What is âextended supportâ for Microsoft Windows XP and do I need to worry when itâs supposed to stop next year?
Microsoft has a defined period of time for things like help-line calls, warranty claims and security updates for the hardware and software it sells. This period of time is called the Support Lifecycle Policy and is supposed to give customers a firm idea of how long they can expect Microsoft to provide services for a product before the company considers it obsolete.
Microsoftâs current policy states that its Windows operating systems will each receive a total of 10 years of support. The first five of those years are âmainstream,â in which that version of Windows still has all the telephone support options available (including some free help by phone along with paid technical-support calls), security updates and some development work for requested features and design improvements.
After the first five years, the system moves into the âextendedâ support phase where security updates are still free, but any technical help by phone costs money; online troubleshooting articles from Microsoftâs Web site are still free and available for at least a year after a productâs extended support phase ends.
A significant amount of PCâs out there are still running Windows XP â" about 38 percent as of March 2013, according to the research form Net Applications, which uses information from computers connected to the Internet. Still, Microsoft has been very open about the fact that it will be retiring Windows XP on April 8, 2014. The Support Lifecycle page for Windows XP even tells visitors to âBuy Windows 8 now!â
A post on one of its official Windows blogs basically states that while PCâs running XP will still continue to work after April 8, 2014, they could become targets for malicious software looking to take over newly discovered vulnerabilities in Windows XP. This situation could put users at risk since no Microsoft security patches will be available to plug the holes. The same post also says that antivirus-software companies that still support Windows XP will not be able to fully protect computers running the system. For those inclined to heed the companyâs persistent warnings, information about upgrading from Windows XP can be found here.