WHAT'S ALL THE FUSS ABOUT?
On April 8th – that’s less than a week from now – Microsoft will discontinue providing updates and support services for Windows XP, the operating system it released in 2001.
Although it is now 13 years old, Windows XP remains extremely popular. In fact it continues to be the world’s second most popular operating system and continues to run on more than a third of the computers around the world.
Microsoft says all its software products have a lifespan, and XP has been on borrowed time for a while. It was made very clear in 2002 that support would stop for Windows XP in 2012, but subsequently extended that deadline twice due to popular demand.
While Windows XP was a great product, what has come since then is better, more secure and easier to maintain. The time has come for Microsoft to refocus resources on those newer, up to date systems.
In theory it is possible for those who decide to update from XP to buy operating systems made by other manufacturers like Apple and Linux. Microsoft says that in a 25 year old industry, 13 years is a very long time for one product to be supported, and it is only reasonable for them to look to the future.
On Tuesday, XP support will be stopped, except in cases where organizations are paying for a continuation of the service for a specified period. After two previous extensions, there is nothing to suggest they are bluffing this time.
WHAT’S AT RISK?
Well, if you are running Windows XP on your PC or laptop, it will start to become exposed starting April 8th, 2014. The concern is that hackers will look at updates being pushed out for Windows 7 and 8 into the future, and reverse engineer them to work out what weaknesses they are patching. They will then go and look at Windows XP to see if they can find similar holes, which haven’t been patched. Windows XP Professional for Embedded Systems, which is a special version used in machines like cash registers and ticket machines, will be supported until the end of 2016.
Support for Microsoft’s word processing, spreadsheet and presentation package, Office 2003, is also ending on April 8, 2014.
CAN ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE PROTECT ME?
Several third-party antivirus publishers have promised to carry on supporting Windows XP after the cut-off date, and Microsoft has said that its own Security Essentials product will continue to receive signature updates “for a limited time”. This can protect you against many types of attack, such as those that target your web browser or email client. However, if hackers exploit low-level vulnerabilities in the operating system then in theory they could circumvent or disable your antivirus defenses. Some experts suspect that online criminals are already planning such an attack, and are simply waiting for XP updates to end before unleashing it.
WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS?
You can make sure you update your XP system fully between now and Tuesday, limit internet access to your computer and take your chances. Microsoft and most IT experts think that this is a bad idea. You can buy a new operating system and upgrade your computer. The problem is that a lot of old hardware won’t run the latest operating systems. You could also bite the bullet and go and buy a completely new machine with a modern operating system installed on it.
Virtual machines are an excellent way to continue using software that requires Windows XP while also upgrading to a newer version of Windows. They allow you to run Windows XP in an isolated container, placing an entire Windows XP system into a window on your desktop. Windows 7 Professional includes Windows XP Mode for just this reason, offering businesses and other professional users the ability to easily set up a Windows XP virtual machine without buying an additional Windows XP license. If you’re upgrading to Windows 8 or even Windows 7 Home, Windows XP Mode is not included. If you really want to use Windows XP in a virtual machine, you’ll have to get a boxed copy of Windows XP (if you have an old one, that will work) and install it inside a virtual machine. You don’t have to buy virtual machine software (the free VirtualBox and VMware Player will both work fine). Finally, if you are a big business with deep pockets and no options, you could pay Microsoft or someone else to continue to support your older machines.
ARE THERE TOOLS TO HELP MIGRATE?
Microsoft has announced a partnership with Laplink to make available a new free tool, allowing individuals to easily copy files and settings from a Windows XP PC to a device running Windows 7 or later. Whilst not aimed at business use, if you have family and friends who are yet to make the leap, but you don’t want to be coerced into doing the heavy lifting, this could prove a great halfway house to help ensure the process is hassle free!
XP INFECTION RATES
The headline figures for the second half of 2012 were that protected Windows XP SP2 computers had 4.2 infections per thousand, while 32-bit Windows 8 machines and 64-bit Windows 8 machines had 0.5 and 0.2 infections per thousand respectively. With no real-time anti-malware installed, these figures went up to 15.6 per thousand for Windows XP and 2.7 per thousand for 64-bit Windows 8 (no data is provided for 32-bit Windows 8). These figures are a summary of the telemetry data from Microsoft’s Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT), which is run on millions of computers every Patch Tuesday. See more of them in Microsoft Security Intelligence Report Volume 14.
Operating systems that are 64-bit are substantially more secure than their 32-bit equivalents, with the exception of Windows Vista, for unknown reasons. It’s interesting how relatively insecure Windows 7 RTM compares to Vista SP2 or Windows 7 SP1, but it’s blindingly obvious that Windows 8 is far more secure than any previous version of the operating system.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Even though infections and virus threats are increasingly common – up 182% year on year in 2012 – Windows 7 is still far less likely to be infected than Windows XP if you’re running anti-malware protection; if you don’t have real-time malware protection in place, Windows XP and Windows 7 are about on a par for infection rates.
Windows 8 comes with real-time protection built in and turned on by default, so its infection rates are incredibly low – you’d have to consciously turn off Windows Defender to reach any significant infection rate.
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