{"id":620,"date":"2014-04-08T17:55:23","date_gmt":"2014-04-08T17:55:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.microsofttraining.net\/b\/?p=620"},"modified":"2025-04-12T05:47:13","modified_gmt":"2025-04-12T05:47:13","slug":"windows-xp-going-going-gone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/windows-xp-going-going-gone\/","title":{"rendered":"Windows XP \u2013 Going, Going, Gone\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Windows
Happy Retirement XP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you\u2019re running Windows XP, you\u2019ll be familiar with that annoying update that happens when you try and shut down for the day. It takes ages, it means you can\u2019t simply switch off and run out the door, and there\u2019s a good chance you\u2019ll miss your train because of that wretched \u2018Updating 1 of 7\u2019 message.<\/p>\n

But what if there were no more updates?<\/p>\n

What if XP was abandoned by Microsoft?<\/a> What if it was left to fend for itself in a cold, hostile, update-free world? Well, that\u2019s exactly what\u2019s happening on April 8th 2014.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll miss it when it\u2019s gone\u2026<\/h2>\n

XP has been one of Microsoft\u2019s most successful operating systems to date. It was relatively bug-free (compared to the truly awful <\/i>Vista), it\u2019s stable, and the monthly patches from Microsoft made it one of the most robust and safest operating systems known to technosapiens. A lot of people are very, very fond of XP, especially in the home PC sector and SMEs. In fact, SMEs are more likely to be running on XP than almost any other OS. So we\u2019ve become used to those monthly patch updates, even if they do make us late for the train.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s just one more patch to come. After that? Well, you\u2019re on your own.<\/p>\n

The Zombie \u2018bot Apocalypse is nigh\u2026<\/h2>\n

Taking away Microsoft\u2019s support for XP is no laughing matter. It\u2019s not just home PC users that could find themselves vulnerable once the support for XP vanishes, either. Businesses, from SMEs right through to multi-nationals, are still using 2001\u2019s finest \u2013 which means in just a few day\u2019s time they\u2019re potentially running some huge risks. After the final patch, there\u2019ll be no more updates to protect your system against botnet attacks, DDOS (distributed denial of service) or other Internet nasties.<\/p>\n

Hacker groups like LulzSec <\/a>and Anonymous rely on an open back door that an out-of-date operating system provides them with, and can quickly render your entire system inert by creeping in and uploading a Trojan so ferocious that it would make the Spartans run away and cry. Remember, these are the people who shut down Sony and gave the NSA a run for their money, so it\u2019s a threat that\u2019s worth taking very seriously indeed.<\/p>\n

This is just a ploy from Microsoft to get me to upgrade!<\/h2>\n

The cynical among you may well say exactly that, especially as the only sure-fire way to stay fully protected is to upgrade to Windows7 or above. However, for a lot of XP users that doesn\u2019t just mean upgrading their software, but their hardware too. Many older PCs and laptops simply won\u2019t have the processing power to run W8 or even W7. So, yes, those who are still tottering along using single core processors or even some early dual core set-ups may have to invest in some new tech as well as new software.<\/p>\n

Out of MS Office hours<\/h2>\n

Another reason that this matters is that recent changes to the MS Office suite have rendered XP obsolete. Seeing as this is one of the most widely used business tools both for home businesses, SMEs and even the big players means that the changes in MS Office have had a real impact on the design of upgraded operating systems such as W7 and W8. In fact, it\u2019s been highlighted as major contributing factors to the cessation of support for XP compatible systems altogether. Both Office 365 and Office 2013 are both incompatible with Windows XP, which means something has to give \u2013 and in this case it\u2019s XP.<\/p>\n

But the main worry is that the consequences of leaving yourself vulnerable could cost you a lot more than the price of a new laptop. A vulnerable system is a hackable system, and believe us, the hackers will sniff you out faster than a bloodhound chasing a Ribeye steak on a string.<\/p>\n

Okay, you\u2019ve scared the bejesus out of me. What do I do?<\/h2>\n

One simple word \u2013 upgrade.<\/p>\n

Either go for Windows7 or, if you want to future-proof yourself for a little longer, Windows8 (although version 8 hasn\u2019t been as well received as version 7). They\u2019re both capable of supporting Office 365 and 2013, and there\u2019s that all-important support in place for both systems well into the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n

Windows7 is probably the most suitable for small business, and it currently commands a healthy 44% of the market. Both run faster than XP, which means less of a drain on laptop batteries. Windows8 is optimised for touch-screen tech, although that\u2019s probably not a priority for SMEs right now. There\u2019s also plenty of room for developing your system to take advantage of apps, and ensuring that your PCs and laptops are compatible with other tech such as smartphones and tablets.<\/p>\n

So, what\u2019s the panic?<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s been shown that it takes on average around 12 to 18 months to fully upgrade an operating system within a business environment<\/a> \u2013 and if you\u2019re a big company you can look towards the top end of that estimate. You\u2019ve got two weeks, tops. That means you need to act. Now.<\/p>\n

So whilst we may all have a bit of a soft spot for XP, that withdrawal of support by Microsoft is going to leave around 37% of users vulnerable to cyber attacks, the risk of incompatibility with their customers\u2019 systems, and without any access to all those wonderful applications and touch-screen wizardry. Upgrading isn\u2019t really an option \u2013 it\u2019s a necessity, especially if your business depends on your computer OS.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time to say \u201cGoodbye, XP, my old friend!\u201d \u2013 and embrace the young pups that are Windows7 and Windows8.<\/p>\n

Ready to take the plunge and upgrade to a newer version of Windows? We provide full upgrade support services. Contact us<\/a>\u00a0for more information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  If you\u2019re running Windows XP, you\u2019ll be familiar with that annoying update that happens when you try and shut down for the day. It takes ages, it means you can\u2019t simply switch off and run out the door, and there\u2019s a good chance you\u2019ll miss your train because of that wretched \u2018Updating 1 of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-office","category-technology"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=620"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7718,"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620\/revisions\/7718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}