atomic cabbage
Site Admin
Joined: 18 Jan 2007
Posts: 101
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 Posted: 04/14/09 - 13:03 Post subject: Windows XP support ends today |
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Not security news, but definitely important news for all XP users.
Microsoft will drop Windows XP out of mainstream support today, with the ageing OS moving into extended support as previously announced.
Microsoft's mainstream support, which is usually offered for only five years, actually ran for seven-and-a-half years because of Windows Vista's long delay. Two years ago, Microsoft also extended mainstream support for XP Home and XP Media Center until 2009, and the deadline for the follow-up phase, dubbed 'extended support', until 2014, to match the dates that had been set earlier for the business-grade XP Professional.
According to Microsoft, the transition from mainstream to extended support for Windows XP means that it will only provide paid support - on a per-incident basis, or through its various pre-paid support programmes - and will only offer non-security hotfixes for a fee, and then only to customers who have purchased the Extended Hotfix Support plan.
Microsoft will continue to generate free security updates for Windows XP, and release them via Windows Update, until April 8, 2014.
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