Microsoft ended software support for Windows XP yesterday. This basically means that after 13 years, the Windows XP joyride is over and Microsoft is insisting that you move on to Windows 7 or more preferably Windows 8.1.
It should be noted that you can still install Windows XP and activate it on a PC but the computer won't receive any security updates.
You might wonder why this is such a big deal, and why you may need to upgrade to Windows 7 or Windows 8.1. But the truth is, even you are hugely attached to your operating system, it's time to move on.
Here are the reasons that should help you make the leap.
Security: Without critical Windows XP security updates, your PC will be vulnerable to harmful viruses, spyware, and other malicious software, etc. As Microsoft points out that the anti-virus software alone won't do the job as hackers will be able to exploit software bugs in the OS to hack into your machine.
Compliance: For businesses, which are governed by regulatory obligations, they may find that they can't that compliance requirements. Internet and computer security at your business will matter and thus Windows XP needs to go.
Lack of Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Support: Many software vendors will no longer support their products running on Windows XP. So you might not get access to the latest software and thus upgrading will be the only option available.
Hardware Manufacturer support: Hardware manufactures do send out drive updates for your PCs throughout the course of the year. They are not going to support Windows XP on existing and new hardware and thus your PC performance will be affect.
So how can you migrate? Well for home users, the first option is to see if their computers can run Windows 8.1, which is the latest version. Your PC will need 1(GHz) or faster processor with support for PAE, NX, and SSE2.
PAE gives 32-bit processors the ability to use more than 4 GB of physical memory and is a prerequisite for NX. NX helps your processor guard the PC from attacks by malicious software. SSE2 is a standard instruction set on processors that is increasingly used by third-party apps and drivers.
You will also need 1GB RAM on a 32-bit processor or 2 GB RAM on 64-bit processor minimum, minimum 16 GB Hard Disk space on a 32-bit processor or 20 GB Hard Disk space on a 64-bit processor.
To upgrade, users will need to download and run the Windows Upgrade Assistant, which will check if your PC meets the system requirements for Windows 8.1 and then will set up the guide for upgrading.
If your PC doesn't meet these requirements, it is time you bid the PC goodbye and upgrade to a newer, more powerful machine. Or install Windows 7 on it, if you aren't too keen about Windows 8.1
Microsoft, Microsoft Corp, Microsoft Windows XP, Personal Technology, technology, Windows XP
via Technology - Google News http://ift.tt/1g5o3GA
Put the internet to work for you.
0 comments:
Post a Comment