The End of Windows XP Grows Near

It may be cool to hang on to "classic" things but not in the tech world.  Microsoft has finally realized that and has given a date to end support for Windows XP officially by 2014.Windows XP has been a computing work horse. This is especially true if you are old enough to remember the crash-friendly DOS-based Windows 95, 98, ME Operating Systems. Windows XP was also given a new lease on life with the release of Windows Vista. Because many computer users stuck with XP, even after Vista was released it forced Microsoft to support XP much longer then the wanted to, as well as many third party developers.

All of this is about to change on April 8, 2014.  Windows XP is on Microsoft’s "end of life" cycle list. Don't panic because this does not mean that Windows XP will just stop working. It does however mean that Microsoft will no longer support it with security patches and updates. Microsoft has said this many times before, but this time I believe that they really mean it.

With all due respect and love for Windows XP, here’s why you should just finally retire. You are old, 13 years too old, a dinosaur in this technology age. You are missing key security features introduced way back in Windows Vista. You can’t take advantage of the latest, safest, and most compatible versions of Internet Explorer. You cannot take advantage of the new hardware advances, case in point, multi-core processors and UI scaling/text don’t work that well on Widescreen LCD’s. It takes a lot of time and resources to build and maintain you for Microsoft and third party developers. Windows 8 and 7 are more self-aware, which means that they can actually troubleshoot simple issues on their own. Yes, you were real our first truly user-friendly operating system but that was 13 years ago.

So - if you are still using a Windows XP computer you should really start thinking about upgrading. Computers and laptops are cheaper and more efficient then ever before and besides Microsoft really - really wants you too!

The Growing Security Risks of Windows XP

It is hard to believe that as Microsoft struggles to increase usage of their newest operating system Windows 8 many computer users are still chugging along with Windows XP. Windows XP was released 12 years ago on October 25, 2001. 12 years is an eternity in the tech world. The success of Windows XP can not be understated that is for sure. The operating systems that followed, Windows Vista (2007), Windows 7 (2009) and now Windows 8 (2012) are all huge improvements on XP and this refusal of many to move away from a decade old operating system confuses me.  However many computers users have become so comfortable with XP that change has often been difficult and slow. Microsoft is also a little to blame here as well. Being caught between a rock and a hard place they have continued to support XP at the same time as promoting their newer operating systems. However even this is about to end.

All of this being said, what follows should also be considered for users still relying on XP.

Computerworld reports that hackers have started storing up any fresh Windows XP exploits they find and are preparing to unleash them on unsuspecting XP users as soon as Microsoft stops supporting the operating system next year. Microsoft security expert Jason Fossen tells Computerworld that hackers who discover new exploits over the next few months may be able to charge twice what they’re charging now if they sell them after Windows XP support ends.

This essentially leaves Windows XP users with two options: They can pay Microsoft a high premium to continue supporting XP at their business or they can upgrade to newer platforms such as Windows 7 or Windows 8. For home users there are no support option for XP as of April 8, 2014.

More than a third of all desktop computers still use Windows XP so this could potentially be a big problem for users who do not understand that they will have to make some kind of change by next spring.

A Windows XP Tip: The Startup Folder

From time to time you may notice that your computer is booting slowly or that the performance of your PC seems sluggish. Checking your startup folder for any unnecessary applications may help.
A quick way to boost your computer's performance is to reduce the number of applications it runs when starting up. Some programs, such as anti-virus and hardware utilities, need to be run automatically, but an overabundance of startup applications can overwork a computer and use up too much memory.

The easiest way to keep programs from running automatically is to remove them from the computer's Startup folder:
1. First double click My Computer from the desktop, or select it from the Start Menu.
2. Double click the hard drive (default C:\).
3. Open the Documents and Settings folder.
4. Open a specific user account folder, or select All Users.
5. Double click the Start Menu folder.
6. Select Programs.
7. In the Programs folder, find the Startup folder and double click.

Any shortcut within this folder will launch a program automatically on startup. To take it off the list of startup applications, simply delete the shortcut. No worries because you are not actually deleting the program but simply stopping the program from starting automatically (on boot).