Do you know what’s scarier than Halloween? Staying on Windows XP!

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Rob Waggoner

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As of October 31, 2013, there are 159 days of Windows XP support left.  If you don’t have a migration plan for your customers yet, please do it now!  We have three versions of Windows that are more current than Windows XP and support will end April 8, 2014.  We have a great page here that talks about the end of Windows XP support and why support is ending.  This page also provides information on what it takes to move to Windows 7 or Windows 8.  I understand Application Compatibility could be an issue, but that’s not the real stumbling block, now is it? 

Windows XP wasn’t built for today’s internet, it just can’t adequately protect itself from today’s risks.  There is only so much you can do to try and maintain old platforms.  Antiques are nice, they bring back fond memories of years past, but most people do not run their business on antiques.  Windows XP is now entering that “Antique” phase of its life.  Let’s put it on the shelf and remember the good times, OK?  Let’s not make our last memory of Windows XP one of data loss and downtime because we chose to ignore the warnings to upgrade.  Unfortunately, some customers think they will be able to continue to pay their partner for support, but what kind of support can a partner truly provide for an obsolete Operating System? 

Let’s be clear; what will end April 8, 2014?

  • Microsoft will stop releasing security fixes for Windows XP.  That means that when another software vulnerability in Windows XP is discovered (after 4/8/2014), it will not be fixed. 
  • Every Operating System on the planet has security vulnerabilities, that’s just the nature of software.  We are still finding vulnerabilities in Windows XP.  Check out the latest security update list here…  XP is still being updated.  After April 8, 2014, Microsoft will stop issuing security fixes for Windows XP. 
  • I read this article this morning that says Microsoft may stop issuing antivirus updates for XP in April. 
  • Remember the end of life of Windows 95?  When Microsoft ended support for Windows 95, other software and hardware manufactures that supported the Windows 95 eco system also ended their support for Windows 95.  Staying on Windows XP means that you won’t be able to buy new  peripherals that require newer drivers.

Please, if you haven’t already taken the time to assemble your migration plan off of Windows XP, do it now.  From a partner perspective, you can spend your time migrating your customers now, or wait until after April 8, 2014 and do emergency migrations of your customers because of the the onslaught of malicious software targeting Windows XP.

Until next time,

 

Rob