[Published on: Mar 30, 2014] As we all know that Microsoft Windows XP is one of the oldest version of its Windows series and was providing support for Windows XP for the past 12 years. But now the time has come for us, along with our hardware and software partners, to invest our resources toward supporting more recent technologies so that we can continue to deliver great new experiences. After those 12 years, the support for Windows XP will end on April 8, 2014. Microsoft will no longer provide security updates or technical support for Windows XP.
As a result, after April 8, 2014, technical assistance for Windows XP will no longer be available, including automatic updates that help protect your PC.
Potential Risks of Staying With Windows XP
If you run Windows XP on your PC after 8 April 2014, then there may be several potential risks for your PC as for you as well. So, have a look on them carefully –
1. Security
Without critical Windows XP security updates, your PC may become vulnerable to harmful viruses, spyware, and other malicious software which can steal or damage your business data and information. Anti-virus software will also not be able to fully protect you once Windows XP itself is unsupported.
2. Compliance
Businesses that are governed by regulatory obligations such as HIPAA may find that they are no longer able to satisfy compliance requirements.
3. Lack of Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Support
Many software vendors will no longer support their products running on Windows XP as they are unable to receive Windows XP updates. For example, the new Office takes advantage of the modern Windows and will not run on Windows XP.
4. Hardware Manufacturer support
Most PC hardware manufacturers will stop supporting Windows XP on existing and new hardware. This will also mean that drivers required to run Windows XP on new hardware may not be available.
How Will Existing XP Users Stay Protected
To stay protected after ending the support of Windows XP, you need to follow these guidelines –
1. Upgrade to Windows 7 or Newer
It is the very common and easy to use method to stay protected in this condition. You should take this action very instantly because of various security dangers. If you’re thinking to upgrade your PC with Windows 8.1, download and run the Windows Upgrade Assistant to check if your PC meets the system requirements for Windows 8.1 and then upgrade carefully. This is because, very few older computers will be able to run Windows 8.1, which is the latest version of Windows.
2. Buy New PC
Don’t shock guys, you’ll have to do it if you don’t use the above method. If your current PC can’t run Windows 8.1, it might be time to consider shopping for a new one. Now here’s an other problem of data migration from old Windows XP PC to new one. So, don’t worry friends, here is the solution of that problem. You can move your Windows XP stuff with Laplink, a free data migration solution that will walk you through all the steps to getting your files, setings, and user profiles from your Windows XP PC to your new Windows laptop, desktop, or tablet.
Note that, you can only migrate to a PC running Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1.
So that’s all guys and finally I just wanna say that be careful and try to leave Windows XP as soon as possible and certainly till 8 April. It may be very very dangerous for all Windows XP users to use it after 8 April 2014.
