The day we have long been dreading is almost here. We have talked about this day in several articles but the reality is that now you have to make your decision. At least 30%
or more of machines still have Windows XP installed on them. That is actually a pretty good sum of systems that are still running the operating system. In the following, we will try to give you the realities and the misconceptions with the end of support.
First of all, let me say that Windows XP is not going to stop working. You will have all the functions that you have on April 9 as you had on April 8. There will be no changes. If you are like lots of folks, you might of shut off Microsoft updates months or years ago with no problems.
Personally, I have a mix of systems from XP to Windows 7. I have a couple of XP machines that do nothing but act as weather servers. These computers have had updates off for some time. These machines have never had a virus or other type of malware. If you are a careful browser, you should be fine with your XP machine for some time.
Remember Y2K when everything was supposed to crash when we hit the year 2000? Well if memory serves, nothing happened. The lead up to that event was tremendous with news reports and all kinds of scares about what might happen. This is want I compare the end of XP support to. If you are going to keep the OS, there are a few things you will need to do in order to harden the system, however.
First and foremost, be sure to keep your antivirus up to date. Even if you use Security Essentials, Microsoft has promised to keep updates flowing for the foreseeable future. I also heard that they might still offer the Malicious Removal Tool. They know how many machines are still out there and they are at least trying to help some. If there is a demand, I heard there is a potential for a paid system where you pay a subscription to get your software patched. I think demand will eventually determine if this happens or not.
The next thing you need to do is to get rid of Java. This is probably the main area where an exploit will try to enter your system. If you use a router, you can block Java right at the source with the router. This will keep any Java exploits far from your computer. Be sure to keep Flash and Adobe up to date or better yet, use Foxit for your PDF reader. It is safe and secure.
Be sure you are running the Windows firewall while you are online. If you want even more security, check the “no exceptions” box in the firewall settings. You can use this setting if you do not need to access other network computers. This setting can also help if one of your systems got a network virus. The setting would help to keep the virus from spreading through the network.
The bottom line is if you have a good running XP system there is no need to throw it away. Keep the system running a little longer but be sure to take the common sense steps to keeping it safe and secure. With some common sense and careful surfing, you should be humming along just fine. Most venders will continue to support drivers and updates as long as the demand is there for XP. Even with the end of support, XP still remains the best operating system that was ever built.
If you do decide to upgrade, do yourself a favor and get Windows 7 and not Windows 8. So enjoy XP a bit longer if you want, just be safe and smart about your surfing and e mails.
Posted by, Ross Deprey From Computer Geeks!
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