XP gets some breathing room as Microsoft extends antimalware support

To help organizations to complete their migration from Windows XP, Microsoft announced that it will continue to provide malware signature updates through July 14, 2015 . For businesses, Microsoft said , this support applies to System Center Endpoint Protection , Forefront Client Security , Forefront Endpoint Protection and Windows Intune runs on Windows XP.

Signature supported by Microsoft Windows XP Antimalware Truce seems a little surprise . " Company officials have consistently warned that Microsoft had not provided the patch for compatibility with Windows XP as of April 8, 2014 and that the " continued use of the operating system after that date may refer users to perpetual attacks " zero day. " Ads company officials were determined , insisting that users and organizations get out of Windows XP before that date . and that message has not changed , despite reversing the definition of support antimalware .

"This [ the ad-supported malware ] does not affect the date of the end of support for Windows XP or Windows XP to the sustainability of other Microsoft products , they offer and apply these firms," ​​said the announcement of Microsoft .

In other words , Windows XP is still the product loses support on April 8, 2014 , leaving him vulnerable to attack, even if the antivirus signatures are still issued . Microsoft will not release monthly security patches for the operating system , although some customers to pay " the customized media " Microsoft will have corrections on an ad hoc basis . Microsoft essentially left to solve their own operating system kernel of Windows XP , which Microsoft only has the authority to patch .

Continued use of the 12 -year-old operating system Windows XP after the expiry date of the product April will be a safety issue for people and organizations , according to security solution tester AV -Test.
" Once these updates for Windows XP [ ] are stopped , the system is safe to develop more holes than a good swiss cheese with time, as developers begin to produce special exploits a vulnerability in Windows XP, " AV - Test explained a blog.


Moreover , the history of Microsoft Security Essentials to protect Windows XP, even with continued support Microsoft Antimalware signature is not very good , based on the rankings of anti -malware software AV -Test. "Software security testing organization found that Microsoft Security Essentials scored 0 to 6 points in the category of " protection " AV -Test.

Vendor Support for Windows XP

Although Microsoft will continue to offer support through the signing antimalware July 14, 2015 , which is not as generous offer than the support promised by the suppliers of third party software . For example , Kaspersky Lab will provide support for Windows XP Antimalware 2018 to consumers and through the second half of 2016 for business users . Trend Micro promises support for Windows XP through January 30, 2017 . A list of vendor support of anti-malware software for Windows XP has been compiled by AV-Test , and you can access this page .

Windows XP currently has a utilization rate of 29 per cent in the operating system market , according to the latest data from Net Applications. AV-Test found that many Windows XP users are in China and India. Manufacturers located in these countries are reporting Windows XP uses " 60 percent of their customers," according to research conducted by AV -Test.

The participation of an individual or organization will continue to use Windows XP after April 8, 2014 the date is not yet sufficient reliability for the updated antimalware solutions such as AV-Test . For example , the browser Internet Explorer 8 is connected to the life cycle of Windows XP, and while the loses operating system support . AV-Test is recommended that people switch to Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome browser, if you continue to use Windows XP. Both Mozilla and Google have pledged their continued support browser for Microsoft Windows XP after April 8, the date of completion of the life of Windows XP.

Suppliers of security patches Microsoft Antimalware for Windows XP deadline will not be replaced . In contrast, the anti-malware companies provide only reduce the risk of using the operating system .
"Although anti-virus programs are not able to replace the security updates abolished soon - to be Windows XP, at least you can make it more difficult for malware to exploit vulnerabilities in the system ," according to AV-Test .

Microsoft has also minimized the protection offered by anti-malware solutions from Microsoft, a supported operating system .

"Our research shows that the effectiveness of anti-malware solutions for direct support of the operating system is limited, " said Microsoft's announcement . "Performing a well-protected solution begins with the use of modern hardware and software designed to help protect against the current threat landscape."And this statement means that users must pass Microsoft Windows XP, Windows 7 or Windows 8.