Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Windows XP Support Ends, But Many Users Are Still Sticking To It

Microsoft has completely ended its support for the old Windows XP operating system. This is of course old news. However, some of the users, it seems, have totally ignored it. How else can you explain the millions of users still clinging on to Windows XP? Windows XP support ended on April 8, this year and it is still the second most popular operating system.

Though it seems totally insane to continue with Windows XP after the end of support, things get much clear when we analyze the probable reasons. The first one is the familiarity of the operating system. Windows XP has been around for many years now, thirteen years to be precise. This is in no way a small period for an operating system. Because of its long life span, most Windows users are familiar with Windows XP and its features. Moreover, Windows XP has evolved over the years to become one of the most solid operating systems developed by the software maker.

Another possible reason is the fear of change. Most users are familiar with Windows XP and they could not possible think of any other operating system taking the place of Windows XP. Migrating to newer operating systems means adjusting to a new system, which might not be an easy task for many users.

Another possible reason is the awful Windows Vista operating system. The Windows Vista effect actually boosted the significance of Windows XP, its reliability and stability. Windows Vista is one of the worst missteps for the software maker. There were too many issues with Windows Vista. Some of the features had problems and it was actually slower than XP.

Since Windows XP existed for so long, there were many software applications developed during its time. Many business applications were developed to be compatible only to Windows XP. Migrating to newer operating systems means that these companies have to invest their time, effort and money for developing or purchasing new software that works on them. This may not be feasible for SMBs that work on a shoestring budget.

Whatever may be the case, continuing with an unsupported OS can be extremely unsafe. You may have to guard your system against the ever growing number of security threats. There are antivirus options but not all are good enough. Some such as our Omni Tech Support scam warning would like alert you about fraudulent sites or apps. This Omni Tech Support scam warning means that you need to pay attention before downloading these applications.

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