Still Using Windows XP? Time to Move On (Really!)

Windows XP was released October 25, 2001. That's over 12 years ago, several lifetimes in PC operating system time.

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To put it in perspective, here are a few other events that took place in 2001:

• Apple introduced a new music player product called an iPod.

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• The first Harry Potter film was released.

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• Michael Jordan came out of retirement to play for the Washington Wizards.

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Since that time, Microsoft has released Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and now Windows 8.1. Still, according to recent reports, as much as 30% of online browsing is still being done from Windows XP computers.

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If this includes you…well, let me gently suggest, in no uncertain terms, that it is, most emphatically, time to move on.

As you may know, Microsoft has announced the “End of Life” (EOL) for Windows XP on April 8, less than 3 months from now as I’m writing this. They will no longer issue any updates, fixes, or security patches for XP after that date.

This is a big deal.

If you continue to use Windows XP after April 8, you are inviting malware into your network. Hackers are eagerly waiting for that day to unleash the worst of their exploits. Why? Because if they release them now, there’s a chance Microsoft will fix XP to block the vulnerability they’ve found. If they wait 3 months, the exploit will work forever, at least against XP machines that are still being used. You think the CryptoLocker Virus is bad? (And it is! See my previous blog posts about this.) Just wait until a whole barrage of malware is unleashed on unsuspecting XP users in 3 months.

Between July 2012 and July 2013, Microsoft issued 45 security bulletins (patches) affecting Windows XP. Of those, 30 also affected Windows 7 and Windows 8. If you ponder that for a moment, you’ll realize that not only will there be malware using already-discovered vulnerabilities, but hackers will have another avenue. As security fixes are released for Windows 7 and 8/8.1, those will be analyzed and reverse-engineered to find out what was patched. They will then test the same type of attack against XP to see if it shares the same vulnerability. If so, another exploit is born.

In many cases it will be hard to know if the foundation of the OS has been compromised, and if XP is inside your network, it may well be used as a launchpad for other attacks against your internal network — the ultimate Trojan horse.

Microsoft themselves estimate that if you continue to use XP after the EOL date, you will be 67% more likely to be infected than you are now. That’s not just a scare tactic to get you to upgrade, trust me.

If you were ever thinking of moving to a newer system, now is definitely the time to do it. You had a great run, Windows XP, but much like that first iPod and MJ’s basketball career, it’s time to let it go. Even the kids from Harry Potter have grown up and moved on to new projects.


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