My philosophy with computers is if everything is working and you don’t need anything more, don’t change. Too many businesses buy new computers sooner than necessary. As a result, I have dozens of clients who are still running computers with Windows XP. After all, XP was the most stable operating system that Microsoft ever made.On April 8, 2014, about 7 months from now, Microsoft will be officially retiring Windows XP and stopping all security updates.
Because Microsoft will stop patching XP, hackers will delay releasing their new viruses and dangerous exploits – holding them between now and April, and then selling them to criminals or using them themselves on unprotected PCs after the deadline.
If a hacker discovers a remotely executable XP vulnerability, and publishes it today, Microsoft will patch it in a few weeks. But if they sit on it until April, the price for it could very well double.
What does this mean to you and your business? Start planning NOW to either upgrade or replace every one of those computers that run Windows XP. Although it is possible to keep the same computer and upgrade the operating system to Windows 7, the cost and complexity of doing that, makes it better to toss the whole thing and buy a new one.
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