back to article Life support's ABOUT to be switched off, but XP's suddenly COOL again

Windows XP has enjoyed a second resurgence in popularity, despite its looming end-of-support date. Net Applications' data for desktop operating systems in January showed Windows XP had increased its market share by a fraction. It marked the Windows Vista predecessor's second bounce in its slowly declining market share, which …

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  1. Matt 21

    I'll say it again

    ..as the hype machine tries to pick up speed.

    Most of the large sites I've worked on recently are running XP with security patches which are several years old. Instead they rely on security software to do the job for them. Now, some people may not think this is a good solution but on the other hand none of them have had any security problems.

    So, for companies like this, there's no hurry to upgrade which is probably why lots of them aren't doing it.

    1. Pascal Monett Silver badge

      Re: "none of them have had any security problems"

      You mean to say "none of them have been targeted yet", don't you ?

      1. Raumkraut

        Re: "none of them have had any security problems"

        Or possibly "none of them have noticed their security problems yet"?

      2. Velv

        Re: "none of them have had any security problems"

        @Pascal. No, what it means is that the XP machines have not been placed into a situation where they are exploitable.

        If you're on a decently secured network behind well maintained firewalls and you leverage good proxies and good security controls then you minimise the risk of being attacked.

        "not having security problems" is about having multiple layers of security in place - lots of thinner layers are much more secure than one big thick layer, so using a partially protected XP behind well maintained firewalls is safer than a fully patched Linux desktop directly connected to the Internet.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: "none of them have had any security problems"

          the other answer could be you are riddled with issues, but you are blissfully unaware. Like the people that say, "I've never installed AV and not ever had a virus", well how do you know?

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: "none of them have had any security problems"

            tell that to Iranian Nuclear scientists.

            1. Nigel 11

              Re: "none of them have had any security problems"

              tell that to Iranian Nuclear scientists.

              Just the point I was making to someone who thought a PC not connected to a network was secure "by definition".

              I offered to make it secure by removing its CD drive and filling its USB slots and Ethernet jacks with epoxy glue (as used to be done at certain MoD sites) but he declined. He needed to get data in and out of it, and wouldn't see that it would soon become a "Typhoid Mary" spreading USB-based malware.

              1. Babbit55

                Re: "none of them have had any security problems"

                The single best way to keep a network secure is to keep EVERTHING up to date, if you cannot update the OS then you will very quickly have a site full of security holes, it will just be a matter of time till you are compromised (if you aren't already)

                Security threats nowadays don't scream out, they hide and do not want to be found. AV alone will not keep your machines safe

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "none of them have had any security problems"

      ... they are aware of... <G>

      The more holes you have, the easier for an attacker to hide on your systems. You can't rely on a single layer of protection - running unpatched systems thinking your firewall, IDS or AV will protect you is simply silly.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      RE: I'll say it again

      on the other hand none of them have had any security problems.

      I bet that's what Barclays thought too

  2. Ken Hagan Gold badge

    A possible explanation

    Loads of companies that had previously been running XP, but behind a firewall and not browsing the web, have off-loaded their hardware recently. The companies are now running Win7, but the off-loaded machines have found their way onto the "previously loved" market and are now running in homes with no firewalling and a userbase who do almost nothing *except* surf dodgy websites.

    1. pierce
      Facepalm

      Re: A possible explanation

      I dunno. my employer physically scraps surplus machines, its too expensive to wipe them securely for resale or donation. the disk drives go into a metal shreader

      1. fandom

        Re: A possible explanation

        We donate the ones we decommission, it does take some time to reformat the drives and reinstall from scratch but not that long, I even put some free software and games into them.

      2. CLD

        Re: A possible explanation

        We wipe our machines with DBAN and then give them to a eWaste recycler; the eWaste recycler chooses what to dispose of and what to resell. We do allow staff to take some of the machines home once they've been wiped - espically the IT folks; anything they learn at home from tinkering can potentially be applied in the work space, which is a win-win situation. Always good to know your eWaste is not going to landfill.

        1. CLD

          Re: A possible explanation

          I suppose adding to this, a number of our staff are grabbing some of the old machines with Vista Business licenses and buying SSD's and a Windows 8 upgrade license and building media centre's out of them... I've seen one and it works great.

    2. Phil O'Sophical Silver badge

      Re: A possible explanation

      Or lots of people (like me) who've seen the hype have dusted off their old XP laptops to do "one last" round of updates, and while they're downloading they've been surfing, updating social media pages, etc. hence inflating the numbers of apparently active XP systems.

      As for the _two_ schools of thought, there is a thrid one. Script Kiddies will get far more kudos for their latest Android or Windows 8 hack, and so very few of them will give a damn about writing new malware for an obsolete OS. How many new viruses for 95 or 98 have appeared recently?

      1. Pascal Monett Silver badge

        Re: writing new malware for an obsolete OS

        An obsolete OS that still holds 29% of the market.

        Win98/95 are part of the block labelled "Other", representing 0,10% of the market.

        So Win98/95 are definitely not worth working on. WinXP, on the other hand, encloses almost one third of all computer users, who are more and more clueless home owners, ie ideal pickings for scammers and criminals.

        This is very much an opportunity for the crims, since XP users may only be a third of the market, but probably represent a better return on investment since anything that works is something the crims can soon consider stable.

      2. Elmer Phud

        Re: A possible explanation

        "Or lots of people (like me) who've seen the hype have dusted off their old XP laptops to do "one last" round of updates, "

        I've just pulled the HD and will put the ancient lappy on Freecycle.

        The Hd will do for back-up storqge.

        The lappy as a doorstop somewhere

    3. Charlie Clark Silver badge

      A simpler explanation

      Net Applications numbers are based on browsers so pretty suspect in any case. However, you always see a surge in IE in January as people return to corporate environments after the holidays. I'd hazard a guess that the majority of household computers have already moved to Windows 7 not least because they don't have access to enterprise install disks.

  3. J.G.Harston Silver badge

    What moron browses the internet while logged on as Admin?

    1. Terry 6 Silver badge

      Not morons

      Just ordinary folk, not techie, doing ordinary jobs, who see a computer as a commodity item. And they just want it to work. Which is also one reason why they sell their souls to Amazon and/or Google.Those ithingys and Android data slurpers just work.

      No constant updates. No screens suddenly appearing or vanishing when you move a mouse incautiously. No files buried deep down in obscure folders that aren't really where they seem to be,

      XP shares some of that simple, basic functionality. WIn 7 at least gives an appearance of it. Win 8 is a dog's breakfast.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "What moron browses the internet while logged on as Admin?"

      1. Anyone using Windows, which makes it extremely awkward to work with separate root and user accounts.

      2. Anyone using Linux who has to do system admin work that involves (as it all too often does nowadays) network access as an integral part of processes such as installations and upgrades.

      1. Chemist

        "Anyone using Linux who has to do system admin work that involves (as it all too often does nowadays) network access"

        Network access != "browsing internet" For installations and upgrades I'm running the process (Yast in my case) as root but I'm browsing any necessary extra info as a normal user Yast is going to predefined repositories, IF these have been tampered with well that's a very different matter

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          @Chemist

          'Network access != "browsing internet"'

          Isn't that a pedantic distinction? "Browsing" is a popular term that has come to mean any network activity - although technically, of course, it should be restricted to reading Web pages.

          But then there are plenty of safe Web pages, and plenty of unsafe non-Web Internet addresses.

          1. Chemist

            Re: @Chemist

            "unsafe non-Web Internet addresses."

            Whilst I agree that you do still need a mechanism. Normal updating of a Linux distro would seem to me to be one of the less risky behaviours

            I think it unlikely that just running an update mechanism as root and everything else as a user will result in harm. The real no-no would be running a desktop session as root and behaving like a user

          2. Chika

            Re: @Chemist

            Depends on where you are. I spend a lot of time at work on the network as it's a part of what I do but I don't necessarily venture outside the safety of the intranet and out onto the Internet which, of course, means navigating through the firewalls.

            If you are talking of a small installation or a home setup, then yes, I'd agree that the distinction is probably pointless.

      2. Aybee

        "Anyone using Linux who has to do system admin work"

        Suggest trying

        man sudo

        and Googling basic good tactics guides.

        1. Chika

          I've tried sudo on a few occasions but not only does it not work in all situations but it can be as big a security bug as having a system with a default root password if you know how to manipulate its configuration.

    3. Longrod_von_Hugendong

      What morons browses the internet while logged on as Admin?

      easy answer for you: windows users.

    4. I like noodles

      "What moron browses the internet while logged on as Admin?"

      These "morons" you speak of - most of them will be completely unaware of even the concept of Admin. These "morons" will most likely believe that all users of a PC have the same amount of access and won't know that it's possible to have different levels of authority. The thought will not even have occurred to them.

      These "morons" will include people like your kids, your parents, your siblings, your neighbours, the butcher down the road and the newsagent beside that.

      These "morons" are normal intelligent people, who I'm pretty sure make up the vast, vast majority of the population.

      You should've asked what geek or nerd does it - and even then I'm certain there'd be way more positives than negatives.

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      This will probably be unpopular even with some of your down-voters, but I'd classify as a sub-set of the 'Moron' group being those who think, if you're sensible, it matters.

      To believe that (unless you frequent the darker side of the internet and/or you're extremely unlucky) you need _not_ to be in an admin account while surfing, is paranoia on a par with wearing a safety helmet for walking.

      Or are you just loudly re-tweeting the peer group's received wisdom, like any other mark social acceptance addict?

    6. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "What moron browses the internet while logged on as Admin?"

      The same Morons that don't do monthly tyre, oil and water checks on their cars;

      The same Morons that don't have an annual service on their boilers

      The same Morons that don't carbon monoxide detectors near fossil fuel burning appliances.

      The same Morons that don't check their smoke alarms once a month

      The same Morons that cross near, but not on a pedestrian crossings

      The same Morons that don't turn off devices at the mains (ask your local fire brigade about this one)

      i.e. normal people, of course if you don't do any of those, ever, well done, but I could go on and sure I find something you SHOULD be doing, but don't.

  4. jake Silver badge

    During the meanwhile ...

    I'll continue running Slackware. slackware.com

    Works for me. Try it. You might like it.

  5. mrmond

    I still love XP..

    For watching Netflix under a virtual machine. Haven't used windows for anything else in the last month.

    My main activities I can do under Linux or using my Android tablet or mobile.

    Since my recovery partition borked and the recovery disks I'd previously used started to fail on the last set of 5 at 96% I gave up trying to re-install. I did try from another install for Win7 but my "genuine" sticker with the Key is faded and unreadable so Microsoft won't help when I ring them up.

    So screw Microsoft, I'm not paying a second time for an OS that I had installed already and I'll run XP virtually when I need to.

    1. Thecowking

      Re: I still love XP..

      http://how-to.wikia.com/wiki/How_to_watch_Netflix_%28Watch_Instantly%29_in_Linux

      It's possible to use Netflix in Linux, I find that it's slightly laggier and sometimes there's a touch of artefacting, but it's definitely watchable.

    2. tabman

      Re: I still love XP..

      You run XP under a VM to just watch netflix??

      Yet you use linux and android for the rest. Why not use the android netflix app? As for the VM, whats wrong with wine? Not that I am a *ux lover but seriously... I call you on that one mate.

      1. mrmond

        Re: I still love XP..

        Yet you use linux and android for the rest. Why not use the android netflix app? As for the VM, whats wrong with wine? Not that I am a *ux lover but seriously... I call you on that one mate.

        Because Netflix on my Nexus 7 isn't as enjoyable as as on 17'' laptop screen or as watching it on my HD telly via HDMI!

        As for Netflix under Wine it works using a specially hacked wine and reposotories under 12.04 and later but I'm using 11.10 because that's the last version that fully supported my Ati graphics and I don't have the finances to upgrade at the moment. On my system all the howto's didn't work and I got fed up faffing around when I had an alternative

        Seriously. Most of my time under Win 7 was normal browsing email and watching video via HDMI.

        (and under Virtualbox it's not laggy except for the first couple of minutes at full screen. Perhaps because absolutely nothing else has been installed)

        1. Mikel

          Re: I still love XP..

          Get a Chromecast. Problem solved.

  6. Julian Bond
    Windows

    So will MS give me a free upgrade to Win7 Home Premium?

    1. Tom Wood

      Will Ford replace my other half's 1999 Fiesta with a 2012 model?

      Thought not.

      1. Chika

        Too right. They're too busy trying to flog the ludicrous "B-Max".

    2. tabman

      Why would they Julian? Serious answer only. And if we must compare cars why not go all the way back to when drum brakes and no airbags were standard. Should a car manufacturer replace them for free too? Take your brain out of first gear mate.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Yes, manufacturers should replace unsafe cars

        Your car analogy isn't entirely convincing. See, for example, http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/Pinto.htm.

        1. Matt 21

          Re: Yes, manufacturers should replace unsafe cars

          You can still get parts and servicing for a '99 Fiesta. Ford haven't cut you off.

      2. Terry 6 Silver badge

        re tabman

        Err, It was irony. And not sublte irony at that..

    3. Col_Panek

      You can get a free upgrade from Xubuntu 13.04 to 13.10 for a limited time, if you act NOW. It looks and acts a lot like XP, except for the malware download client.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Only machine I can think of, my old Netbook runs Linux, XP and OSX.

    Plenty of alternative there.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Am I imagining things?

    ISTR there is an EU-wide mandatory 6 year warranty against design faults. Since it's a statutory right it can't be over-ridden by licensing agreements. XP was on sale via OEMs until just over five years ago. Any security flaw would count under that provision.

    Surely that means that means anyone with a five-year-old XP laptop can take it back to the seller and demand a fix or refund the instant a "we can't be bothered to patch it" vuln is found? If you get a full refund on whatever they were offering five years ago that sounds like a good deal, even if it kills the resellers.

    Nope, I'm not after a free laptop - I've never run XP. If it kills MS that can't be bad though.

    1. Terry Barnes

      Re: Am I imagining things?

      "ISTR there is an EU-wide mandatory 6 year warranty against design faults."

      That would be pretty hard to apply to someone hacking your computer. It would be similar to claiming that because your car was stolen there must have been a design fault and thus the manufacturer should give you another for free.

      A vulnerability isn't a fault, in the same way that a car having windows made of glass isn't a fault. The obvious solution for MS if a court tried that approach would simply be to release one last update that disabled all networking capability, rendering the OS completely secure.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Am I imagining things?

        I'd add disabling all usb and external storage media as well.

        The OS is ancient, if you want to keep using it vaguely safely you'll have to pony up or rely on "community support" or its obsolescence making it unattractive (which certainly wont be the case with it having over 30% of the market), like anyone using an obsolete OS/Product.

      2. Martin-73 Silver badge

        Re: Am I imagining things?

        A vulnerability by definition IS a design fault. In the case of IT, it's such a complex field that it is unusually difficult (read: impossible) to avoid in anything more advanced than a ZX80 (and I wouldn't bet anything much even on that), but it's still technically a design fault. Given the EU wide warranty is enforced by lawyers, not IT Techs, the OP may have a point, an interesting one.

        1. Terry 6 Silver badge

          Re: Am I imagining things?

          A vulnerability by definition IS a design fault.

          Whose definition?

    2. Cian Duffy

      Re: Am I imagining things?

      Much closer to 4 years ago rather than 5 - I bought an XP "ULCPC" Netbook in December 09. Pretty certain they hung around for a bit longer too.

  9. CJatCTi

    How many holes?

    Isn't XP the most secure OS out there?

    It's holes have been found and patched, or are you saying the naughty people have been saving up exploiting weaknesses until MS stops the fixes just so they have a free run?

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Oh, the pain, the pain

    "...shows just how painfully slow migrations from Windows XP to Windows 7 are proceeding"

    Yes, Win 7 is a bit painful compared to XP.

    1. James Hughes 1

      Re: Oh, the pain, the pain

      I possibly disagree. Just had an XP install that I have been using for years changed to Win7. It appears to be much faster, uses the memory better, and generally feels much perkier all round. It is 64bit which may be part of the difference.

      Of course, Ubuntu on the exact same spec machine next to it is still faster.

    2. Martin-73 Silver badge

      Re: Oh, the pain, the pain

      It's certainly very difficult to remote administer unless the remote admin tool is running as a service. (I use a customized VNC server to offer tech support of a minor nature to friends/family). XP, I can say 'okay run the helpdesk program, and go make coffee'

      With win 7 or above, I have to have them on the phone/skype in order to say 'it's stopped responding, has it popped up one of those UAC dialogs again?'

      I recognize that this is, in fact, a security PLUS, but it does make it more of a dog to deal with in my (admittedly quite unusual) situation

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    So if MS have cut the strings on XP

    Then that leaves the other option of someone else doing it, how many would pay for a fixed windows XP.

    Lets go with the ever popular software/car analogy, there are many vintage cars that have had bespoke components made to keep them running after the original manufacturer has dropped support. Surely this could be applied to XP in the same way, no manufacturer has sued any vintage car re builder to my knowledge and so it would follow that a Windows XP recode would also be allowed by the same rules.

    Wine etc have to be careful not to use the same methods that MS used when they reverse engineer MS components but anyone who has a valid windows XP license can presumably use a version of say wine that has MS methods recoded.

    So again how many would prefer a recoded and fixed XP over windows 7 given that the car analogy suggests that it would be legal for an engineer to recreate MS methods if the intented user has a XP license. You would imagine that the onus would be on the engineer to confirm that said user has a license assuming MS shut down their validation service but as side from that then doesn't MS refusing to maintain their own kit effectively release it to the license holding wild?

    1. Pascal Monett Silver badge

      Re: Lets go with the ever popular software/car analogy

      Lets not.

      A car is a physical object that cannot easily be replaced.

      An OS is a collection of ones and zeros that can be copied indefinitely and, therefor, replaced without effort. In addition, the ones and zeros do not rust, do not change color and do not become less efficient over time (not talking about the cruft).

      Apples and oranges.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Lets go with the ever popular software/car analogy

        Car manufacturers have more production capability than cars sold. They have to shutdown factories because of that. Thereby old cars could be easily replaced - of course everybody would replace a car for free instead of spending several ten thousand of euros or dollars - and there are no "upgrade" prices heavily discounted like software.

        A software may be copied easily - but to reach that point you have to write a lot of source code, and test it - while paying all the people involved into it. Do you know how many people are involved into the development of a complex software like Windows, and all its localizations?

        This idea that software should cost nothing is very dangerous - people should really start to develop their own software to understand how difficult and time taking it could be.

    2. I like noodles

      Re: So if MS have cut the strings on XP

      They'd really need the source code though.

      Vintage cars wouldn't be quite so easy for third parties to maintain had they been compiled before leaving the factory...

      1. Elmer Phud

        Re: So if MS have cut the strings on XP

        "Vintage cars wouldn't be quite so easy for third parties to maintain had they been compiled before leaving the factory..."

        Is rust due to the metal being re-compiled to iron oxide?

        Or is it built-in obsolesence code?

  12. Mage Silver badge
    Unhappy

    Windows XP to 7

    A daft assumption. What is life of 7?

    In reality are you more likely to get pwned with XP vs 7 if behind Firewall, using sensibly and stupid services off?

    Aren't careless users WITH Anti Virus SW getting malware on 7 and 8.x?

    It's the configuration and user is the issue.

    There are other options than Win7 or even MS. Maybe some people are waiting for Win 9?

  13. DJO Silver badge

    XP machine to live for as long as the hardware works.

    I've an old Sony laptop with XP connected to my stereo which just plays FLACs and I have no intention of replacing XP as the ageing hardware probably wouldn't cope with 7 or 8 and it's unlikely Sony have suitable drivers and replacing the hardware is just a waste of money so it'll stay in place but I will isolate it from the Internet which should be OK.

    I could bung a Linux on it but really, why bother it's fine as it is.

    I'm sure that this or similar set ups are far from unique. There are many functions where XP is adequate and the machine does not need Internet access so I don't foresee it totally fading from use any time soon.

    1. Conrad Longmore

      Re: XP machine to live for as long as the hardware works.

      If you're not connected to a network the there's really nothing to worry about. Even if it did get infected somehow (a USB stick perhaps) then the machine isn't really exploitable as it isn't connected to anything.

      You might well have some stubborn XP systems on your network which will happily run if you just disconnect them from said network..

    2. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

      Re: XP machine to live for as long as the hardware works.

      "I've an old Sony laptop with XP connected to my stereo which just plays FLACs"

      That sounds like an ideal candidate for replacement by a Raspberry Pi. The power savings alone would probably pay for it in a year or two at most.

  14. Haku

    THE END IS NIGH! REPENT! REPENT!

    A friend whose job it is to deal daily with PCs & networks etc. in all forms has been very insistant I should upgrade my XP machines to 7 or 8, fearing that after M$ stop issuing security updates it'll be open season for the people behind the XP exploits, and that there could be mass XP infection after the life support is switched off, especially with the CryptoLocker ransomware nasties.

    Is his paranoia justified?

    1. Steven Raith

      Re: THE END IS NIGH! REPENT! REPENT!

      Theoretically, yes. There was a very fast network scanner that can map most of the internet in under an hour:

      http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/08/19/new_tool_lets_single_server_map_entire_internet_in_45_mins/

      If you can attach that to an exploit delivery system (IE make a DB of IPs, cross reference that with zerodays for unsupported XP, only attack those that are visible) then you could theoretically do some major damage if you had a chunky enough delivery system.

      Practically though? I dunno. I don't know enough about realworld exploit deployment to be terribly certain (any pen testers care to wade in?) but I'd go as far as to say that if you have the opportunity to move away from XP, I'd do it.

      That's my understanding of it - and I'll hold my hands up and say I'm not a security researcher or a pen tester - but I've moved away from MS almost entirely to Linux now (not possible for all, I know) so it's of less relevance to me than it was.

      Steven R

  15. Aybee

    XP, not having had new features actively developed for some years but only having patches created for bugs / exploits as they are identified is possibly more secure / stable than many continual state-of-flux current OSes, including more recent Windows, OSX, iOS, Android and some flavours of Linux.

    That's the way software works... changes introduce bugs.

  16. Charles 9

    I'd be curious to think about people who have no choice. Software that directly handles hardware (VM-incompatible), breaks in later OS's, doesn't exist on Linux, can't work on WINE, and must see the network.

  17. Dr. Ellen
    Happy

    You can have it all!

    Drive trays. My desktop runs Windows 7. If I remove that HD and put another in the tray, it can run XP. If neither 7 nor XP are in, a third HD lets it run Ubuntu. Dead simple, and hard drives are not that expensive these days. Similar feats are possible on laptops, though they usually involve screwdrivers.

    If I want to run older software that 7 doesn't like, it's on the XP drive, and vice versa for the newer software. Since there's only one drive in at a time, anything that happens to one is unlikely to affect the others. By and large, I simply change HDs and keep on going. Backups involve external drives that are usually turned off. If I suspect a Windows bug, I can connect the Windows HD externally, then use the Linux system (which probably isn't vulnerable to the same bug) to scan for problems.

    1. Charles 9

      Re: You can have it all!

      Don't you suffer from data crossover problems, then, since you may need data on the 7 drive but have to run it on the XP or Ubuntu drive? Or do you keep a separate tray for the data?

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Bad writing

    "Either malware authors will strike quickly, targeting known vulnerabilities they have been holding off on exploiting until after 8 April, or authors will unleash attacks over the long term instead."

    In other words, either A will happen or Not-A will happen, just like every other thing in the universe.

    1. Charles 9

      Re: Bad writing

      I don't think that's logically sound as "not A" would mean "nothing at all" in this case. We have an A-or-B situation, plus the null option (neither A nor B; again this would be "do nothing"). In this case, there's no intersect: doing A (going hard now) precludes doing B (go slow and over time) and vice versa.

    2. Pookietoo

      Re: either A will happen or Not-A will happen

      Or some miscreants will strike as soon as a vulnerability is uncovered, some may save it until updates are finished in the hope that it won't be fixed before then, and some may wait until support has ended before they even think about developing exploits.

  19. Vociferous

    "how painfully slow migrations from Windows XP to Windows 7 are proceeding"

    I don't really get that. Windows 7 is superior to XP in every way (except possibly the ability to run on smartphone-level hardware). Yeah, we still have a very few old computers running XP, hooked up to ancient machinery with ancient drivers, but even those are now getting so old that their harddisks are failing.

    Why are companies staying with XP? Are they put off by the cost of Win7 licenses? Or are they really running a lot of 10-15 year old computers?

    1. Charles 9

      Re: "how painfully slow migrations from Windows XP to Windows 7 are proceeding"

      Sometimes, it's the software. Software that came from the Windows 2000 era, perhaps, still works in Windows XP but breaks on Vista and up. It's custom-made, mission-critical, must-be-up-at-all-times software, and the developers behind it don't exist anymore, meaning it can't be recoded for 7. The only possibility is to code a new program from scratch, but the budget probably doesn't allow it. So some places are caught between a rock and a hard place, being forced to stay with XP with no migration route.

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