One Week After April First, It’s No Joke

April first falls on a Tuesday next year. The following Tuesday is Microsoft’s monthly security update. It will be the last monthly security update for the Windows XP operating system. About one third of the computers with Windows operating systems on the Internet today are still running Windows XP, an operating system almost 15 years old. After the April 2014 update, issues with Windows XP will no longer be patched; Windows XP users should have already migrated to a more current Windows version. So with that we present, David Netterman’s Top Ten Security Related Reasons Why You Should Upgrade Your Computer’s Old Operating System:

All your favorite applications are compatible with the current OS version.

All your favorite applications are compatible with the previous OS version, which is still more current than the version you’re using.

You’re tired of your friends telling you they’re receiving spam from your email accounts.

Your PC has any network connectivity. (It can access any other resources over a network connection)

The current versions of your applications have dropped support for your currently used OS version.

Your PC shares data with other machines. (cell phones, USB drives, and any other removable media also count!)

Your applications have announced they are dropping support for the previous OS version, which is still more current than the version you’re using.

You have personal data on your PC that you wish to remain personal.

You’re not interested in having your PC join another botnet.

And the number one security related reason why you should upgrade your computer’s old operating system:

Zero day problems will always be zero day problems! (unpatched)

All joking aside, unpatched machines are the major contributor to spam and bot-net related Internet security issues, it is incumbent on each of us as Internet users to take the responsibility for our own machines, keeping them patched and not participating in the worst features of the connected world.

Windows EoL Clock
Windows Product Lifecycle