Are you running Windows XP?

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If you are still running Windows XP there are a couple of important things that you need to know.

Microsoft is no longer be supporting Windows XP or Microsoft Office 2003. Since the software is now over 12 years old, they have ceased providing updates as of April 8, 2014.

This means that the longer after this date that you continue using Windows XP, the more susceptible you will be a variety of security risks.

The reason for this is that a large number of the vulnerabilities that Microsoft has been patching, with Windows Updates, are also in the newer Operating Systems (Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 & Windows 10). This means that as they discover new vulnerabilities in the more current Operating Systems, there is a good chance that they will also be found in Windows XP.

At the time of writing this article there are about 16% of the Windows computers still running Windows XP, once these flaws become generally known (and they become known very quickly after the security patches are created). The malware creators will be targeting those who are running un-patched PC's.

What you can do.

Any Windows XP computer that is not connected to the Internet should not have a problem. Since a large proportion of the malware is distributed over the internet

If you are Internet connected and have a PC that is less than 3 years old, I would recommend upgrading to Windows 7, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10. This does require a a full backup of your system prior to the upgrade and a complete re-installation of all of your software and then restoring your data after the upgrade. So you may wish to engage a professional to do this.

Anything that is older than 3 years, you may still be able to upgrade but you will need to have the hardware checked to see if it is compatible.

The last option is to buy a new PC, which may turn out to be the most cost effective option in the long run.

If we can be of any assistance, don't hesitate to get in contact with us.