Microsoft’s Support For Windows XP Has Now Officially Ended

As of today, Microsoft no longer supports its old operating system Windows XP.

This shouldn't come as a shock to anyone, as users have been given repeated warnings by Microsoft, and indeed we've been banging the XP-is-ending drum here at ITProPortal for some time now.

The end of the road for support means that Microsoft won't be implementing any more security updates or bug fixes for Windows XP. And that's a slight worry given the latest stats that suggest almost 30 per cent of machines out there are still running the aged OS.

The rug hasn't been entirely pulled, though – as under pressure, Microsoft did at least agree to keep Security Essentials, its anti-malware solution, supporting XP for a further year through to July 2015. Some third-party security vendors will also keep their products supporting XP, but bear in mind that even these suites won't be able to protect you on every XP front.

You will still be vulnerable to major OS holes such as zero-day threats, which you can bet cyber-criminals will be working hard at finding and exploiting now the curtain has closed on official support. Especially as they know so many folks are still using XP...

Enterprise users will still have System Centre Endpoint Protection, Forefront Client Security, Forefront Endpoint Protection and Windows Intune supported – as we noted in our closer look at the reasons why you should dump Windows XP – but of course the same caveats apply as with home users.

If you run a business which is still using XP, check out our article on 4 ways small businesses can protect themselves against the end of Windows XP, and our piece on how to easily migrate your business operations from Windows XP.

You might also want to read: End of an Era: Will your IT estate survive post Windows XP?