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Windows XP can still be installed and activated after support ends. Computers running Windows XP will remain functional, but will not receive Microsoft updates or receive technical support. In addition, after this date activation will still be required Windows installations XP purchased at retail.
Will it be possible to use Windows XP mode in Windows 7?
TO Windows mode XP follows the same support lifecycle as Windows XP. Extended support ended on April 8, 2014.
Which computers will receive end-of-support notification for Windows XP?
A notification will be sent to Windows XP Home and Windows XP Professional users who have chosen to receive updates through Windows Update. Users in organizations that use the services Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), System Center Configuration Manager, or Microsoft Intune will not receive end-of-support notifications for Windows XP.
Microsoft, under pressure from corporate and ordinary home users, is forced to take an unprecedented step - resuming support for an outdated software product.
We are talking about the Windows XP operating system. Let us remember that this platform was released more than fifteen years ago - on October 25, 2001. Immediately after its release, the operating system began to rapidly gain popularity. According to Net Applications, Windows XP was the most common operating system on computers with Internet access until August 2012.
Mainstream support for Windows XP was stopped back in April 2009. Five years later, in April 2014, extended support for the OS ended. Since then, users have not received any security updates.
But Windows XP is not going to retire just yet. According to statistics from the already mentioned company Net Applications, in February 2017, this operating system was in third place in popularity in the world with a share of 8.45%, second only to Windows 7 (48.41%) and Windows 10 (25.19%) .
Not only home users, but also corporations continue to work with Windows XP. So, this is the OS on many modern ATMs. Therefore, the lack of fresh patches for vulnerabilities in Windows XP jeopardizes important elements of the IT infrastructure.
In this situation, Microsoft is forced to make an exception to its own rules and resume releasing updates for the outdated OS. The second phase of extended support is reported to last until April 2022. Thus, users will receive updates for another five years.
Moreover, those customers who previously switched to Windows 10 due to the lack of support for Windows XP will be able to return the money they paid and continue using the fifteen-year-old platform.
Microsoft is official ends support for Windows XP on April 8, 2014. This means that from this moment on, drivers, patches and security updates will no longer be released for this system (including within the framework of traditional ones), and the system itself will stop developing and will forever remain in the form that it has reached.
This does not mean that systems running Windows XP will no longer work after this date, but the lack of support significantly increases the risk of a system becoming infected with viruses, malicious attacks, and other security threats. However, given the popularity of the platform, Microsoft promises to update antivirus programs and bases for XP until mid-2015.
Windows XP End of Support Notice (KB2934207)
To alert all XP users that they are running an outdated operating system, starting from March 8 All computers running Windows XP will receive an end-of-support notification. The text of the message is as follows:
This message first appeared on the computers of XP users on March 8th and will continue to appear regularly on the 8th of every month. By checking the box " Don't show this message again", further display of the message can be disabled.
A warning message will appear on all computers running Windows XP that are configured to automatically download and install updates from the website Windows Update. The message will begin to appear after installing update KB2934207 (Windows XP End of Support Notification).
Update KB2934207 was released on March 5 and looks like this in Windows Update:
Windows XP End of Support Notice (KB2934207).
Size: 511 KB
This update is intended to notify users that support for Windows XP will end on April 8, 2014.
After installing update KB2934207 (Windows XP EoS), a new executable file will appear on the system C:\Windows\System32\xp_eos.exe, the launch of which, in fact, causes a message about the end of support to appear.
How to remove the end of support message for Windows XP
Remove update with end of support notification from command line you can do this:
C:\WINDOWS\$NtUninstallKB2934207$\spuninst\spuninst.exe" /quiet /norestart
You can also disable a component in the Windows Component Wizard Microsoft Windows XP End of Service Notification.
We block the appearance of the message: Windows XP End of Support
If you want to block the message from appearing on Windows XP computers that are configured to receive updates from a corporate (internal) server / SCCM, you must disapprove the installation of update KB2934207.
If the Windows XP EoS update is already installed on the system, you can disable its further appearance through the registry:
For this in the thread HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion you need to create a key of type REG_DWORD with the name DisableEOSNotification and meaning 1 .
You can create the DisableEOSNotification key and set it to the desired value from the command line:
reg add HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion /v DisableEOSNotification /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
Block Windows XP End of Support notification using Group Policy
To block the appearance Windows windows XP End of Support on many computers at once, it is best to use the functionality group policies. You can either create a corresponding startup script ( Computer Configuration -> Policies -> Windows Settings -> Scripts (Startup/Shudown) -> Startup) with the command from the previous section, or use the capabilities of Group Policy Preferences (to do this, all computers with XP must have the KB943729 update, which ensures GPP works on computers with XP).
To do this, in the section Computer Configuration -> Preferences -> Windows Settings -> Registry Let's create a new element (New -> Registry Item) with the following parameters:
Action: Update Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key Path: SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
ValueName:DisableEOSNotification
Value Data: 1
It remains to extend the policy to machines with XP. To make the policy apply only to PCs running Windows XP, you can add the appropriate .
Information. According to NetMarketShare, Windows XP is still the second most popular OS Windows family in the world with a share of 28.5% (Windows 7 takes first place - 47.3%, third place - Windows 8/8.1 - 10.8%). Interestingly, only about 10.7% of site visitors use Windows XP.
As of early April 2014, from 20 to 30 percent Windows users All over the planet are still using XP, and many of them have no plans to switch to another operating system. If you are among those who are holding on to XP, then take the following steps to protect it from the coming massive attacks and waves of malware.
1 rule. Completely update your system. Make sure everything is installed system updates and Windows XP fixes. You must have Service Pack 3 (SP3) or, in the case of 64-bit Windows XP Professional, Service Pack 2. To find out which system you currently have, press Windows buttons and Pause/Break on the keyboard; Laptop users will also have to press the Fn button.
Go to the Start menu, select All Programs, then Windows Update. Select Check for updates and install anything that Microsoft marks as "important." In the Configure Settings window, set automatic installation Windows updates.
Rule 2. Give up Internet Explorer. As for Windows XP, the deadline Internet services Explorer 6 ended on April 8th. But if you have IE 7 or 8 installed on XP, these editions of Explorer will also not receive further updates. To make matters worse, IE is closely tied to the Windows operating system and attacks against it will succeed.
To protect yourself, switch to a third-party browser - Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox(With installed plugin NoScript) or Opera, all of which will continue to receive updates and vulnerability fixes for at least another year.
Rule 3. Use webmail instead of Outlook Express. After April 8, it is safer to open emails in a third-party browser than in Outlook Express. Register for free Mailbox in Gmail and make it your primary email address.
Rule 4. Give up Microsoft Office. Microsoft is also ending support for 11-year-old Office 2003 (its predecessor Office XP died in 2004). But don't upgrade to or use Office 2007, as it may no longer receive updates on a Windows XP system.
Switch to alternative office suite like LibreOffice or OpenOffice; both of them are free and work great with office documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Or use Google Docs in the cloud.
Rule 5. Install antivirus software and pay for it. Every Windows PC must have an antivirus running. Paid antiviruses Provide stronger protection by filtering website links and automatically scanning attachments Email, And free programs can't compare with them.
If you are concerned about the cost annual subscription for an antivirus that costs several tens of dollars, then do not forget that you are already saving money by not upgrading to a newer operating system. Most antivirus manufacturers will support Windows XP until at least April 2016.
Rule 6. Create and use restricted accounts. Windows has two types of user accounts: administrators, who are allowed to install, update, and uninstall programs; and restricted users, who are prohibited from modifying programs (excluding user-specific applications like Google Chrome). Majority malware“borrow” borrow the privileges of the user account they infected; A Trojan that infects a restricted user account will do much less damage than one that infects an administrator account.
To minimize the impact of malware infection, create a restricted user account for each user of your Windows XP computer, including yourself, and use these accounts for all purposes - Internet, office work, Photoshop - except changing software. Under account Administrator only install, uninstall or update programs, and log out of this account when you are done.
Rule 7. Enable your system firewall. Login to Control Panel, select Windows firewall, select "Turn Windows Firewall on or off", then select "Turn Windows Firewall on" for all options.
Rule 8. Disable automatic opening of files from flash drives. A flash drive is a typical method for spreading malware, especially in Windows XP, which opens files on the flash drive immediately after connecting it. Disable this behavior using the Group Policy Editor. From the Start menu, select Run, type "gpedit.msc" and press OK or the Enter key. A pop-up window will appear with two sections: in the left section, select Administrative Templates below Computer Configurations (not User Configurations). Then in the right section, double-click System.
Scroll down to Disable AutoPlay and double-click it. Another pop-up window will appear; Below Disable AutoPlay, select the Enabled radio button, select All drives in the “Turn AutoPlay On or Off” menu and close the window.
Rule 9. Set Code Execution Prevention (DEP) to maximum. DEP protects against malware attacks on RAM. It is activated by default in Windows XP Service Pack 2 and 3, but can be increased.
From Control Panel, select System, then the Advanced tab. In the Performance section of the pop-up window that appears, click the Settings button. In the next pop-up window, select the Code Execution Prevention tab. Select "Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those that you select." Click Apply, then OK, and restart your computer.
If you find that DEP is interfering too much with certain applications, return to the Code Execution Prevention tab and select Add to create exceptions for those programs (you'll have to review file system to select them).
Rule 10. Install the Advanced Exploitation Mitigation Toolkit (EMET) from Microsoft. EMET strengthens installed applications one by one. It is difficult to set up, but EMET includes a user manual. This toolkit is available on the Microsoft Download Center.
Not so long ago, disputes continued among users around the world regarding the cessation of production by the corporation Microsoft updates for Windows XP, as announced in 2009. And now the company has officially announced that support for Windows XP will be resumed. The decision is absolutely unprecedented in its essence. But is everything so rosy?
Microsoft has resumed support for the Windows XP operating system: what was the reason for this?
The operating system itself was released back in 2001 and today celebrated its 16th anniversary. This is a long time for a software product.
Since its release, Windows XP immediately gained unprecedented popularity not only among ordinary users, but also among corporations that used (and use) it for their own needs. The decision to extend support was mainly made under public pressure (it is believed). Many enterprises and ordinary users loved the system so much for its design, ease of operation and so-called “indestructibility” that they were in no hurry to abandon it in favor of new developments.
However, this is only one side of the issue. As it turns out, Microsoft has resumed support for Windows XP not only for this reason. Everything is much more serious. The point here is that many POS terminals and ATMs (if not the absolute majority) around the world serve their work operating system They use the XP version. The conclusion suggests itself: if the security system does not receive updates in a timely manner to patch holes, hacker attacks could result in billions of dollars in losses.
Almost the same situation is observed in the corporate sector, since on a global scale many companies use these modifications to organize their own information and network structures. In other words, operating room support Windows systems They need XP like air. If it doesn’t exist, again, all this will result in unforeseen expenses on the part of the companies (and of course, legal costs if they go to court, challenging the legality of stopping the release of updates).
What are the support renewal terms and system requirements?
As for the period during which the corporation’s adopted Microsoft solution about the resumption of the release of updates, it was initially called 2019, but in April 2017 it was announced that support would last until 2022.
In terms of the requirements for a system of any modification, there is nothing special. As usual, it is enough to have the main system installed and a mandatory update in the form of a third service pack (SP3). Actually, almost everyone who still uses this operating system already installed this update a long time ago. So in this regard, it seems that no problems are foreseen.
What will the updates be like: unanswered questions
However, despite the official announcement that support for Windows XP has been extended, many questions remain unanswered, and Microsoft specialists are in no hurry to reveal their plans.
For example, it is completely unclear exactly how updates will be downloaded and installed (in automatic mode directly from the official website or in the form of additional service packs). Many are rightfully perplexed about whether support for Windows XP will be full or extended, and which specific segments will be affected by the updates (only security tools or the entire system as a whole). No less pressing for many is the question of whether it will be possible to install the system from scratch without using keys, as was provided for modifications 8 and 10. In general, there is no complete clarity yet.
What about software developers?
No less interesting is how software developers will react to such a decision, because many of them have long refocused on newer systems, including the successfully promoted Windows 10, which is fundamentally different from XP.
First of all, one of the main issues is related not to application programs (in systems of a higher rank they can already be launched in compatibility mode with Windows XP), but to drivers. It is clear that the version of XP for working with modern equipment simply not suitable (large volumes random access memory, dimensions hard drives etc.). Unfortunately, this question still remains unanswered.
However, according to many experts, it is not difficult to predict that support will be completely discontinued in 2022, so it is likely that only a few will release software with a service life of only five years. And it is far from certain that among them there will be large software developers or major players in the hardware market ( motherboards, processors, RAM sticks, hard drives or graphics accelerators).
Microsoft Windows XP support: how to force the system to install updates if they are not installed directly?
Finally, a few words about what to do if the installation of updates is not directly provided. In principle, as they say, it is possible to “hack” the system in its current form.
To do this, just use the standard test editor “Notepad” and enter only three lines (without punctuation):
- Version 5.00;
- ;
- "Installed"=dword:00000001.
After this, you need to save the file with the REG extension by selecting “All files” from the list of types and entering the extension manually. Next, all that remains is to run the registry file, after which the ban on direct installation of updates, for example, for ordinary home PC users, will be lifted.
Instead of an afterword
It remains to be added that it is still completely unclear how feasible the extended support for Windows XP will be. By and large, it is, in general, not aimed at home users. It only seems that the decision was really dictated by public demands. In fact, everything is much more complicated, especially if you consider the use of this OS in POS terminals and ATMs. It is clear that replacing the operating system in ATMs around the world will cost quite a lot of money. But in any case, you will still have to do this at some point. Therefore, the solution looks like some kind of intermediate link, which will simply gain the time necessary to completely re-equip the terminals with new software or a similar replacement for large corporations.
