How to keep Windows XP patched

How to keep Windows XP patched

As most of us know by now, Microsoft has officially cut its XP operating system adrift and stopped issuing security updates.  Or have they ..

A new hack might fool Microsoft into continuing to update your ageing desktops. And this is no niche problem: Wikipedia estimates over 26% of all desktops are still running Windows XP.

To put that in perspective, Windows 8 has less than half that market share. And all the Apple Macs in the world constitute about a quarter of that figure. So we can see the scale of this security conundrum.

XP is nearly 13yrs old and well past its sell-by date. Should the Redmond software giant continue to support its operating system indefinitely? Well, that's a big question. Google and Apple will only support an OS for one or two releases - around 2yrs - but in this case, the Spectre of Customer Service is coming back to haunt Microsoft.

The hack involves fooling your old PC into thinking it's using POSReady 2009, and you can read the details here. Use at your own risk of course, but let's face it: even if your PC does kick-the-bucket, it's had a decent innings :)

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