As many of you guys have heard by now, Microsoft will soon be putting an end to support for the Windows XP operating system. Given that the platform is a little more than a decade old and with at least three generations behind, it is understandable that Microsoft would want its users to upgrade to something newer.
However it seems that security software company, AVAST, doesn’t seem too thrilled that Microsoft will be putting an end to Windows XP, claiming that by abandoning Windows XP, Microsoft will be making a big mistake as they fear that this could lead to a huge security nightmare.
According to AVAST, “Microsoft recently announced that technical support will no longer be available for Windows XP as of April 8, 2014, ending automatic updates for the operating system. Microsoft will also eventually stop providing anti-malware signature updates to XP users, in 2015. Abandoning Windows XP is a big mistake, especially since Microsoft has not been very successful in transitioning XP users to newer systems. The AVAST database shows that 23.6% of its more than 200 million users is still running Windows XP.”
AVAST also claims that more than a fifth of Windows XP users are using Internet Explorer 8 which isn’t as secure as newer versions of the browser software. However towards the end AVAST does take this opportunity to promote its software claiming to have made its software lighter and easier to run on older Windows XP machines, as well tailoring it especially for Windows XP users.
We’re not sure if this is AVAST’s way of promoting themselves or if they’re genuinely concerned for the safety of Windows XP users, but either way AVAST can’t possibly expect Microsoft to provide updates and support to the aging platform forever, can they?
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