After supporting Windows XP for nearly 12 years, Microsoft is shutting that badboy down. On 8 April 2014, the life of Windows XP will be over, making Monday the first day of the operating system’s last year. Attempts to save XP got lots of attention, though the 200 000 signed names on a petition sent to Microsoft’s head office fell on deaf ears. Or blind eyes. Or something.

Should you chose not to upgrade before next year, you will be, in Microsoft’s words “at your own risk” in dealing with security vulnerability and any potential malware designed to exploit them.

Although 38% of PC’s run off XP, OS upgrades are mostly ignored, and “it seems reasonable to assume a significant number of XP diehards still won’t upgrade even now that Microsoft is no longer issuing security updates.” But don’t worry Windows XP, you are not alone. Internet Explorer 6 on XP, Office 2003, Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 2 have also been given the boot. A little advice from Freshinfos:

Windows XP was the best back in the day. But now, it’s one of the most vulnerable  operating systems that hackers can easily exploit. If you’re still using XP, you should probably upgrade to Win 7 for your own good.

[Source: Webmonkey, Ibtimes, Freshinfos]