I’ve been seeing several posts more than the previous week that may be giving some Windows XP users false hope that they’ll still be able to get patches for the operating system just after April 8, 2014.
I believe it was this statement from a Microsoft spokesperson that may have raised some expectations.
“After April eight, 2014, Windows XP customers will no longer acquire new security updates, non-security hotfixes, free or paid assisted support alternatives, or on-line technical content material updates from Microsoft. Third parties could provide ongoing support, but it?ˉs vital to recognize that support will not address fixes and security patches inside the core Windows kernel. If an organization continues to make use of Windows XP and purchases Custom Support, they’re going to acquire important safety updates as new threats are found, together with technical assistance by way of their Premier contract.” (Emphasis mine.)
It really is worth repeating these patches are not for everyone, or, in truth, nearly any one. To have these custom patches, customers require an active Premier Help agreement, a Microsoft spokesperson reiterated. On top rated of that, you should purchase Custom Assistance. The combo is costly. For a lot of, other than those in Fortune 500 firms, who are nonetheless operating Windows XP, it really is possibly outdoors the realm of possibility.
In case you had been questioning, this sort of custom assistance selection isn’t new. Microsoft also produced custom patches for XP SP2 offered to those with Premier Support contracts when SP2 was moved to end of support (EOS) in 2010.
But back for the kinds of shoppers who are holding onto Windows XP in spite of prospective new vulnerabilities which might arise following Microsoft stops producing all patches — like safety patches — out there soon after April eight , 2014. That are these inside the 35-plus % group plus running XP as their desktop OS?
I asked readers recently to explain why they are not prepared and/or in a position to get off XP. I heard back from several folks through email, as well as the answers sprinkled through the hundreds of (sadly, mainly off-topic) comments on this post.
As has been noted numerous times just before, a number of these nevertheless running Windows XP in their organizations are doing so since they have written custom, internal-facing applications which can be dependent on IE 6. Some of these shops also are running custom-built apps that don’t use IE, but which they have not had time/money to rebuild to run on newer versions of Windows.
You can find other folks who say they don’t have the cash to buy new software and hardware. This consists of retirees; some government users, noting their organizations and agencies haven’t got funds to upgrade; and other folks who are just going to help keep running XP machines until they die.
I heard from 1 user who mentioned his XP Pc isn’t connected to the World-wide-web, so he feels no have to upgrade. I heard from a few folks who stated they may be counting on their firewall and safety software program, coupled with common sense, to shield them as soon as Microsoft stops issuing security patches. And I heard from greater than several customers who cited their dislike of Windows eight as a purpose to prevent moving off XP — despite the truth customers nevertheless can locate PCs running Windows 7.
Microsoft has made it clear to its reseller partners that one of their biggest priorities in fiscal 2014 ought to be to obtain XP users to migrate to a extra current version of Windows. Microsoft recently warned XP customers they’d risk getting inside a “zero day forever” state just after April 8, 2014.
All this said, there won’t be any type of global meltdown taking place on April 9, 2014. PCs running XP will not just cease functioning or burst into balls of flame. On the other hand, it really is still worth noting, factors will most likely get worse for XP customers more than time, as ZDNet’s Larry Seltzer noted. With no extra safety patches for XP, one particular vital layer of defense will be weakened. Windows XP customers will place a lot more anxiety on antivirus software program and firewalls so long as they continue to remain around the OS.