Windows XP, it's Time to Upgrade

On April 14, 2014, Windows XP became officially "End of Life". This means the Operating System was no longer supported by Microsoft and security updates would not be published.

On Friday WannaCry ransomware started affecting some 200,000 computers across 150 countries This ransomware affected many critical service businesses including FedEx, Renault, and Britain's National Health Service. Hospitals were crippled and many businesses were not functional.

As of Monday Chinese state government said 40,000 businesses had been hit including Hitachi, universities, gas stations, and city services.

The majority of the infected computer were running Windows XP, Vista, and Server 2003. Microsoft has stepped up and published security patches for Windows XP, Vista and Windows 2003 Server in an effort to prevent this from happening again. Windows 7 and above already had security patches released several months ago.

There is an estimated 2.3 million people still using Windows XP, Vista, and Server 2003. If you are one of these people it's time to reconsider. Many people feel their old systems are still working fine but the issue is that they are not properly protected. There is no doubt that something like this will happen again. Hopefully more people will upgrade to help prevent the spread.

Windows Vista, End of Life was April 11, 2017. We didn't hear much talk about this because Vista was a flop and most people happily upgraded to a much better Windows 10 pretty quickly.

If you are running Windows XP or Vista, it's going to be time for a new computer. Unfortunately computers that old will not be able to run Windows 10. The good news is that computers are fairly inexpensive today. You may miss the money but you will love the speed of the newer computers. It's a night and day difference!

If you still have Server 2003 running then it is also time for an upgrade. Your server is a core piece of your network. A Windows 2003 server is going to be quite old and it's definitely time for a new server.

Be Safe

Jake Ruddy, President of DE/MD at PCS, helps small and medium sized businesses with IT support services, consulting, and managed services. He is passionate about the value of outsourced IT services and believes every business should have a strong relationship with a team of technology experts. PCS has a team of 90 experts supporting businesses in NJ, PA, DE, MD, DC, and VA.

If you aren't 100% happy with your current IT partner's response times, customer service, or overall value, PCS can help.