Microsoft has announced that it will officially retire service and support for Windows XP on 8 April 2014.
After that date, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates and non-security related fixes for the 12-year-old operating system. Additionally, phone and online support for technical assistance or content updates will terminate. Users will no longer receive the updates that help protect PCs from harmful viruses, spyware, and other malicious software, which may result in downtime and software compatibility issues.
Loai Bafaqeeh, Public Sector Lead, Microsoft Arabia, stated: “Market analysis conducted in February 2014 shows that only 7.9% of PCs in Saudi Arabia are running Windows XP, a 12-year-old operating system no longer capable of handling sophisticated cyber-attacks and meeting demands for more data privacy and productivity.”
“That’s equivalent to an alarming figure of 624,000 PCs. We have seen a strong shift since September 2013, with consumers and businesses steadily upgrading to Windows 7 or 8.”
According to the findings of Microsoft’s Security Intelligence Report, Volume 14, released in April 2013, Windows XP is up to 56.5 times more vulnerable than Windows 8, while a new Cybersecurity report from Microsoft shows Windows XP’s actual infection rate is 6 times higher than Windows 8.
Commenting on the security issues, Tim Rains, Director at Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing (TwC) group, said: “Running Windows XP in your environment after the end of the support date may expose your company to an even higher rate of potential risks. Networks that include Windows XP computers used for normal office activities, such as e-mail, web browsing, word processing, etc., will become undefendable and will invite attackers inside.”
“Therefore, Microsoft is urging all business and consumers still using PCs running on Windows XP to upgrade to either Windows 7 or Windows 8, an option which has upside well beyond keeping you supported. It offers more flexibility to empower employees to be more productive, while increasing operational efficiency through improved PC security and management. It also enables your organization to take advantage of latest technology trends such as virtualization and the cloud.”
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