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Microsoft relents on the WinXP drop-dead

I don't think it relented at all, no security patchs, and no public acknowledgement any new security holes exist. As the article says:-

"XP users shouldn't breathe too easy, though. Those 14 months are expected to be dangerous ones, with hackers descending upon XP's final, never-to-be-patched vulnerabilities like a swarm of identity-thieving locusts. And each new security update that Microsoft releases for Windows Vista or later could potentially become a how-to manual for new exploits, should the same flaws exist in XP."
 
I don't think it is the XP desktop base that Microsoft's continued updates to MSE (and I presume Forefront) are geared towards; I think MS is focused on all the users of Windows XP Mode. This extends out 18 months the time corporations have to upgrade business critical applications that can't run on Vista/7/8. MSE and Forefront are relatively lighter antivirus and thus better for the virtualized environment; more aggressive scanning can be done by the host OS on shutdown VMs and virtualized drives rolled back to before any suspected infection.

MS has already dropped support for XP and Vista from Office. Time for a hardware refresh; even the late XP era machines would need increase in memory plus OS upgrade which would generally cost more than a current budget system but the current budget system will probably be faster.

I will keep my XP machine as a DVD player. As long as no virus can manage to jump from the TV through the video cable, it will be safe from all new exploits.
 
I've avoided Windows XP and all subsequent versions for 12 years and counting. I have no intention of using an operating system where the ability to install it or use it is dependent on a phone or Internet connection and the mercy of its maker.

When Microsoft finally walk the walk on their threats and refuse to activate Windows XP installations as a consequence of revoked support, the thought running through my head will be "I told you so." (That said, I wonder if any individuals or enterprises will respond at that point by eschewing the prescribed upgrade path and switching to Windows 2000 instead?)
 
Except invalid enterprise editions ran the risk of being deactivated via "Windows Genuine Advantage" (What an Orwellian name) if you ran auto updates, or other software that required it. Less of a risk now if there are no more updates.

But yea, people really should be screaming bloody murder about their installation being tied to Microsoft still being in business. And the way their are going, their long term future looks questionable. You know that one of these days they will use that to hold everyone's computer ransom.
 
I suspect that anyone who tries after April 2014 to activate a legitimate fresh install of XP will get sent to the "We don't do that anymore. But we'll sell you Windows 8!" web page.

That is a legitimate concern. If you own a perfectly legal copy of XP, iwill Microsoft be required to activate it??
 
It is sadly hilarious watching kids on *cough*other*cough* forums swearing up and down that the all mighty and glorious Microsoft will continue to graciously permit them to activate or keep existing updates posted for download, or so on.

They completely fail to understand that Microsoft has absolutely ZERO obligation to keep this stuff out there, and plenty of very good reasons to kill it off instantly, or very soon after the support discontinuation date.

I hate to admit it, but due to this Windows 8 nonsense, I stashed away a boxed copy of Windows 7 just in case I need it. But it bugs the heck out of me thinking that after some date 10 or 15 years from now, that box will be just a useless box!

It's a good thing I'm still using Windows 95! :p
 
Well, that's the thing that I've long suspected about the XP "activation" thing--the intent was never to limit piracy of the OS, but rather, when the time came to force an upgrade, should one need to re-install the OS.

So if you have a fairly expensive piece of shop or lab gear that's powered with XP, you may have some rather unpleasant surprises.

FWIW, I still encounter quite often all sorts of CNC gear that runs a flavor of CP/M--mostly 68K.
 
I fully expect someone to crack the activation code after SP2 or SP3 is installed onto the system.... As for me, I'll just keep a Dell machine handy and use my Dell restore discs that don't require activation. Even my early version Win7 32bit restore CD didn't need activation. Which quite surprised me. (and used on an ebay-bought Dell motherboard that was mounted into a friend's HP system that he'd fried the MB)
 
SomeGuy said:
Except invalid enterprise editions ran the risk of being deactivated via "Windows Genuine Advantage" (What an Orwellian name) if you ran auto updates, or other software that required it. Less of a risk now if there are no more updates.
Click to expand...
True enough; luckily, as long as you disallow Windows Update from installing WGA in the first place, you're in the clear.
 
Microsoft seems to leave the activation and update servers for several years after the software exits support. I recently installed Office XP and it activated and downloaded updates despite ending support in 2011. It took about 5 years before MS took down the Win98 upgrade servers so I expect XP to be easily installable until 2020 for those that really want to.
 
That's not entirely clear at this point. XP was really the first MIcrosoft OS that required registration to remain functional, so we'll see how this plays out.

On the other hand, should they discontinue activation, they could hardly claim any economic damage from a pirated copy, as the lack of activation renders a copy of XP essentially worthless.
 
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