windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 Support Ends April 8, 2014

[Guest LilBambi]

My posting at one of my blogs regarding Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 support ending in just a few months.

 

XP SP3 and Office 2003 Support Ends April 8, 2014

 

 

Windows XP has been around since August 24, 2001 – 12 years ago now. It is getting VERY long in the tooth.

Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 Support Ends April 8th, 2014

 

Like many Operating System versions, Windows XP was not such a great OS in the beginning. BUT, like many Microsoft products, it got better after Service Pack 1 (SP1), but wasn’t the best it could be till after Service Pack 2 (SP2) and mildly better after Service Pack 3 (SP3). SP3 is the current version of Windows XP.

 

I loved Windows XP for a long time, even though it was getting long in the tooth. But I have come to love Windows 7 even more. Windows 8 … the jury is still out. For me I use several different operating systems. I also love and use Mac OS X or just OS X (as it is called now) and Debian Linux.

 

Windows XP has been on life support or Extended Support since April 8, 2009 when Mainstream Support ended. That was after two says of execution as it were since it was supposed to be ended earlier than 2009.

 

Windows XP has been the main stay for many folks for a long time in the Windows world — the last 12 years. That’s a long time for an Operating System version.

 

Windows XP still holds the #2 spot at 31.24% of computer users as shown below in the graph from NetMarketShare.com:

NetMarketShare.com Operating System Breakout – November 1, 2013

 

Windows 7 holds the #1 spot for a very good reason. It is still the best of the newer Operating Systems from Microsoft to date — in my opinion and nearly half of all Windows users to date. And Windows 7 is still good to go until January 14, 2020 (end of Extended Support – it is still in Mainstream Support until January 15, 2015). Here’s the break out of the Windows lifecycle fact sheet info:

 

Windows Life Cycles from the Windows Life Cycle Fact Sheet

 

I have said all this because we need to see where were are, and where we need to be as computer users, particularly as Windows users with April 8, 2014 looming over those of us still using Windows XP.

 

Especially in the light of the pervasive malware purveyors out there today.

 

We need to make sure we are all no longer using Windows XP of any kind before or at least by April 8, 2014 when Microsoft will no longer be providing ANY security updates for Windows XP.

 

A few years back they did the same thing with Windows 2000. It’s now Windows XP’s turn.

Please read the following articles to see why this will be very important:

 

Windows XP infection rate may jump 66% after patches end in April – Computerworld

 

Microsoft yesterday again put the scare into Windows XP users, telling them that after April 8, 2014, the chance that malware will infect their PCs could jump by two-thirds.

 

Windows lifecycle fact sheet – Microsoft.com (image above)

 

New stats show Windows 8 usage up sharply as XP usage plummets – ZDNet (for curiosity though, look at the difference between the table on ZDNet’s article and the one today).

 

NetMarketShare (choose Operating Systems from the dropdown to see the chart above in real time)

 

Gartner Says Worldwide PC, Tablet and Mobile Phone Shipments to Grow 4.5 Percent in 2013 as Lower-Priced Devices Drive Growth – Gartner.com

 

 

Source: Gartner Oct 2013 – Worldwide Device Shipments by Segment

 

It would appear, that, as predicted, many around the world are moving to other types of computers, in particular mobile devices. This was forecast and it would seem to be coming to pass rather dramatically now.

 

It is amazing to see the number of people who rarely if ever use their desktop computers these days, relying on their mobile devices for almost all, if not all, their computing and Internet needs. Some folks no longer even have a computer other than a tablet, like the iPad or Nexus Tablet, or Surface, etc., or just use their smartphones for their email, browsing, messaging, gaming, etc. which is the bulk of what people seem to do on the Internet these days. Unless of course if their work or business, or gaming bents, are important to them. Having said that, even gaming has very much gone mobile for many people.

 

I am hoping that folks will take a look at the overall picture and determine which direction they wish to go now that there are only a few months left before Windows XP will no longer be a viable Internet connected computer.

Will a Desktop or Laptop be the way to go, or will a Mobile device like a Tablet or maybe even just a smartphone be enough for many folks? Staying with Windows or moving to a Mac may also be a consideration.

 

No matter which way folks ultimately go, deciding will be important and thinking about this is really needed with Windows XP going away in just a short few months.

 

Over 31% of computer users will need to make this decision before April 8, 2014, if they wish to remain as safe as they can be on the Internet.

 

Even with Google Chrome continuing to support Windows XP SP3 a year after Microsoft (till 2015), if the Operating System itself has no updates, that will certainly not be enough.

 

Lots to think about and only a few months to decide … Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 Support Ends April 8th, 2014

[raymac46]

Good advice Fran and hopefully folks will act on it - and we won't have a huge botnet upsurge after next April 8.

I am still working on my friends who I help out with tech support. Most of them are already on Vista or 7 (or Linux.) I have one lady who promises me she'll be getting a new system before April-hopefully some time before April.

I'm recommending a refurbished laptop with Windows 7. If she wants a new machine, I watched a video on Classic Shell and that seems to be a good way to go with Windows 8, if 8.1 gives problems.

[Guest LilBambi]

You are so right Ray!!

 

Some have already said the will not and companies/corporations really can't afford to plat data roulette ...here's what I posted at another forum this morning;

 

As in the past, those in corporate environs that need to stay w/an older version of Windows for a bit may be able to pay Microsoft for security patches needed.

 

But that will not be the only battle. Staying w/IE8 will be the old IE6 which led to many infections for users in the past.

 

Even the Navy who is slow to upgrade saw the writing on the wall and has moved to Windows 7.

 

I am sure they like many see the need to pay a one time fee to have their old software converted to something that will run on a newer version of Windows.

 

It is not like this wasn't known to companies and corporations, they have had two stays of execution with Windows XP already.

 

It certainly doesn't make it easier and the economy hasn't been as rebust as many have hoped - which would have helped defray costs a bit more, but it is what it is.

 

Home users on the other hand can't afford to pay Microsoft for security patches and will definitely need to move up one way or another to be safer. Especially with malware purveyors like CyberLocker and other nasties just itching for April 8, 2014 to get here so the can take advantage of their creations that will be looking specifically for any user who has not upgraded. Especially since Microsoft will do security patches for Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1. Reverse engineering to see if WinXP is vulnerable to anything patched will be the order of the day.

 

Besides, IE8 will be two versions behind, and although Google Chrome will still support WinXP till 2015, if the underlying system does not have security patches...

 

All I can say is I hope they have a non drive letter based backup system for their data.

 

Sad but true... We need to rethink our whole thinking on back ups now. Dynamic backups to an external hard drive / hard drive solutions with a drive letter (I.e., G:) will make it all too easy for the bad guys to totally lock users, companies, corporations out of their data, and potentially even their backup drives' data while they hold their data for ransome ... In a catch 22: Can't pay the bad guys and can't get back one's data if they don't...

 

Something to think about...hard.

 

[Guest LilBambi]

One lady just ordered her new computer yesterday. Her printer died, and she was gonna have to order one of those, so she, knowing that Windows XP was going away in a few months and knowing if she waited too long, the cost may go up when stores see the approaching date of April 8, 2014 and know they have folks over a barrel.

 

She is getting a desktop from Lenovo from Staples.com on sale.

[raymac46]

It's the mission critical stuff that'll really cause problems - fortunately that can usually be isolated from the Internet.

I remember about 10 years ago our analytical lab in the plant had a useful but ancient DOS based data management system called IDA. As part of the plant's network and distributed computing upgrades the 1990s 486 machines had to be replaced - but IDA was still needed. So I watched as a bunch of brand new Pentium 4 machines were wiped clean of XP and DOS was installed along with IDA and its network options. As I recall these machines ran DOS rather well - blazing speed.

[Guest LilBambi]

I guess they would!

[Guest LilBambi]

A week or two ago on our CNI Radio show, we were talking about this and I couldn't remember where I had read it. Here's one such article about Microsoft continuing to do specially prepared patches for specific companies that pay them to continue to make them for their Windows XP users.

 

Microsoft will craft XP patches after April '14, but not for you - Computerworld - August 26, 2013

 

Those patches will come from a program called "Custom Support," an after-retirement contract designed for very large customers who have not, for whatever reason, moved on from an older OS.

 

As part of Custom Support -- which according to analysts, costs about $200 per PC for the first year and more each succeeding year -- participants receive patches for vulnerabilities rated "critical" by Microsoft. Bugs ranked as "important," the next step down in Microsoft's four-level threat scoring system, are not automatically patched. Instead, Custom Support contract holders must pay extra for those. Flaws pegged as "moderate" or "low" are not patched at all.

 

BOLD emphasis mine.

[raymac46]

I don't think offering a discount on Windows 8.1 to recalcitrant XP users will be much of a solution. Those who are still out there running legal copies of XP will by and large have hardware that won't work with Windows 8 - or if it does they won't know how to upgrade without losing all their data. New computers are way cheaper now than they were in 2001 so these folks should just retire their old ones. That is what I tell them, at least.

Many "older" people I know have bought new laptops and want to keep their old XP desktops going as a second machine - bad idea unless you install Linux.

[Guest LilBambi]

I agree raymac.

We have had a great run with Windows XP. Not saying anything about that.

It's just the nearly 30% of users out there are going to put us all at risk, and sadly many of them are businesses and they likely won't pay the $200/seat to have the updates continued either, and that's the really sad part. Not sad, because they won't pay it -- because I don't think they should have to pay it -- but because they will continue to use it until they get hacked and blame it on others...as usual.

Sadly, these are the same business characters that did the same thing with Windows NT and Windows 2000 Professional .. dragging their feet.

And although I really do feel that way, I also know that many businesses don't have much choice if they can't afford to rewrite software they need that only runs on Windows XP. And I do understand that too.

But I still have to keep coming back to nearly 30% of Windows users around the world are going to make it very hard for the rest of us ... by being part of botnets for malware, DDoS attacks, spam spewing monsters, etc.

And I may have to start asking some serious questions from businesses I do business with. Do you use Windows, if so, what version? Because I don't want my information on computers that are not getting Windows updates. Period.

[Guest LilBambi]

When I talk about checking businesses that I do business with and what versions of Windows they are using; I also mean banking establishments as well. In fact, especially banking establishments!

The death of Windows XP will impact 95 percent of the world’s ATMs - The Verge - Jan 20, 2014

 

Microsoft’s 12-year-old

Windows XP operating system powers 95 percent of the world’s automated teller machines

, according to

NCR

, the largest ATM supplier in the US. While the idea of Windows powering ATMs may surprise consumers, XP runs in the background powering the software that bank customers interact with to withdraw money. An upcoming Windows XP support change from Microsoft means ATMs will need to be upgraded and modified throughout 2014.

Bloomberg Businessweek reports

that the US has 420,000 ATMs, and the majority of them run XP and face a support cutoff from Microsoft soon. On April 8th, Microsoft plans to

end support for Windows XP

, leaving businesses still using XP, and 95 percent of ATMs, open to security and compliance risks.

I don't think that has changed much, do you since Jan 20, 2014?

And I refuse to think that banksters can not afford to upgrade to be as safe as possible for their clients.

[raymac46]

It's more difficult to turn down customers when you are in the service business so I sympathize with you. Since I'm essentially an unpaid volunteer, I am going to adopt the same attitude about XP that I did for many years with Vista - don't use it, can't support it.

I will never log in to a network with an XP machine on it. I'll never let any old XP machine log in to my home network. I plan to nuke any XP install I have here before I get around to putting Linux on it.

We live in interesting times.

 

In Canada we have 5 large powerful banks that make billions so they certainly can afford to upgrade their machines.

Edited February 23, 2014 by raymac46

[Guest LilBambi]

Exactly.

[ross549]

Those ATMs... I'd be willing to bet that the vast majority of these ATMs are running not a standard version of XP Pro, but XP embedded edition.

 

This makes it very easy for the deployment developers to rip out the parts of windows that are not needed. I know this will not mitigate *all* security issues, but it will eliminate the majority. it helps that these machines would not be "browsing the net," but running specific software only.

 

This mitigates much of the risk, but certainly not all. Now, I've not heard about any Win7 embedded editions out there. Do they even exist yet?

 

Adam

[Guest LilBambi]

Yes, they generally do. And Windows XP Embedded is still supported for 2 more years, till: 1/12/2016

 

Thanks for reminding me. I knew that.

 

Of course, I still don't know why they changed from a nearly unbreakable system to one that isn't.

 

But many retail cash registers and restaurants are using full blown Windows XP on those old Dell computers we see everywhere.

 

They do have newer Windows Embedded systems that are supported longer.

[Guest LilBambi]

So, if ATMs are using Windows XP Embedded, it will be supported till January 2016, and there are some newer Windows Embedded that will last longer.

 

However, any banks, retail establishments, restaurants, etc. that are using full blow Windows XP which are often used for Teller computers, etc. and cash register computers which are full blow Windows XP and will be a true danger and scary when no updates are available.

[raymac46]

My bank - TD Canada Trust - still has XP based ATMs but they have said publicly that they will replace them by the end of 2015. One way you can tell I suppose is that the older machines have push buttons and the latest ones have actual touch screens.

[Guest LilBambi]

Your bank machine probably runs Windows XP, and that’s about to become a problem - Canadian Business

 

NCR cobbled together its guess of how many ATMS run Windows XP by looking at its own customer base as well as consulting independent analysts. It is also in NCR’s interests to stoke this issue, since it hopes customers will sign up for its own suite of security software to bridge the gap. Dudash wasn’t able to break out separate information about the state of Canadian ATMs, but he speculated that with fewer “deployers” in Canada—i.e., we have the Big Five banks instead of the patchwork of many small banks that serve the U.S.—the situation is probably not as bad different(see update) north of the border.

 

Update, January 24: Dudash emailed this morning with more details on the situation in Canada, and it turns out we’re actually behind the curve compared to the rest of the world: “While NCR expects—at most—1/3 of the world’s ATM deployers to switch to Windows 7 by the [April 8] deadline, we actually expect adoption in Canada to be slightly lower—somewhere around 20%.” This is, in part, because Canadian ATM operators upgrading to Windows 7 must undergo a security re-certification process that their American counterparts apparently don’t.

 

Much more in the article.

[Guest LilBambi]

A disaster in the making: 95% of ATMs still run Windows XP - BGR

 

As we’ve mentioned multiple times, now is really the time to upgrade from Windows XP if you haven’t done so already. Even though Microsoft will extend support for its Windows XP security products through July 2015, the company has warned that “the effectiveness of antimalware solutions on out-of-support operating systems is limited.”Bloomberg Businessweek reports that some of the most important machines that desperately need to upgrade from Windows XP are ATMs, of which an estimated 95% still run on Microsoft’s older operating system.

 

...

 

“My bank operates an ATM that looks like it must be 20 years old, and there’s no way that it can support Windows 7,” Suzanne Cluckey, the editor of trade publication ATM Marketplace, tells Bloomberg Businessweek. “A lot of ATMs will have to either have their components upgraded or be discarded altogether and sold into the aftermarket—or just junked.”

[abarbarian]

I wish someone would tell our pea brains in Whitehall about XP's end of life.

 

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/14/win_xp_uk_gov_hacker_deadline_miss/

 

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/12/nhs_microsoft_win_xp_extended_support/

 

 

The Department of Health has exclusively told The Register it’s in talks with Microsoft to develop a migration plan to move PCs off of Windows XP.

A major plank of that deal will see Microsoft offer what the DoH terms “extended support”* – at a cost.

Extended support is not a cheap option and means the taxpayer will foot the bill for the NHS’s failure to hit the April deadline to move.

 

 

HMRC and the NHS in England and Scotland will still be running thousands of systems using Windows XP after Microsoft turns off the support lifeline on 8 April.

 

 

 

HMRC has 85,784 PCs, of which 85,268 are moving off Windows XP and 58,631 are ditching Internet Explorer 6.

NHS Scotland has 3,603 PCs with 3,537 on Windows XP and the same number on IE6.

The information came to light following a series of Freedom of Information Act (FOI) requests lodged by The Register with UK government organisations.

 

My country is run by total morons.

[Guest LilBambi]

Tragic abarbarian!

 

As Adam will tell you, even the Navy has upgraded to Windows 7.

[Guest LilBambi]

Microsoft has put up a site so folks can determine if they are running Windows XP (Don't laugh! Apparently, many folks don't know how to determine if they are still running Windows XP):

 

AmIRunningXP.com

 

Also, Microsoft has teamed up with Laplink to provide Laplink Express for the transition for folks.

 

Free data transfer - End of Support Windows XP

 

Move your files, photos, and more for free

 

We've worked with Laplink to provide you with a free data transfer. The Laplink PCmover Express for Windows XP is an easy way to move your files, settings and user profiles from your old Windows XP computer to your new Windows PC.*

 

Download the free version of PCmover Express to get started.

 

DOWNLOAD NOW

 

*Will run only if source PC is Windows XP and destination PC is Windows 7, 8, or 8.1. The free data transfer will not migrate your apps.

Edited March 12, 2014 by LilBambi

[ross549]

As Adam will tell you, even the Navy has upgraded to Windows 7.

 

And I just saw some XP machines today.....

 

Adam

[crp]

And I just saw some XP machines today.....

 

Adam

Zones still has one for sale!

[Guest LilBambi]

And I just saw some XP machines today..... >__

 

Adam

 

EEEEK! That is so sad...

[abarbarian]

Tragic abarbarian!

 

As Adam will tell you, even the Navy has upgraded to Windows 7.

 

An the ISS runs on Debian. Sort of one step beyond , eh.

[Guest LilBambi]

All I can say is Debian is stable as a rock! Couldn't have chosen better for the ISS and others....if they were smart about stuff.

[raymac46]

Microsoft has put up a site so folks can determine if they are running Windows XP (Don't laugh! Apparently, many folks don't know how to determine if they are still running Windows XP)

 

Just checked and boy was I relieved.

[Guest LilBambi]

Think that's funny! Linux and Macs users may find it interesting to note that they apparently are running Windows 8.1 if they click on the following Microsoft link:

 

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/which-operating-system

 

The following would be totally expected if I were running a Windows 8.1 computer. But this was from my Mac:

 

 

I got the same results on my Linux computer last night during the show when the link was posted in IRC and I checked because others were saying their Macs and Linux computers were saying the same thing.

[Guest LilBambi]

This is not to be confused with the other link from Microsoft to tell you if you are running Windows XP:

 

AmIRunningXP.com

 

Which does correctly state that Macs and Linux are not running Windows XP.

[abarbarian]

Think that's funny! Linux and Macs users may find it interesting to note that they apparently are running Windows 8.1 if they click on the following Microsoft link:

 

http://windows.micro...perating-system

 

The following would be totally expected if I were running a Windows 8.1 computer. But this was from my Mac:

 

 

I got the same results on my Linux computer last night during the show when the link was posted in IRC and I checked because others were saying their Macs and Linux computers were saying the same thing.

 

That link tells me I am running Win 7. Which is a relief as I have been installing it for the last two days.