Windows XP users advised to upgrade 'immediately' due to security reasons

Indian cyber-security sleuths have issued an alert for those using the popular 'Window XP' as operating system in their computers and laptops and advised "immediate" upgrade of software against hacking attempts.

Software giant Microsoft had announced that it is going to stop support services to 'Windows XP' OS from April 8 next year and according to cyber-space authorities monitoring the Indian internet systems, the decision will have a direct effect for the all the users working on the same OS.

"The end of support of Windows XP Operating System means that Microsoft will not provide security updates, non-security hotfixes, free or paid assisted support and any online technical support for the Windows XP. In the absence of patches and security updates for the Windows XP OS, the computer systems would be at greater risks and could be easily compromised by the hackers.

"There would also be compliance issues due to un- supported and un-patched components in the IT infrastructure which may result in non-compliance and suspension of certifications by the certifying and auditing organizations.

The software vendors and hardware manufacturers will also stop support for Windows XP on their new versions and models," the Computer Emergency Response Team-India (CeRT-IN) said in its latest advisory to computer users in India.

"It is recommended that all the users and organisations using Window XP OS in their environment should immediately plan for upgradation to the latest available OS according to their requirement and test software applications well before April, 2014," it said.

According to officials, the maximum of Indian computer and laptop users operate on Windows platform and after the recent declaration, users should keep themselves informed about the new and secure OS available in the market.

Microsoft had initially released Windows XP OS in August 2001. The current release version of Windows XP is called the Windows XP Service Pack 3.

Since then, three successor versions of client based OS namely Windows Vista in November 2006, Windows 7 in July 2009 and Windows 8 in August 2012 were released by Microsoft.

The latest client based OS available from the Microsoft stable is Windows 8.