Stop Using Windows XP

That sophisticated security system won't be of any help if you keep the door unlocked.

 · 2 min read

That sophisticated security system won't be of any help if you keep the door unlocked.


According to Google Trends (partial data), 18% of users worldwide still use Windows XP, a decade old operating system. Most users don't care to upgrade, as they are able to continue with their work1.


Some of you are under the impression that an anti-virus program, a firewall and a spyware detector or that full-featured security suite makes your PC, an impenetrable fortress. Yet, people are tricked to install compromising programs every day, aka. spyware and malware.

Software is only as secure as its known security issues and the priority at which these are fixed. Why would Microsoft prioritize fixing XP, when it has its hands full with Windows 8?


Want to try out a test? Just go to Start > Run > type "regedit". You will be able to see and edit all the registry entries, that work as the configuration of Windows XP. If a local user can edit such an important part of the operating system without any password, so can a remote user. Think about it. Still not convinced? Purchase a new hardware and chances are, it won't support Windows XP.


Some organizations implement rules to disable access to USB ports, so that users cannot steal their data. It is very easy to enable them again. This blog explains how to do just that2. Further, I am surprised to see a lack of such awareness in financial institutions, when their data can be used for nefarious activities. Have you been to a bank lately? It is likely that they are still using XP.


Windows XP was a successful product of an era when google.com was at its infancy, the iPod was considered revolutionary, Mozilla's FireFox browser didn't exist and people designed websites around Internet Explorer. It was not made to fulfill todays security requirements. It is high time that people upgrade to a newer version or use free open source alternatives.


Be warned, it may stop working when you need it the most.


Windows XP


[1] http://www.itpro.co.uk/644314/windows-xp-users-dont-care-about-upgrading-claim-market-watchers

[2] http://tnind.wordpress.com/enable-disabled-usb-ports-in-a-windows-xp-computer/

Further readings:

[3] http://www.howtogeek.com/77788/online-safety-why-you-should-give-up-windows-xp-for-good-2/



Anand Doshi

Anand is the Chief Technology Officer at ERPNext. He reads fiction, dabbles in photography and is always on the watch for the best ToDo app.

Add a comment
Ctrl+Enter to add comment

C
Rapid Clean 10 months ago

sdfasdf

G
Ghufran Shaikh 1 year ago

i stopped using XP and switched to much easier windows 11 similarly, I started using cheap assignment help UAE and I'm glad I get my assignments done in low costs.

I
cv writing 1 year ago

Hello everyone, today I am going to share my review about a windows XP good but new version windows are also good. I am cv writing on my computer windows 10.

W
top construction company 1 year ago

I use to have windows XP on my PC but that's no more after the more compatible versions of Windows had come now, so Windows XP is no longer last.

T
Digital Marketing Riyadh 1 year ago

If you talk about windows XP it's just like talking about an ancient legend, it got too old even today's generation didn't know about this version of windows too.

T
Digital Marketing Riyadh 1 year ago

If you talk about windows XP it's just like talking about an ancient legend, it got too old even today's generation didn't know about this version of windows too.

W
slot 1 year ago

This is a great article thanks for sharing this informative information. I will visit your blog regularly for some latest post. I will visit your blog regularly for Some latest post.

W
tadalafil 20mg tablets in australia 1 year ago

A very excellent blog post. I am thankful for your blog post. I have found a lot of approaches after visiting your post.

M
๋ฌด์„œ๋ฅ˜๋Œ€์ถœ 2 years ago

It truly is while doing so a reliable area i always particularly savored checking. Is just not every day that include the prospect to look at a service.

M
walmart wire 2 years ago

You have done a great job on this article. Itโ€™s very readable and highly intelligent. You have even managed to make it understandable and easy to read. You have some real writing talent. Thank you.

M
๋‹ฌ์ฝค์›”๋“œ 2 years ago

์˜คํ”ผ๋ฅผ ๋ชจ๋‘ ๋ชจ์•„๋‘” ๊ณณ์—์„œ ์›ํ•˜๋Š” ์ข…๋ฅ˜์˜ ๋‹ฌ์ฝค์›”๋“œ,์˜คํ”ผ์“ฐ,์˜คํ”ผ๊ทธ๋žจ ๋“ฑ์—์„œ ์ „๊ตญ์— ์žˆ๋Š” OP๋ฅผ ์ฆ๊ธธ ์ˆ˜ ์žˆ๋Š” ์™„๋ฒฝํ•œ ์˜คํ”ผ์‚ฌ์ดํŠธ๋ฅผ ๋ชจ์•„ ์ถ”์ฒœํ•˜๊ณ  ์‰ฝ๊ฒŒ ํ•œ๋ˆˆ์— ์„ ํƒ์ด ๊ฐ€๋Šฅํ•ฉ๋‹ˆ๋‹ค. ์ฒ˜์Œ ์˜คํ”ผ๋ฅผ ์ด์šฉํ•˜๋Š” ๋ชจ๋“  ๋ถ„๋“ค์—๊ฒŒ ๊ฐ€์žฅ ํŽธ๋ฆฌํ•œ ๊ตฌ์„ฑ์œผ๋กœ ์ค€๋น„ํ•˜์—ฌ ์•ˆ๋‚ดํ•ด๋“œ๋ฆฝ๋‹ˆ๋‹ค.

M
www.mobiledsng.com/product/viagra-price-in-pakistan/ 2 years ago

Very informative post! There is a lot of information here that can help any business get started with a successful social networking campaign.

A
uae cv 2 years ago

Who is going to use Windows XP these days, people are urging to get more and more advancement, I'm also using windows 10 and waiting for windows 11.

M
๋จนํŠ€๊ฒ€์ฆ์ปค๋ฎค๋‹ˆํ‹ฐ 2 years ago

Iโ€™m going to read this. Iโ€™ll be sure to come back. thanks for sharing. and also This article gives the light in which we can observe the reality. this is very nice one and gives indepth information. thanks for this nice article...

M
buy youtube subscribers 2 years ago

Wonderful blog post. This is absolute magic from you! I have never seen a more wonderful post than this one. You've really made my day today with this. I hope you keep this up!

K
Drift Hunters 2 years ago

always be my fave game.

M
best professional microdermabrasion machines 2 years ago

I do not even know how I finished up right here, however I believed this publish was good. I do not realize who youโ€™re but certainly you are going to a well-known blogger when you are not already Cheers!

E
uaeassignment help 2 years ago

Windows XP becomes old and many versions are launched. Windows 7, 8, and now 10 one of the most used versions. The internet has updated and security is the biggest issue while Windows 10 is the most amazing security feature itself.