Microsoft

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Windows 10 upgrade deadline today July 29 2016

Today, July 29, 2016 is the deadline to upgrade for free to Windows 10!

Windows 10 July 29 2016 deadline

And as Corrine Chorney at Security Garden noted on Facebook, you can always roll back to Windows 7 within 30 days if you don’t like it. 😉

Windows 10 upgrade links:

Upgrade to Windows 10: FAQ – Microsoft

Microsoft Adds Windows 10 Countdown Timer: Free Upgrades End On Friday – Forbes

If you are wondering why Microsoft stopped the Free Windows 10 upgrades:

Three Reasons Microsoft Stopped Free Windows 10 Upgrades – Forbes

If all else fails, but you still need to do what it says by end of day July 29 (or July 30 some places internationally)

How to upgrade to Windows 10 for free after July 29 – CNET

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Google Chrome to abandon older versions of Windows and Mac OS X April 2016

Google Chrome icon

Back in November of 2015, Google made an unwelcome announcement which was some very bad news for older Windows and older Mac OS X users.

On their Google Chrome Blog posting at that time, Google announced that it will stop providing updates to Google Chrome for the following Windows and Mac OS X versions;

  • Windows XP
  • Windows Vista
  • Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard)
  • Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion)
  • Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion)

NOTE: Linux 32-bit Distribution users see the end of this article for your sad news too, but most of you are already aware of this since it happens this month!

This does not mean Google Chrome will stop working in these OS versions — which would almost be better security wise. Instead, Google has decided to simply stop providing updates to the installed versions of Google Chrome for these OS versions.

This is very bad news since Google Chrome has Flash built in (which is updated as needed with Google Chrome). These older versions of Windows and Mac OS X will be doubly vulnerable. Over the years, these users have gotten used to not having to update Flash separately like you need to do in other browsers like Firefox, Safari, Opera, earlier versions of Internet Explorer, Pale Moon, etc.
Because Flash is built in to Google Chrome, these abandoned users will not be getting the Flash updates either.

This will make these older versions of non updated Google Chrome extremely vulnerable to browser attacks from infected websites. Malware purveyors will quickly begin to adjust their attacks (if they have not already in anticipation of this change) to look for these older vulnerable systems using outdated/vulnerable versions of Google Chrome as new attack vectors for these abandoned Windows and Mac users.

Those thinking that being a Mac user will make you impervious to attack, think again. Browser attacks are one thing that every operating system including Windows, Macs and Linux have been subject to these days. Sure Windows users get hit more often but that is because they are the biggest user base and they have the largest target on their back, but Mac users and Linux users can still get hit at times if they have outdated operating systems, Flash, Java, etc. Even Android has been hit by a banking trojan these days – reported March 9, 2016 by ESET’s We Live Security Blog.

With other browsers, you could simply remove Flash from the system and be done with it if you were concerned about it and didn’t mind losing the ability to see YouTube videos and other Flash supported content on other websites. Although, with HTML5 support coming right along, that could be moot.

Some might be quick to blame Adobe Flash, but apparently this is not the case as Adobe is quick to point out in at least two places that they support these OSes:

Plus other browsers such as Firefox clearly still support these OSes and Flash on these OSes. However, they will have to update their supported browsers to NOT include Google Chrome after April 2016 unless Google rethinks all this for at least a couple of the newer, of the older, OS versions. 😉

If Google does not give a reprieve/stay of execution, once Adobe makes their final update to Adobe Flash in April 2016 and Google updates Google Chrome the final time for these OS version users that includes that last Flash version, it will apparently be the last Google Chrome AND thereby Flash update that these Google abandoned OSes will see Google based on the Google Chrome blog article posted November 2015.

Google has been very quiet on the subject since that date so no reprieve or stay of execution even for the newer OS versions to be abandoned; Windows Vista and Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion).

It seems quite harsh to drop support for these two OS versions (Vista and Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion)) since Google supported the earlier noted OS versions like Windows XP and Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) for so many years! But there it is.

If you are using one of these older OS versions of Windows or Mac OS X, read it and weep for the loss of a great browser like Google Chrome, and make be wise to make the move to Mozilla Firefox newest version to-date 44.0.2 (STILL supports Mac OS X 10.6 Mountain Lion), or Opera (however NO support for Mac OS X 10.6 Mountain Lion, but does support Lion and Mountain Lion), which have not, so far, abandoned these users. But they are not the only players still in the game…

There is also another browser project that has gained a lot of popularity among Windows users — the Pale Moon browser. There are versions for Windows: Pale Moon, Pale Moon 64, Portable. There are also versions for:  Atom/XP, Linux and Android on the Download tab on the website.

There is also a Mac OS X version of Pale Moon 26.1.1 Unofficial available as of February 2016. As noted on their forum page:

Important note:
The Mac OSX version of Pale Moon is still very much in development. Your assistance in bringing this build to fruition is greatly appreciated, but you can expect there to be bugs and problems for a while yet!
Any specific bugs you find that don’t have their own topic yet: please make a new topic; one bug per topic please to keep things organized.
Please also note that these builds are currently created by BitVapor and Moonchild will likely not be able to provide insight or assistance due to lack of Mac hardware and OS/build knowledge for Mac.

Windows XP Vista No Support Yellow Strip Popup Google Chrome

Windows XP Vista already shows No Support Yellow Info band in Google Chrome

Those using these older versions of Windows (See image to the right), and Mac are already getting an annoying yellow warning info band across the top of their Google Chrome browsers.It is advising them to move to a more modern operating system. Wise move on Google’s part and it also servers to show that they  do not appear to be backing down from their November 2015 announcement.

That means Google Chrome users will need to do something to address the issues by either upgrading to a more modern operating system where possible, getting a newer computer with a more modern operating system since all of these operating systems are older and most have been abandoned by their creators anyway except Vista which is coming next April 2017 (preferable security wise), or barring all that, changing to a supported browser, or using an extension to address the old version of Flash issue (see end of article posting).

If you move to another browser, it will be very important to keep Adobe Flash updated since only Google Chrome in Windows 7, 8.1 and Windows 10, or on Mac OS X: Mavericks, Yosemite and El Capitan! will include Flash updates automatically with browser updates after April 2016.
NOTE: In addition, in Windows 8.1, the latest versions of Internet Explorer (IE10, IE11), and of course the new Edge browser on Windows 10 include Flash built in and updated for you like Google Chrome does.

Older versions of Windows and Mac are not the only users to be abandoned/axed by Google Chrome in early 2016. ALL 32-bit Linux distribution versions are also being abandoned — this month — March 2016 as noted in BetaNews, Slash Dot, and PCWorld and other news outlets back in November and December 2015.

Even though many and maybe even most computers these days are 64-bit, there are still a lot of 32-bit computers and 32-bit operating systems in use around the world today so this may be a move forward for 64-bit, but it is also a sad day for all the 32-bit hardware/operating systems worldwide.

Of course, there are still several browsers like Firefox, Opera and Pale Moon available for Linux 32-bit computers —  just as there are for Windows and Mac users. There are also some alternative browsers based on Firefox available (Pale Moon noted earlier here is included), and distro-specific versions of Firefox like Iceweasel in Debian Linux, etc.)

For all users of Google Chrome, there are some Flash blocking or control Extension possibilities that can protect everyone, but particularly these older users from having Flash run all the time if they choose to continue to use Google Chrome:

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Understanding The Many Microsoft Anti-Malware Software

If you are like many folks, it is really hard to understand the many names (some reused) for Microsoft Anti-Malware Software. Don’t feel like you are the only ones! Many people are confused about the various names especially those that have been resurrected and revamped.

Corrine at her Security Garden Blog has a great article to help you sort out all the names, the reused names, and what they all do! It was posted back in April 2012 and recently updated June 2014:

Understanding Microsoft Anti-Malware Software – Security Garden Blog 

Microsoft provides a variety of security products for both consumers as well as business environments.  With multiple products available, there is bound to be questions and, occasionally, confusion on which product to use.

This article is presented to help clarify questions about the variety of Microsoft anti-malware products.  (Updated:  06JUN2014)

The article starts out with the most confused ones; Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE), the renamed and revamped Windows Defender for Windows 8, but it doesn’t end there.

A must read article for anyone who wants to understand the many Microsoft Anti-Malware Software packages out there for the various versions of Windows for Consumers, Business and Enterprise customers.

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Microsoft has quietly stopped serving security updates to Internet Explorer 11 (IE11)

Microsoft has quietly stopped serving security updates to Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) on Windows 7  according to an article on Computerworld:

Microsoft strips some Windows 7 users of IE11 patch privileges – Computerworld

Microsoft has quietly stopped serving security updates to Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) on consumer and small business Windows 7 PCs unless the customer has successfully applied an April update for the browser.

The requirement and associated patch stoppage were similar to those Microsoft mandated for Windows 8.1 when it told customers they had to migrate to Windows 8.1 Update by June 10 or lose their patch privileges. The Windows 7 requirement, however, affected only IE11, Microsoft’s newest browser, not the operating system.

This type of thing is very hard to understand. Why would Microsoft do such foolish things. Why would they cut off their nose to spite their face by making things so difficult for their users? Windows Update should provide what is needed as it is needed. Period. If they can’t figure out how to do that, maybe they need to get someone in there to help them do the updates.

At this rate, they will be causing more people to move from Windows to other platforms like Mac and Linux. Do they not realize this? Not to mention that people need their security updates not just for the operating system but for the browser. If they want to maintain market share with their IE browser, they are showing a very strange way of doing that by cutting off the very much needed security updates because one hasn’t installed as yet. Why is it not installed? That is what should be addressed here.

“All future security and non-security updates for Internet Explorer 11 require you to have update 2919355 or update 2929437 installed in order to receive updates (emphasis added).”

With the way that malware is attacking Microsoft Windows, I can not see how they can feel it is OK to do this as well as stopping supporting Windows XP when it as still garnered nearly a third of all users world wide even after security update support was ended for Windows XP. As of today, June 15, 2014 it still garner’s over 25% or 1/4 of the total global market:

netmarketshare.com as of 6-15-2014 - choose operating system Desktop Share by Version

netmarketshare.com as of 6-15-2014 – choose operating system Desktop Share by Version

 

May 2010 Windows 2000 fell below 5% and end of life for Extended Life Support of Windows 2000 was July 10, 2010 so WINDOWS 2000 FELL below 5% TWO MONTHS BEFORE SUPPORT ENDED.

OS Statistics- w3schools_org – includes less then 5% Win2K market share at time of end of support (PDF)

Windows 2000 End-of-Life – Strategic Technology Resources – Site Home – TechNet Blogs-11-10-2009 (PDF)

Netmarketshare postings.

Then the Windows 8.1 Update 1 fiasco and now this IE11 fiasco.

There is something very anti-customer about all of this, don’t you think? Especially in light of the fact that Windows is the most high profile target for malware purveyors because it garners the greatest marketshare.

I personally feel Microsoft has a made a BIG mistake ending support for Windows XP when it still holds slightly over 25% or 1/4 (one quarter) of the total global marketshare as shown above. And they are continuing to make security missteps for Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 users now too.

I do not understand. Microsoft has never been this way before in it’s long history of being customer centric. It just does not make sense.

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Patch Tuesday Sounds the Death Knell for XP

Patch Tuesday Sounds the Death Knell for Win XP – Graham Cluley – Lumension Blog

So this is it.

The big one.

We’ve had false starts before, but this time Microsoft really *are* going to tell the world about security vulnerabilities in Windows and *not* patch them in XP.

As soon as Microsoft releases its regular bundle of security patches later today, the clock starts ticking.

Because malicious hackers and penetration testers will be exploring how they can reverse-engineer Microsoft’s fixes in more modern versions of Windows to see if they can be exploited on the no-longer-supported Windows XP.

And, trust me, although the numbers are falling – there are still plenty of home users and businesses running computers on Windows XP.

Much more in the article.

And Graham Cluley is right … Microsoft is NOT patching Windows XP this time for this critical IE/Internet Explorer vulnerability like they did May 1. However, they did patch many other things.

Oh, and don’t forget your Adobe updates for Flash, Reader, and more!

NOTE: Windows XP still garners 26.29% of total NetMarketShare – Choose Operating System by Version. Windows 7 is at 49.27% Between them Windows 7 and Windows XP hold 3/4 of all the global market share. Every other OS fits in the last 1/4 of the Operating System by Version pie.

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Malware infections tripled in late 2013 thanks to sneaky browser plugin, Microsoft says

Malware infections tripled in late 2013 thanks to sneaky browser plugin, Microsoftsays – PCWorld

A three-fold increase in Microsoft Windows computers infected with malicious software in late 2013 came from an application that was for some time classified as harmless by security companies.

The finding comes as part of Microsoft’s latest biannual Security Intelligence Report (SIR), released on Wednesday, which studies security issues encountered by more than 800 million computers using its security tools.

Microsoft has added detection of this malicious piece of crap to it’s  Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT), and let others know about it as well back in December 2013 according to the article.

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IE Zero-Day Vulnerability

Microsoft Security Advisory 2963983 – Vulnerability in Internet Explorer Could Allow Remote Code Execution – TechNet

General Information

Executive Summary

Microsoft is aware of limited, targeted attacks that attempt to exploit a vulnerability in Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 8, Internet Explorer 9, Internet Explorer 10, and Internet Explorer 11.

The vulnerability is a remote code execution vulnerability. The vulnerability exists in the way that Internet Explorer accesses an object in memory that has been deleted or has not been properly allocated. The vulnerability may corrupt memory in a way that could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user within Internet Explorer. An attacker could host a specially crafted website that is designed to exploit this vulnerability through Internet Explorer and then convince a user to view the website.

On completion of this investigation, Microsoft will take the appropriate action to protect our customers, which may include providing a solution through our monthly security update release process, or an out-of-cycle security update, depending on customer needs.

We are actively working with partners in our Microsoft Active Protections Program (MAPP) to provide information that they can use to provide broader protections to customers. For information about protections released by MAPP partners, see MAPP Partners with Updated Protections.

Microsoft continues to encourage customers to follow the guidance in the Microsoft Safety & Security Center of enabling a firewall, applying all software updates, and installing antimalware software.

Mitigating Factors:

  • By default, Internet Explorer on Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Server 2012 R2 runs in a restricted mode that is known as Enhanced Security Configuration. This mode mitigates this vulnerability.

  • By default, all supported versions of Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Outlook Express, and Windows Mail open HTML email messages in the Restricted sites zone. The Restricted sites zone, which disables script and ActiveX controls, helps reduce the risk of an attacker being able to use this vulnerability to execute malicious code. If a user clicks a link in an email message, the user could still be vulnerable to exploitation of this vulnerability through the web-based attack scenario.

  • An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the current user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.

  • In a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a website that contains a webpage that is used to exploit this vulnerability. In addition, compromised websites and websites that accept or host user-provided content or advertisements could contain specially crafted content that could exploit this vulnerability. In all cases, however, an attacker would have no way to force users to visit these websites. Instead, an attacker would have to convince users to visit the website, typically by getting them to click a link in an email message or Instant Messenger message that takes users to the attacker’s website.

More information in the full article. There is no patch. But Microsoft has given some recommendations which are easier to understand at Security Garden’s posting:

Recommendations

As illustrated in the “Security Research and Defense Blog” reference below, users of IE 10 and 11 should ensure they haven’t disabled Enhanced Protection Mode.

Another option is to install the Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET). The recommended setting for EMET 4.1, available from KB Article 2458544, is automatically configured to help protect Internet Explorer. No additional steps are required.

See the Tech Net Advisory for instructions on changing the following settings to help protect against exploitation of this vulnerability:

  • Change your settings for the Internet security zone to high to block ActiveX controls and Active Scripting

  • Change your settings to prompt before running Active Scripting or to disable Active Scripting in the Internet and Local intranet security zone.

 

Those still using Windows XP on the Internet, please be aware:

VERY IMPORTANT FOR ANY HOLD OUT WINDOWS XP USERS

This is the first of the security vulnerabilities that DOES NOT include workarounds  for Windows XP. The oldest Windows noted as being affected are: Windows Server 2003 SP2 and Vista SP2.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Once a Microsoft product’s support has expired — as is true now about Windows XP SP3 since April 8, 2014 — Microsoft no longer lists it as affected by the vulnerabilities being patched. Microsoft only list Windows versions which are still under Mainstream Support or Extended Support. This has always been the case.

If anyone is still using Windows XP on the Internet (UNWISE!!), it would be strongly recommended to disallow IE (Internet Explorer) access to the Internet through your software firewall*, and use another browser like Firefox and Google Chrome which will still be getting updates for a time.

* Any Windows XP users still on the Internet should at least have:

  • a hardware router with Stateful Packet Firewall
  • should be using a ‘real’ software firewall as well as a good AV program. Just one good choice that will continue to support Windows XP is ESET’s Smart Security which is a very good antivirus and firewall. It is the one I use. It is not free. There are several free antivirus programs but not many free security suites.
  • block Internet Explorer through the ESET or other software firewall.
  • should be using a 3rd party browser like Mozilla Firefox with NoScript, Adblock Plus and WOT to help sort out safer search results on search engines, or Google Chrome with ScriptSafe, Adblock Plus and WOT Extension.
  • uninstall Java entirely, keep Adobe Flash religiously updated for Firefox as long as Adobe continues to provide them. Google Chrome updates Flash within itself. Might want to switch from Adobe Reader to Sumatra PDF reader which is a simple PDF viewer.
  • need to be even more careful than ever before about where you go. The bad guys will be looking with great anticipation for computers with expired Windows XP.
  • no risky behavior
  • no banking … note very soon banks will be disallowing expired Windows XP entirely anyway.

IMPORTANT: You can not block a program from getting out to the Internet with the Windows XP Firewall. It is only a one way firewall. It only monitors incoming Internet requests, instead of both ways as any real firewall including Windows 7 and Windows 8 built-in software firewalls do.

Here’s a quote from a ZDNet article:

To those planning to stick resolutely with the aged Windows XP operating system even after Microsoft ends support next year, the advice from experts is simple: Don’t do it.

Again: I would strongly suggest you get a new computer, upgrade your computer if it can be upgraded to a modern/still supported Windows such as Windows 7 or Windows 8, or get a Mac, or you could  convert/upgrade the computer to Linux or use a Linux LiveCD to visit the Internet and still use Windows XP as a standalone NOT CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET computer.

If you need help with any of this, please contact your computer guru, join a forums like Scot’s Newsletter Forums – BATL (Bruno’s All Things Linux) to ask questions, or you can use the contact info on my website  to contact me for some help.

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Heartbleed, OpenSSL and Perfect Forward Secrecy

If you want to know the quick and easy way to understand what Heartbleed is, How the Heartbleed Bug Works and what it means to you in very simple and elegant terms, there’s this wonderful xkcd cartoon today:

Heartbleed Explanation: How the Heartbleed Bug Works - xkcd.com - Click on image to go to the site to see it larger

Heartbleed Explanation: How the Heartbleed Bug Works – xkcd.com – Click on image to go to the site to see it larger

And that my friends is pretty much it in the nutshell.

Due to this ‘bug’ or what could be commonly called in days gone by as a type of buffer overflow condition causing leaking of information, sometimes serious and important information.

You will or at least you should be hearing from secure websites where you have made purchases and have accounts, as well as banks you use, and many more secure websites as they update their SSL Certificates.

Many have been working on this and many have already taken care of this on their servers.

Once it is taken care of, then you want to change your password but not before.

If the website was vulnerable, they should be contacting you, or when you login you will see a notice about it. Soundcloud.com was a good example. When I logged in today, they presented a banner across the top about the Heartbleed vulnerability.

When/If a secure website was vulnerable, they will be contacting you when they get this fixed on their website server, so you can change your password.

The sad thing is that this bug has been out there for at least 2 years!

Here’s a really good article about this in layman’s terms and there are several sites for testing supposedly secure websites for your banks, credit card companies, email, etc.:

Heartbleed OpenSSL Bug FAQ for Mac iPhone and iPad users – Intego.com Blog

What CERT and others are recommending to these websites that are vulnerable is to implement Perfect Forward Secrecy like StartPage.com and ixquick.com where they have this knowledge base article:
“Heartbleed” is a security vulnerability in OpenSSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption that permits eavesdropping on communications and access to sensitive data such as passwords. Heartbleed gives read access to the memory of the encryption functions of vulnerable servers, allowing attackers to steal the private keys used to encrypt data transmissions.StartPage’s vulnerability to this attack was limited, since we had implemented a more secure, upgraded form of SSL known as Perfect Forward Security (PFS) in July 2013. PFS is generally supported by most recent browser versions. Since PFS uses a different “per-session” encryption key for each data transfer, even if a site’s private SSL key is compromised, past communications are protected from retroactive decryption.

Security is a moving target, and we work hard to stay ahead of the curve. Immediately after the Heartbleed security advisory, StartPage’s encryption modules were updated and encryption certificates were changed.

In independent evaluation, StartPage and Ixquick outscore other search engines on encryption standards, earning an A+ rating. See Qualys’ SSL Labs evaluation of StartPage’s encryption features here:
https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/analyze.html?d=startpage.com&s=69.90.210.72

This problem is serious and needs to be addressed, but don’t panic. Secure websites that are vulnerable are working on the problem that was discovered this week.

Wait to hear from companies about whether they were vulnerable and that they have fixed the vulnerability on their secure webservers before changing any passwords.

Some good things to note, Apple and Microsoft have already notified that their services are not vulnerable. Here’s the Hit List from Mashable:

The Heartbleed Hit List: The Passwords You Need to Change Right Now – Mashable

Some big names that you might be happy to hear were not affected according to the Mashable article:

Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, eBay, PayPal, Target, Walmart, LinkedIn, Hulu, AOL email, Hotmail/MSN/Outlook.com emails and more.

All the Google servers have been updated:

You may have heard of “Heartbleed,” a flaw in OpenSSL that could allow the theft of data normally protected by SSL/TLS encryption. We’ve assessed this vulnerability and applied patches to key Google services such as Search, Gmail, YouTube, Wallet, Play, Apps, and App Engine.Google Chrome and Chrome OS are not affected. We are still working to patch some other Google services. We regularly and proactively look for vulnerabilities like this — and encourage others to report them — so that that we can fix software flaws before they are exploited.

More in the article.

More information on Heartbleed:

EDIT: Please check the comments for some additional links that are very helpful and informative about the Bleeding Hearts Club by EFF.org, the vulnerable routers from Cisco/Juniper Networks as well as some additional VPN  and other products. And some good news about 1Password.
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Support Ends today for Windows XP and Office 2003

RIP Windows XP and Office 2003!

Well, like it or not, Windows XP Home and Professional, as well as Microsoft Office 2003 support ends today, April 8, 2014.

Windows XP Home and Professional Support Ends today, April 8, 2014!

Windows XP Home and Professional Support Ends today, April 8, 2014!

 

Windows XP support end: 10 steps to cut security risks – ZDNet

“While doing nothing is an option, we do not believe that most organisations — or their auditors — will find this level of risk acceptable,” vice president and Gartner fellow Neil MacDonald said in a report, Best practices for secure use of XP after support ends.

Between 20 percent and 25 percent of enterprise systems are still running XP, and one-third of organisations continue to use it on more than 10 percent of their machines, Gartner estimates.

For those still using the venerable OS after the end of routine Microsoft updates and security patches, MacDonald has come up with 10 best practices to minimise the risks.

Rest in Peace, Windows XP – PCMag SecurityWatch

Rest in Peace Windows XP 2001-2014 You will be missed!

Rest in Peace Windows XP 2001-2014 You will be missed! Image links to PCMag article.

This is the end. Your Windows XP computer will get its last update today. Oh, it’s not going to roll over and kick the bucket, but continuing to use it will be more and more dangerous, since any new vulnerabilities that arise won’t be patched. We checked in with a number of security experts to discuss just how risky life will be for those who continue to run XP.

It’s the end of the line for Windows XP – USAToday

The software — introduced in an era before texting, Facebook, Snapchat, the iPhone and iPad — has lingered thanks to the reluctance of many consumers and small businesses to change. Despite its age, XP is the No. 2 computer operating system, and many folks are in store for a rude wake-up call.

Microsoft on Tuesday ceases official support for XP. The company will no longer issue patches or system updates to protect against viruses and other malware. If you run into any snags at all, you won’t be able to call Microsoft for technical assistance.

Microsoft Ends Support for Windows XP – Mashable

“Microsoft has provided support for Windows XP for the past 12 years. But now the time has come for us, along with our hardware and software partners, to invest our resources toward supporting more recent technologies so that we can continue to deliver great new experiences,” wrote Microsoft in an announcement.

…

Launched on October 25, 2001, Windows XP is one of the most successful Microsoft products ever; its successor, Windows Vista, was quickly replaced with Windows 7, and it took as long as September 2012 for Windows 7 to overtake XP as the most popular desktop operating system.

Microsoft ends support for Windows XP and Office 2003 – TheNextWeb

If you’re wondering why April 8, 2014 is the date support for both of these products ends, it’s really quite simple. Microsoft releases regular patches on Patch Tuesday, the second Tuesday of every month.

Microsoft supports its products for many years, and depending on when service packs as well as successors are released, the company eventually announces, in advance, when it will cut off support. April 8 happens to be the last Patch Tuesday for both products, meaning if security holes are found after today’s date, they won’t be plugged.

Excellent point!

Netmarketshare.com for Operating Systems pulled today showed March 2014 tallies:

Networkmarketshare, as of March 2014, pulled today, still shows Windows XP as 27.69% of the MarketShare.

Networkmarketshare, as of March 2014, pulled today, still shows Windows XP as 27.69% of the MarketShare. Link goes to metmarketshare.com

I personally still find it unbelievable that Microsoft, or any company really, would retire/pull support an OS that still garners nearly 30% of Windows users around the world.

Of course if you are an Enterprise company that can afford $200 PER PC for the first year, and increasing amounts each year THEREAFTER for Windows XP updates (security updates only by the way)…

Windows XP support will be available after April 8—just not for you – PCMag

Meet Microsoft’s Custom Support for Windows XP, described as a last-ditch effort for big businesses to quite literally buy some more time to migrate from Windows XP to a more modern operating system. The U.K. paid 5.548 million pounds to Microsoft for an additional year of support to maintain critical and important security updates for Windows XP, Office 2003, and Exchange 2003. Otherwise, Microsoft plans to end support for Windows XP by April 8.

Microsoft has been warning about the demise of Windows XP support since September, 2007, and Custom Support will extract a heavy toll from businesses that were too slow to act: up to $5 million per year (according to a report from Gartner), negotiated on a custom, per-company basis. Last year, Gartner issued a report claiming that the prices could go as high as $200 per PC, per year. The firm called such prices “punitive”.

…

Should consumers get the same break?

To date, Microsoft has given no indication that it will extend consumer support for Windows XP after the April 8 deadline, even though it has extended anti-malware support through July, 2015. After that date, any and all vulnerabilities found for Windows XP will live on forever, even though there are some avenues to keep your PC safe and protected after the deadline expires.

BTW: Apple‘s Mac OS X Mavericks holds 3.75% of the market (putting it between Windows 8.1 and Vista), however, if you include all Mac OS X operating systems listed: Mac OS X 10.6 1.29% (support ended), Mac OS X 10.8 1.18%, Mac OS X 10.7 1.05% Mac OS X 10.5 .24% (support ended), Mac OX X 10.4 0.06% (supported ended), and Mac OS X no version reported 0.01%, then the total is 7.58% of the operating system total market share (which puts it on the low end between Windows XP and Windows 8).

But, that does mean that only 1.59% of all Mac OS X users are running expired versions with no support.

Compare that with 27.69% of Windows users running  Windows XP.

NOTE: That doesn’t count the expired/no support users running Windows NT at 0.15%, Windows 2000 at 0.03%. Apparently Windows 98 users have finally fallen off at 0.00%.

Windows XP end of support: why it concerns you – OnWindows.com

Reto Haeni explores the risks of running Windows XP after its end of service and the benefits of migrating to newer operating systems

This article was first published in the Spring 2014 issue of Touch

…

Designed in a different era

Computers running Windows XP routinely experience a significantly higher malware infection rate than computers running any other supported version of Windows. Much of the elevated infection rate on Windows XP can be attributed to the fact that some of the key built-in security features included with more recent versions of Windows are not present in Windows XP. Windows XP, designed in a different era, simply can’t mitigate threats as effectively as newer operating systems, like Windows 7 and Windows 8. As the threat landscape has evolved over the past twelve years since the release of Windows XP, so has software security.

It’s time folks! If you haven’t done it yet, and if you are still running Windows XP on the Internet, it is high time to correct this by upgrading to a modern OS that is still supported, or disconnect from the Internet.

Please, unless you are a technical person who truly understands the risks and has taken steps to mitigate the overwhelming risks, then please be responsible and disconnect your Windows XP computer now!

Or move to new computer running a current version of Windows, or a Mac from Apple, or the Open Source ‘UNIX like’ Linux operating system and run Windows XP programs with Crossover as suggested here, or you could use Windows XP offline, and use a Linux LiveCD for Internet surfing and email, etc as suggested here and not mess up your offline Windows XP system. No matter how you do it, PULL THE PLUG on Windows XP – Disconnect the Ethernet or Wireless connection to the Internet! Just as soon as you get any April 8th Windows Updates on Patch Tuesday.

Unless you know what you are doing, you will be playing Russian Roulette with your Windows XP computer if you allow it to be online once Microsoft ends support after April 8, 2014. And that has been only Life Line extended support since 2009.

 

Microsoft Office 2003 support ends today, April 8, 2014!

Microsoft Office 2003 support ends today, April 8, 2014!

We also mentioned Microsoft Office 2003. Oh, yes, Microsoft Office 2003 has also expired today. No more security updates will be provided for Office 2003 either, just like Windows XP.

If you are still using Office 2003, it’s high time to remove it and move to a current version of Microsoft Office, or move to one of the Open Source alternatives such as;  Apache Foundation‘s OpenOffice.org or Document Foundation‘s LibreOffice, or move to using online versions of MS Office software like MS Office Web Apps or move over to Google’s online document handling programs; Google Docs.