Windows XP support finishes April 8
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On April 8th, Microsoft will end support for Windows XP, its very good and popular operating system used by hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
So, what to do?
There's various problems to discuss depending on your situation.
There's the security aspect - you won't be getting any further security updates and hackers are going to be looking at patched exploits on later versions of
Windows to take advantage of on all those Windows XP computers which won't get the same security patches.
This alone should force most users to at least consider upgrading to a later version of Windows. Windows 7 for example will be supported until 2020,
and there's always Windows 8.1 which is good in so many ways, but the different user experience can take a bit to get used to.
There's the hardware consideration - If you're planning on buying a new PC, running XP on that is really a no-go because it won't support the latest hardware and drivers.
In this situation you're best to upgrade to a later version of Windows. If you really must run Windows XP on a new computer, then you can always run it virtually inside Windows 7 or 8, or a Mac by using free software like Virtual Box.
Software considerations will be a major point for many people. Most people who have Windows XP are probably happy with it and it just works for their situation so having to upgrade comes as a huge inconvenience.
Most users will continue to use XP until their computer dies or the software they rely on the most stops being supported and updated.
As mentioned previously, Windows 7 and 8 are options, also a few people are using this opportunity to make the change to Apple Mac's or Linux.
Want to continue using Windows XP?
If you want to keep using Windows XP for now and are concerned about security (as you should be), then you should arm yourself with some recommended tools.
Get the little known #span Microsoft Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit] - this is a free utility from Microsoft that helps prevent vulnerabilities in software from being successfully exploited.
It's a bit of a geek tool, but once it's installed you can just select the recommended settings for the most commonly exploited software and go on about your business.
Microsoft Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit
You'll want a good solid antivirus so we're pushing SecureAnwhere because it's fast, reliable with top detection rates and hardly takes up any resources on that old Windows XP hardware of yours.
Plus you'll get a great discount from us and we also give you 3 extra months for free.
