have changed. Back in 2001 Windows XP was the twinkle in Microsoft’s eye, their shining star, their flag ship operating system. It has been the most widely used operating system for quite a while, even surpassing some of Microsoft’s other operating systems like Windows 98 and Vista. But every good thing must come to an end and technology keeps growing by leaps and bounds. So is it really too much of a surprise that on April 8th 2014 Microsoft will discontinue providing support for Windows XP?

New and improved operating systems are being created every few years out doing the one before it. This evolution and shedding of old systems is common in everything and is causing a strain because of Windows XP’s earlier success. Many experts have predicted that the halt in support of Windows XP will cause significant strain for companies that have chosen not to upgrade their computers running Windows XP. Those experts say companies should move forward with technology in a step by step fashion.

While this is great in theory, many companies know upgrading and/or replacing computers is not simple nor inexpensive. For many companies this is the very reason they have stayed with older operating systems and computers. Although the reasons for not upgrading may be valid, further avoiding the situation will cause frightening consequences.

The best way to emphasize those consequences and make you recognize the need for upgrading is to look at the security risks that are involved by staying with Windows XP. It is common knowledge that malicious programs are constantly being invented to break into systems and extract valuable information. Microsoft is proactive, if not reactive to these potential threats. They realize the weakness and counteract it by creating “security patches” which provide that extra security.

Now imagine you own a computer that runs Windows XP and there is a new threat out there. A threat that targets a particular weak point in the Windows XP operating system. Usually it’s not something you think about because Microsoft releases one of those nifty patches and pushes it out over the internet. Every operating system that Microsoft supports is safe and sound, protected with patches, now wait, Microsoft no longer supports Windows XP and will no longer be releasing any patches. Now you feel the panic those experts were warning about.

Don’t fret too much, an IT support provider can help you. Remember it’s not going to be an easy task for them to replace the XP operating system, you can only fix the problem by upgrading. Don’t let these worries be yours. Upgrade your systems to one of the new Microsoft operating systems and reduce the risk of running the soon to be unsupported Windows XP.

Stop potential hackers in their tracks.

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