Microsoft Needs Your Help: Get Your Friends and Family Away from Windows XP

On April 8, Microsoft will be pulling support for Windows XP. Fin… that’s it. No more extensions, and this time, Microsoft’s serious. For those still running XP, this will be a cause for concern, because the general consensus is that if Microsoft will ignore newly discovered bugs, then exploits and attacks could ramp-up. On April 8, you’ll need to make a decision to become vulnerable, or upgrade.

When Microsoft pulls the support cord, Windows XP will be nearly thirteen-years-old. While XP might still be functional for many, in software terms, XP is ancient. Originally, official support was to end in 2009, so as it is, Microsoft has already extended support by a great deal. Still, for those trucking along on XP and not wanting to upgrade, this isn’t a great position to be put in.

Chances are if you’re reading this, you’re not running XP (a mere 10% of our Windows visitors are), but there’s also a great chance that if you are, you understand all of these forthcoming troubles well. Who might not be aware are family and friends, and if you’re willing to assist, Microsoft would love for you to help spread the word.

With a special page, anyone can easily learn about the cons of sticking with XP, and while that’s all fine and good, the options are not so hot. On one hand, if someone’s PC is not capable of running Windows 8 (or 7, for that matter), it’ll need to be upgraded – and, if it’s running Windows XP, it’s likely more economical to purchase a new PC outright. Not surprisingly, that’s Microsoft’s second suggestion.

Without question, this move by Microsoft is not going to sit well with a lot of people. As someone who appreciates the advantages of the latest OS versions (Windows 7 is quite bullet-proof) and not to mention the fact that we’re talking about a nearly thirteen-year-old OS here, I find it a little hard to hate on Microsoft too much. As mentioned before, it’s already extended the support date substantially, and it certainly never sold any infinite support licenses with the OS.

Still, despite that being the case, this is tough times for XP users.