PCWorld senior writer Brad Chacos got sick of the constant security klaxons and tried living without Java, Reader, and Flash, discovering that it should be surprisingly easy for many people. If you don’t need these applications, you should probably uninstall them to lock down your XP system as much as possible. Modern versions update themselves automatically, but older versions didn’t even check for updates. Adobe Flash and Adobe Reader are particularly crucial, so keep them up-to-date. Other browser plug-ins are also frequently targeted by attackers. Most committed to supporting it for even longer, into at least 2016. Antivirus-testing company AV-TEST asked 30 different antivirus companies about their plans for Windows XP support and all of them committed to support Windows XP until at least April 8, 2015. Even Microsoft’s own Microsoft Security Essentials will support Windows XP until July 14, 2015. Most antivirus solutions will still continue supporting Windows XP. Google and Mozilla will continue supporting Chrome and Firefox (respectively) on Windows XP beyond the system’s official death. So switch to Chrome or Firefox and you’ll have a secure, modern browser. Google Chrome will continue supporting Windows XP until at least April 2015, while Mozilla Firefox has no announced plans to stop supporting Windows XP. Internet Explorer 8, the most recent version available for Windows XP, is already several generations old and will no longer receive security patches.

If you use Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, it’s time to let go. This won’t happen overnight, but Windows XP will gradually be abandoned by everyone. Other software developers will eventually stop supporting Windows XP, just as they no longer support Windows 98, creating even more attack vectors. The problems will never be fixed, so they can continue to attack them until the last Windows XP system vanishes from the Internet. They’ll unleash their attacks when Microsoft has moved on. Smart attackers are likely waiting to exploit holes they already know about.

Windows xp antivirus