Users who install the pre-release of Microsoft Security Essentials 4.5 on Windows XP, will get a stern warning that their operating system is out-of date. They will see a bright yellow bar with this notice:
“Support for this operating system is ending. When this occurs Micriosoft Security Essentials Prerelease will no longer be supported and your PC might be unprotected.”
Security and bug support for Windows XP ends on April 8, 2014. After that, users of the 13-year-old operating system will no longer not be able to do new installs of Microsoft Security Essentials.
Let me take the opportunity to once again remind everyone that Windows XP will not be safe to use online after April 8. Third-party security companies cannot guarantee support for home users because Microsoft will no longer be supplying them with fixes for new threats. It doesn’t matter which browser you are using, if you take XP online, your system could be at risk.
For more on the end of XP, click here.
~ Cynthia
Again, this makes it sound like the risks of using XP begin on April 9th. ALL online systems have always been at risk, and always will be, regardless of the OS used.
And a recent “patch” from Microsoft Update for a display driver on a Windows 7 system triggered BSODs on a system that was working perfectly before installation of the update, so don’t forget the “fixes” that have caused problems in the past!
As for MSE anti-malware signatures for XP users, it appears Microsoft has extended those through July 14, 2015. See here:
http://blogs.technet.com/b/mmpc/archive/2014/01/15/microsoft-antimalware-support-for-windows-xp.aspx
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