You’ve probably been getting warnings on your computer desktop and in Microsoft Security Essentials dialogs for a few weeks now, and you’ve been seeing the headlines for the longest time. If you have friends on Facebook in the information technology industry, they have undoubtedly been sharing articles for the past six to twelve months.
By now you’ve realized that your Windows XP computer didn’t explode or stop working after the support crash, so what are the implications of continuing to use an unsupported operating system? For one thing, if you need to call Microsoft for support with any issues from this day on, they won’t help you. If you’re like most people, you probably haven’t called Microsoft in the last twelve years, so you won’t miss out on the fact that they won’t be there in the future. Rest assured that as long as you want to continue using XP, consultants like Maverick Solutions will be there to help you resolve any issues you may have.
Without Microsoft support, however, there will be no more security patches, feature updates, bug fixes, or driver updates. Presumably after 12 years, Microsoft has probably found and fixed most of the bugs. For all current hardware out there, the drivers have already been released, if at all. There will be no new Windows features, so today’s Windows XP is the best you’ve ever had.
What about security? Hackers have been attacking technology since people have been using technology and nothing is going to change that. In the past, when Microsoft identified a vulnerability in Windows XP, they released a patch to correct it. However, the identification of vulnerabilities is usually the result of analyzing the exploits of those vulnerabilities, after the fact. Just as medicine does not create vaccines before diseases are discovered, security experts also do not repair security holes until someone finds them and exploits them. Even then, it takes time to develop solutions and it takes time to distribute them to Windows users. If your computer was set to automatically download and install Windows updates, it may still be a week or more before your computer receives and installs the security patches. If your computer was configured differently, it may never have received such patches.
In fact, there are millions of baddies attacking technology and far fewer security experts defending us against them, so the good guys tend to apply a kind of triage when determining which holes to patch first. Those with the potential to cause the most widespread damage are remedied first, with the darkest or least damaging take a back seat. Third-party antimalware software has the same shortcomings, so relying solely on operating system patches and antimalware software is never the best way to protect your systems.
The fact that Microsoft is discontinuing support for XP and moving its security experts to later operating systems is somewhat of a good sign for Windows XP users. Just as security experts try to make the most of their time by remediating the most widespread and harmful malware, hackers also save their time by attacking the most common software. If less than one percent of today’s computers still use Microsoft DOS from the 1980s, there is no problem finding vulnerabilities; There would be very few places to exploit those vulnerabilities and it would take time to even locate those systems. Microsoft moving the mitigation efforts of its security experts from Windows XP to later operating systems is indicative of the growing market share of those operating systems, which will also attract more hackers outside of Windows XP.
However, as a strategy, the best anti-malware idea is still effective and still free: don’t use an administrator account like your regular user account. The second best strategy will remain free and effective for a little longer as well: install and update Microsoft Security Essentials. Microsoft announced that it will continue to offer it to Windows XP users until July. If you need help using any of these strategies, find a local consultancy like ours to set them up for you.
So if everything is going to keep working, why would anyone want to upgrade to a new operating system? The vast majority of technology consultants have been touting security concerns as the reason to upgrade, but at Maverick Solutions we believe functionality and features are more likely to make you take the plunge.
Windows XP only supports Internet Explorer up to version 8, but later versions of the operating system support later versions of IE; it’s up to version 11 now. You may have noticed that some of the more interactive websites are already performing slow or buggy in IE8. Facebook crashes frequently, for example. In addition to updating Windows, you can add a third-party browser, such as Firefox or Chrome, but keep in mind that each additional software you install takes up space on your hard drive, making your machine run somewhat less efficiently.
New hardware is less and less likely to be compatible with Windows XP, so when you upgrade your MFP or buy any movie player tech that comes out after Blue ray, you may not be able to install it at all, or even if it does. install, you may not be able to access all of its features. The new software will also be discontinued for Windows XP, so at some point your annual TurboTax or Tax Cut tax preparation package, for example, will not be available in an XP version. If you are a gamer, you are not reading this article; you already updated years ago.
Windows XP is also not as interoperable with Windows Phone technology as newer versions of the operating system are. While Windows Phone is not a large part of the cell phone market today, at Maverick Solutions we believe it will grow as Apple without its visionary Steve Jobs stagnates. Android will capture most of those who leave Apple’s ship, but Windows Phone will see more sales as well.
Even if you can live without any of these improvements on a day-to-day basis, at some point when your power supply or hard drive fails, you may find it difficult to justify the cost of repairing your old system rather than investing that money. into something newer. Considering that those moving parts won’t last forever, and your computer will definitely break down at some point, planning your upgrade gracefully before then is probably a better strategy than recovering from disaster after it happens.
Microsoft Windows XP was developed in 2001 and fully released in 2002, so it has been around for a dozen years. Since then, Microsoft has released several other operating systems: Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8, and they recently updated Windows 8 to 8.1. In fact, Windows 9 is currently in development and is probably gearing up for release within the next two years. If you are still using Windows XP, it has worked well and you have gotten your money’s worth.
When you’re finally ready to upgrade, the first thing to know is that any of the post-Windows XP operating systems are more demanding on computer resources, so you probably won’t be able to upgrade the operating system on the same hardware you can. have done from Windows 2000 to XP; you’re going to need a new computer. Windows Vista was so poorly received by the market that Microsoft had to quickly launch its successor, Windows 7, which was much better accepted. Consequently, don’t even consider Windows Vista. You basically have three options: Windows 7, Windows 8 / 8.1 or wait for Windows 9.
Windows 7 has a somewhat new look, but largely works similar to Windows XP. Things are in roughly the same places and similar tools control similar features and functions. If you want to transition to an operating system where you can be efficient quickly despite its age, Windows 7 may be the way to go. You still have a desktop and something like a Start menu and a taskbar, and your apps still have title bars, menu bars, toolbars, and status bars. Microsoft no longer sells it, but third-party resellers still have it available boxed or pre-installed on PC. Although it is the oldest of the post-XP operating systems, which means it will be the next to go, once you upgrade to Windows 7, your new hardware will be compatible with Windows 8, so your next update could be in the place, whenever you’re ready for it. For the vast majority of businesses that need to operate with minimal training downtime and lost productivity due to unfamiliarity, Windows 7 may be the best next step.
Windows 8 / 8.1 is a completely new paradigm in desktop operating systems. It has the look and feel of a smartphone or tablet and is actually probably better suited to those environments. Don’t even consider getting Windows 8 without a touchscreen – you’ll miss out on many of the benefits of the operating system. With a touchscreen, it will take a bit of getting used to, but once you get through the learning curve, it becomes intuitive and you can be productive with it. It has a Windows desktop, but not as the main focus of the operating system; seems like an afterthought, just screwed in to maintain compatibility with executable applications. The true vision of the operating system is that it uses applications available for download from the Microsoft Store, similar to the way iPhones and iPads use iTunes applications. In fact, Windows 8 RT is a version that only supports such applications, not executables. It’s cheaper than Windows 8 Pro, but before you go down that road, do some research on app availability for what you need the apps to do for you. Windows 8 Pro will be the operating system of choice for the vast majority of users who will launch to Windows 8.
Windows 9 is still in development, so all we have are rumors about it. With the recent release of Windows 8.1, not even Microsoft marketers have started improving Windows 9 for us. The consensus seems to be that you will have a more centralized desktop like XP or 7, rather than primarily targeting applications like 8. This is also supported by the history of operating system development. Windows ME brought a new look to Windows 98, but it didn’t sell well: Windows 2000 softened it up with more than the market wanted. Windows Vista brought a new security paradigm to Windows XP, but it was too dominant; Windows 7 softened it with what the market was willing to accept. Windows 8 is a more interactive, visual, responsive, and application-centric environment, but since the market hasn’t fully embraced it, Windows 9 may well be in tune with consumer expectations. If you need to upgrade sooner, this is not an option for you, but if you can keep XP for another year or two, you may be able to skip Windows Vista, 7, and 8, and go straight to 9.
If you need help devising a strategy on how to proceed, schedule a consultation with a qualified specialist to discuss budgets and requirements and the options and costs to meet them. Maverick Solutions does this type of planning as part of its routine work with all of its IT consulting clients, and would be happy to consult with you as well. Contact us to discuss or to schedule an appointment.
