Faced with a continuing barrage of crippling ransomware attacks, Microsoft has stepped up to the plate to issue patches for operating systems that it no longer supports.
Normally, Microsoft stands pretty firm about not offering fixes to out of date operating systems. Windows XP has been without security and bug support since April of 2014. The company normally offers security support for 10 years after an OS launches, but they made an exception with XP and extended it to nearly 14 years. Despite a long campaign warning users to upgrade, many people, and more troubling, businesses and government agencies stuck with the unprotected, outdated operating systems. This made them a sitting duck for hackers.
When Microsoft issued patches for a vulnerability that affected currently supported systems, the crooks simply reverse-engineered those patches to figure out what the issues were. They designed ransomware to attack XP, Vista, and Windows systems that didn’t have the proper security updates. This ransomware nearly crippled the UK’s National Health System.
While Microsoft says they are primarily concerned about attacks on government organizations, they are making the patches available to all customers. If you’re using Windows 10 or Windows 8.1, these patches will be included as part of your regular update. If you’re using XP, Vista, Window 8, or Server 2003, you’ll need to manually download the updates.
Click here to go to the security advisory page.
Then scroll down to find your operating system and click on the link to the needed download.
~ Cynthia
Confused – Advisory Page contains 12 updates for XP. Do we need to download and install all 12??
1 update link gave me 3 results and indicated that update was issued in 2010. If previously installed, is there a problem in attempting to reinstall?
I have not tried to install the batch of updates as I use Win 7, but wanting the option if my spare work computer needs to be put online.
Hi Cynthia : Thanks many times over for all the information you pass on to us . Sorry you mention Win 8 but not 7 I’m not sure if that means I’ve received a patch or have not and if I did can you tell me how it will be listed on my Update History list . Thanks Again Richie
That “table” makes no sense – only IT pros can understand it.
June 2017 Microsoft Security Patches for Older Computers won’t open on XP computer that uses ie Windows 8 explorer browser.
Hi Cynthia: It’s very hard to reach you. Until a couple of years ago I could reach you by e mail or phone. That said, I’m wondering if you can help others (many, many others with OEM XP computers) and myself. The email “http://www.worldstart.com/microsoft-issues-surprise-security-patches-for-xp/” which contains your Microsoft link “Click here to go to the security advisory page.”, which on my Windows 7 computer opened the following webpage “https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4025687/microsoft-security-advisory-4025685-guidance-for-older-platforms”. Here’s the problem I get; when I manually type the website on my XP computer, it won’t open the link. Here’s how I tried to solve this problem:
1. Saved website link from Windows 7 to desktop by copy/paste & drag/dropped to a usb stick to copy from usb stick and paste it into my ie explorer 8 xp computer. Microsoft wouldn’t let the page open. I can open any other website, both http and https on the xp but not your copied link on my XP.
2. Thought maybe I could email your email for these patchesl to my XP email account, but found I would have to delete all prior emails on the account (59000+) from 4-20-2014 to the present in order to get to this email.
3. Opened the link for the patches on my Windows 7 computer and tried copying all 12 of the numbered updates to a Libre Office doc then to a usb stick hoping could somehow install each update manually not realizing without being able to open the Microsoft Patch website, where I could have just clicked on each update and nstalled, that I couldn’t install them this way on my XP computer either.
4. Googled, Binged, Duck Duck Go’d search engines to see if any of their links would open the patches link on my XP and they wouldn’t open either. Somewhere in all this but I don’t remember where I saw it it said “~locked…..” on the patches webite link and I’m now wondering if this Microsof Patches link was only for government/corporate customers and not OEM customers or if it just cannot be opened in XP OEM computers, cybthiaor if your email must be received on my XP mail account, or something else.
Since this is not a customer service problem, I am hopping with all your knowledge that you can help solve this problem. I’m sure there other XP users out there are having the same problem but don’t know how to contact you. My XP computer has medical research data dating back to 1993 and I don’t want to lose access to the data.
I hope you can help us all out. Thanks so much for all the articles and help you have shared with us all.
Joyce