WARNING FOR WINDOWS XP USERS!

[Algenon5]

FINAL WARNING!

There are only SEVEN MORE DAYS before using Windows XP to access the internet becomes a dangerous liability to you and to others. The time to upgrade is NOW.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/2 ... 21327.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/microsoft-s ... indows-xp/

Which new operating system should you choose? The the general consensus is Win 7 professional 64 bit, which will run many old XP comparable programs. Win 7 Home Premium will not. Neither will the various versions of Win 8. Most long-time XP users find the transition to Win 7 pro an easy one. Which is definitely not true for Win 8.

Al

[smudger]

So why does XP suddenly become dangerous when it has worked fine until now? Surely with a good antivirus.... and what happens to the netbooks that run XP since they are short on resources?

[Algenon5]

The only reason XP still works is Microsoft has been pumping it full of a constant stream of security patches and fixes. Even with all these fingers in dyke, XP is the least secure OS. Plus the 32 bit version only supports the badly outdated IE 8 browser which is a Swiss cheese of security holes. Even the best anti-virus software has a tough time defending all these vulnerabilities.

Al

[Algenon5]

PART 2: I was called away. Sorry about that, Smudger.

Hackers have had twelve years to chip away at XP's defenses, and some of these evil geniuses probably know more about XP than Microsoft. Some of the massive data thefts which have recently been in the news were XP related.

I had been a happy XP user almost from the day of its release. So last year it was with some reluctance that I finally bit the bullet and upgraded to Win 7 pro 64. After using 7 just a few weeks, I wouldn't have switched back to XP if you paid me. Mostly because of my IA volunteer work I'm on the PC one or two hours each day doing stuff that would take almost twice as long using XP.

XP was a fine OS for its time, but its time has past.

Al

[Algenon5]

Windows 8 is officially dead. Microsoft has pulled the plug on all Win 8 and Win 7/8 sales. The feeling is Win 8.1 will also die an early death with the introduction of Win 10 next year.

Win 7 pro 64 bit sales and OEM pc installations will continue.

Al