Microsoft will still be releasing signature files for Windows XP in 
Microsoft Security Essentials until July 2015, so there's no reason to 
change antimalware programs this week. Here's an article that describes 
this 
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/01/security-essentials-for-windows-xp-gets-a-15-month-reprieve/

Although it's true that Microsoft is in business to make money and 
profit, let's not forget that they've continued to extend the support of 
Windows XP, which is almost 15 years old and has been surpassed by three 
versions of Windows. I can't think of another company which is still 
supporting an operating system version they released almost 15 years 
ago, and I'm thinking of Apple, IBM, Canonical and others, which 
includes server operating systems as well. Microsoft does need to update 
their operating system to remain competitive with other operating 
systems and advances in graphical user interfaces, such as what we're 
seeing with the Mac and Linux. Just as with any operating system or 
application, it's unreasonable to expect a company to spend money 
supporting an old version of their software forever.

IMHO, the analogy below is a bit doom and gloom. Microsoft will stop 
releasing updates to Windows XP to fix security holes in the operating 
system itself. Before anyone could take advantage of these security 
holes, they have to be discovered first. Microsoft has been fixing 
security issues in Windows for over a decade. Even after April 8, you 
can still reduce your risk of an attack through a hole in Windows XP by 
using antimailware software, a physical firewall (such as a router) and 
just good ole plain common sense. I agree your risk running Windows XP 
will start going up after April 8, and you should definitely consider 
some alternatives, but it's not the case that people in black hats will 
be breaking into your system on April 9.

I see that the whole thread isn't included below, so I apologize if I'm 
repeating anything or misremembering an issue someone brought up. Since 
I can't read the whole thread below, I'm just going off of my memory of 
what was asked and discussed.

On 04/06/2014 03:41 PM, David Goldfield wrote:
> I'd like to add that using Windows XP after April 8, particularly if
> you're going online, is a risk that isn't worth taking, even with good
> antivirus software.  Microsoft's decision to discontinue releasing
> updates for XP would be like the mayor of your town warning you that all
> police, fire and other public safety officials will be leaving your
> community by April 8.  You could stay in the community after that time
> and, for a while, you might be OK but you also would have to realize
> that criminals who know about this will take advantage of the
> opportunity and will eventually target your home.  When that happens,
> you'd have no recourse.
> On 4/6/2014 4:14 PM, Blaine Clark wrote:
>> 1) AVG and a couple others have stated that they will support XP for at
>> least a year with anti-virus programs. Don't forget that there should be
>> a couple free firewall programs available too. XP should be safe to some
>> degree for a good while yet if you take extra precautions with it.
>> 2) Microsoft is money hungry and wants everyone to 'upgrade'. MS Office
>> is not backward compatible, but there are several open source projects
>> that are. One of my nephews has stories and poems he wrote and saved as
>> .DOC files from Win 95 days that Libre Office and several others open
>> and edit and convert perfectly. Libre Office, Open Office, and a couple
>> more are free and have every feature that MS Office has. Most open
>> source projects have the user's interests in mind, Microsoft has only
>> your money in mind.
>> 3) Save or export your emails as .EML files which should be the default
>> if I remember right, then you can move them into your Win-8 system and
>> open them normally.
>> 4) When you get the new Win-8 don't toss your XP machine. Give free open
>> source a trial and see how a free open source operating system
>> alternative to Microsoft like Vinux could work for you. Oops, you only
>> had three questions.
>>
>

-- 
Christopher (CJ)
chaltain at Gmail


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