Windows XP support just extended by Microsoft thru July 2015


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    Current numbers are that 29% of internet users worldwide are still happily using Windows XP. I don’t know how closely CFD members reflect those survey numbers, but up until now the threatened deadline for the end of Microsoft support (including anti-malware updates) for XP has been April 2014. (Their previous threatened shutdown of such support was in 2009.) This week, they announced a further extension of such support through July 2015.

    So you might not need to scrap your existing XP running PCs, or suffer the expense of equipment and/or OS upgrades just yet.

    http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/opinion/2323717/microsoft-should-just-rename-windows-xp-as-windows-9

    Of course, this only matters for computers that must be connected to the net. For any computers that never need to be net-connected, such Microsoft support is a non-issue. (I use some on both sides of that fence.)

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    Great news. My IT tech support buddy is a huge fan of XP so I happily use it.

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    That website (theinquirer.net) has done a sterling job of following the software industry and its foibles (one might argue the industry lacks adult supervision…) for a long time. The percentage of XP users in mainland China is something like 64%, which is huge. So the Chinese government even asked Microsoft to extend XP support, and back in December Microsoft told them (and that huge market) no.

    So this is a remarkable turnaround (even though it’s not the first for Microsoft on XP). Oddly enough, this XP extension is not showing up in the more mainstream media yet. (They seem preoccupied with stories like HP coming out with more PCs with Win 7 installed, because buyers don’t want to touch Win 8 with a ten foot pole.) However…..

    ZDNet addresses the issue:

    http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-to-extend-windows-xp-anti-malware-updates-one-year-7000025215/

    as does ComputerWorld:

    http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9245548/Microsoft_will_furnish_malware_assassin_to_XP_users_until_mid_2015

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    Here’s an update from Microsoft’s perspective, from their director at “Windows Commercial,” Jay Paulus:

    http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-why-the-windows-xp-show-is-finally-over-7000025549/

    Paulus seems to be saying that shielding Windows XP machines from bad guy hacker attacks is getting more and more difficult. At the same time the company has agreed to provide malware-fighting updates through July 2015.

    Judging whether Microsoft is telling a true story, or whether they’re shading it a bit to pump sales of newer PCs that pay them a handsome licensing fee for Win7 or Win8x operating system loaded … is a tough call. I know their own former security advisor said last September that even he doesn’t trust them (because they kept their cooperation with NSA snooping backdoor development into all Windows products a deep secret from even him):

    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/30/microsoft-privacy-chief-nsa

    If for example, we took the worst case — that after July 2015 no more security (anti-malware) patches would be provided, and we assume that relying solely on 3rd party anti-virus, firewall and/or anti-malware products would be insufficient, then the only choice (to keep XP machines in service) would be to use Win7 or later O/S equipped machines for online work, and reserve all Windows XP machines for offline work exclusively. That would mean flash driving files back and forth when the need arose. For small operations that might not be a problem. For bigger shops, it could be.

    If on the other hand one chose to take some chances, it would be really wise to make a safeguarded clone copy of the Win XP operating system on each machine, record the key codes for all proprietary software by machine (this means the operating system, and such programs as Microsoft Office, eg) and do really regular data backups. The more you can rely on open source software, the easier (and cheaper) it is to do complete restorations.

    Just some thoughts from a guy who claims zero knowledge of how malware works, even though he has diddled with Linux, figured out how to clone hard drives, how to restore 95% of crashed Windows hard drives, how to do data backups with $25 of hardware and one free software download, and how to irritate a few friends with offers to train them for free to do the same thing. [grin]

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    Microsoft seems to be cranking up their propaganda (marketing) machine to indoctrinate the entrenched Windows XP users into upgrading to Win 8.1, here:

    http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2451550,00.asp

    Notice this timely excerpt that Microsoft “omitted” mentioning:

    “…What LeBlanc [a senior Microsoft marketing communications manager] doesn’t mention, however, is that Microsoft has officially extended Microsoft Security Essentials updates for Windows XP users all the way through July of 2015. That include both updates to the application as-is, as well as signatures updates for virus and malware detection….”

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    This somewhat insurrectionist link is for your clever IT guy or gal (or you, if you’re the techie adventurous type), so you can cobble together your own Windows XP Service Pack 4 — from various “hotfixes” that you select from Microsoft. This is despite Microsoft’s determination not to supply any Service Packs beyond #3.

    http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/building-your-own-xp-service-pack-4/

    Also, this progress report on the various Windows versions shows Win 7 at 48%, which includes apparently some numbers of previous Win 8.x buyers who chose to “downgrade” to Win 7. Recall the Win XP group is holding steady at 29%.

    http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2329063/windows-8-sales-are-down-millions-on-windows-7

    Happy bit-slinging!
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    I just spotted another alternative for Windows XP people that fits my “avoid paying retail whenever reasonable” instincts. A Microsoft authorized refurbisher in Mission, Kansas was running an ad on the Dallas Craigslist site for legal Windows 7 DVDs, with key codes, etc for $50. So I pulled up their website

    http://vanderbrinklaptops.com/

    and noticed this remark:

    “…We also sell Full Windows 7 Operating System cheaper than anywhere online. Microsoft Home and Business is also Cheaper here than anywhere else. $50.00 each compared to $299.99 Retail and they are full licensed copies with Installation DVD, COA, and sticker with product key attached. Be sure to look on page 2 of our inventory for those products!”

    Then I found the relevant order page here:

    http://vanderbrinklaptops.com/Software_c3.htm

    For some CFD Windows XP users, this may be a viable and cost-effective alternative to struggling with the alleged security hazards of XP, and the Microsoft scare-mongering over the next year or so.

    If I were installing their Win 7 product, I’d definitely run a fresh and complete data backup (that I knew I could use to restore — don’t tell me that you don’t know yet if your full data backups actually work in a restoration…..) just before beginning their installation.

    Not an unreasonable option, I’m thinking, for any Win computer that must go online.

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    Avast, one of the leading anti-virus and anti-malware software providers, dropped some fascinating news inside their survey of users this morning. Here’s the exact wording of their “question” #3:

    “Are you aware that Avast will be supporting Windows XP for at least the next three years, by creating protection modules and detections specifically designed to cover Windows XP vulnerabilities and other security problems? (We will be doing this!)”

    Personally, I’ve had great results with Avast’s free version for several years. This is one of the greatest “in your eye, Microsoft” gestures I’ve ever seen. Avast has just volunteered to do the job that mighty China (with 60% of all PCs there running XP) could not persuade Microsoft to do.

    I love it!

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