{"id":67101,"date":"2014-05-25T12:00:13","date_gmt":"2014-05-25T10:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onsoftware.en.softonic.com\/?p=67101"},"modified":"2025-07-02T00:40:32","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T07:40:32","slug":"after-one-month-of-using-the-unsupported-xp-nothing-happened","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/after-one-month-of-using-the-unsupported-xp-nothing-happened\/","title":{"rendered":"After one month of using the unsupported XP… nothing happened"},"content":{"rendered":"

There haven\u2019t been any more Windows XP updates for over a month now, and I wanted to test my own advice<\/a> on how to survive using XP without falling prey to unstoppable malware.<\/p>\n

For Windows XP users, April 8 2014 was the end of the world. The XPocalypse<\/a>, as some of us have called it, implied the end of all security updates for XP. Those who didn\u2019t update to Windows 8, Microsoft said, would become increasingly vulnerable<\/strong> to viruses and hackers.<\/p>\n

Since not everyone has been able to migrate to Windows 8\u2013\u00a0you have to pay<\/strong>\u2013\u00a0I published some safety tips<\/a> for those who had no choice but to stay on XP for a while. Most are common sense: don\u2019t use Internet Explorer, update all programs regularly, and install a compatible antivirus.<\/p>\n

\"Windows<\/p>\n

I got a little excited when I saw Windows XP\u2019s legendary boot screen.<\/em><\/p>\n

I wanted to check if my advice<\/a> was legit using a laptop with Windows XP<\/strong>. The conditions were simple: I would use Firefox as a browser, AVG as an antivirus, and would try not to do anything stupid. After installing all available patches and applications, I started to use the PC for an hour a day, on average.<\/p>\n

An uneventful month<\/h3>\n

My initial feeling was that everything was fine. Using XP with a clean install is a pleasant experience. Everything is fast and stable<\/strong>. Firefox is fast, and the WiFi is set without much trouble. The free version of AVG is barely annoying,\u00a0although I should mentioned\u00a0that I spent a considerable amount of time setting up the alerts and background scans.<\/p>\n

\"Virus<\/p>\n

The days went by without anything too eventful happening. After one week, it was so quiet that to keep things interesting, I decided to open some suspicious attachments, only to discover that Gmail<\/strong> had already filtered all dangerous content (the attached files were clean \u2013a very clumsy phishing attempt).<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

I also went on file download platforms<\/strong> (Torrent and eMule) to share some legal files. No hacker intruded in my private network, which is protected by a simple router with integrated firewall. I didn\u2019t notice anything unusual, and although my computer could be identified as a PC with Windows XP, no one tried to attack it.<\/p>\n

In short: nothing happened.<\/p>\n

All good, but with caution<\/h3>\n

I know why no virus or malware infected my PC: I was careful and didn\u2019t do anything stupid<\/strong>. I was also using safe and updated programs. When after the three weeks of using XP I heard that there was a security flaw in Internet Explorer<\/a>, which Microsoft quickly solved, I simply shrugged: I was already using Firefox.<\/p>\n

\"Microsoft<\/p>\n

The lat patch for Windows XP, the KB2964358<\/a>, was like a miracle<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

If I had browsed web\u00a0pages with a bad reputation or installed pirated software, my PC could have easily become infected, but the fact is that the same thing could have happened if I had been using Windows 8<\/strong>. These vulnerabilities are difficult to avoid because they take advantage of the user\u2019s trust, not of obsolete operating systems.<\/p>\n

Security expert\u00a0Mikko Hypponen<\/a>, founder of F-Secure, joked<\/a> that the most secure operating system is Windows 3.1 because no one makes viruses for it anymore. This made me smile, because it\u2019s true, but it\u2019s not what I would recommend to my friends. My advice is to upgrade<\/strong> to Windows 7 or 8, depending on your preferences, but if you can’t right away, at least\u00a0you now know that staying with XP won’t be a tragedy.<\/p>\n

If you insist on still using XP, follow my tips on How to use XP without Microsoft’s support<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There haven\u2019t been any more Windows XP updates for over a month now, and I wanted to test my own advice on how to survive using XP without falling prey to unstoppable malware. For Windows XP users, April 8 2014 was the end of the world. The XPocalypse, as some of us have called it, … Continue reading “After one month of using the unsupported XP… nothing happened”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2044,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[],"tags":[],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-67101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t