Microsoft to end Windows XP support

SINGAPORE — Microsoft, on Monday, issued a reminder to Windows XP users that their time is running out to upgrade to a newer Windows platform.

By April 8, 2014, Microsoft will cease service and support for the 11-year-old XP, which means it will no longer receive automatic fixes, updates or online technical assistance.

The April 8 cessation date should be the final one, said Microsoft, having had it extended from the original 2009 cut-off date. Microsoft said there are an estimated 717,955 PCs running XP in Singapore — based on its own data — out of an estimated total of 6,063,807 PCs in Singapore, according to International Data Corporation’s (IDC) Worldwide PC Tracker fourth quarter study.

However, Singapore is ahead of its Asian counterparts with only 11.84 per cent still using XP compared to 34 per cent in Asia, according to figures by StatCounter.

IDC Asia-Pacific’s Associate Vice President, Client Devices Research, Bryan Ma said: “A lot of the existing XP base tends to be the corporate users because they have legacy software — written specifically for their business — which might not be easy to migrate to newer platforms. The challenge is to adapt the proprietary software to supported platforms, which may be easier said than done.”

Microsoft said PC users continuing on the XP platform after the cessation date will be vulnerable to Malware, fake virus alerts and threats from hacks. Windows XP (with Service Pack 3) will be three times more vulnerable than Windows 7 (with Service Pack 1), it said.

Principal Analyst at Gartner, Lillian Tay said: “Organisations have to understand the risks that the lack of support will bring. Not getting fixes means that its PCs could be vulnerable to attack. Furthermore, many applications will no longer be supported while running on Windows XP. Organisations may be on their own to resolve issues and problems, which could result in system downtime.”

“Therefore, organisations must, if they have not started yet, prioritise users and applications, and move the most critical ones to supported platforms first, if possible. For others, or if you are running out of time, address users and applications that can’t be migrated off Windows XP with other means to reduce risk (additional security, isolation, etc).”

Besides Windows XP, the tech company will also cease support for Office 2003 on the same day.