End Of XP Support- X Ways To Secure Your PC


BANGALORE: As Microsoft stops the security updates for Windows XP on April 8th, the users of the popular operating system are on the lookout for ways to secure their PC. It is of serious concern as nearly 30 percent of the internet connected PC’s still run Windows XP.

Windows XP was out in the year 2001, and continued existing till now. Being the most widely used OS, it will be a major threat to cyber attacks and exploits making it an easy target for the hackers. The anticipated reason for Microsoft withdrawing their support for XP is the hope that people will upgrade to Windows 8 operating system.

Here are some ways how you can keep your PC safe for till you upgrade to a higher version or move away from Windows as compiled by the PC World.

#1.Choose your software wisely.

Windows Internet explorer 8 is the latest version available for Windows XP which is old and vulnerable to security threats. However, Google chrome has announced its plans of supporting the OS till 2015, and Mozilla has still not commented on it. Therefore it is advisable to switch over to Google chrome or Mozilla Firefox. Most of the anti- virus companies have assured to support Windows XP till 2015 with Microsoft’s Security Essentials providing support till July 14th 2015.

An anti-virus program which receives updates is the best choice as the non updated expired copy would be of no use. An anti virus app isn’t a complete solution; Microsoft warns. “Our research shows that the effectiveness of anti-malware solutions on out-of-support operating systems is limited.” The older versions of Microsoft Office and Outlook Express will stop receiving updates on the dead line, so upgrading to a newer version is a must.

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