Sophos Cloud Optix
Welcome to another episode of Techknow, the podcast in which Sophos experts debate, explore and explain the often baffling world of computer security.
In this episode, entitled The End of XP, Paul Ducklin and Chester Wisniewski investigate the what, the why and the how of dealing with the impending end of support for Windows XP in 2014.
Don’t worry: even if you have computers that you simply won’t be able to update in time, for example because they run bespoke industrial control software, or a legacy financial application, Duck and Chet have some healthy suggestions for you.
They also share some insights into why Microsoft hasn’t simply packed all the improved security components from Windows 7 and 8 into the aging XP, leading to the 08 April 2014 deadline.
If you’re still wrestling with making the switch away from XP, this podcast will give you some handy tips for the future; if you’ve already put in the time and effort to move, listen and be reassured that the experts think you’ve done the right thing!
(Audio player above not working for you? Download to listen offline, or listen on Soundcloud.)
Note. Sophos Endpoint Security and Control (SESC), mentioned briefly in the podcast, will officially support Windows XP Service Packs 2 and 3 until at least 30 September 2015. SESC will support Windows Server 2003 until at least 31 Jan 2017. (Our support knowledgebase has a complete platform support list.)
Other episodes you might like
- Sophos Techknow – Understanding Botnets
- Sophos Techknow – Understanding vulnerabilities
- Sophos Techknow – Two-factor authentication
- Sophos Techknow – All about Java
- Sophos Techknow – Understanding SSL
- Sophos Techknow – Patching: lead, follow, or get out of the way?
- Sophos Techknow – Busting Password Myths
Get this and other Sophos podcasts
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It is a shame to see it go but alas things move on as always.
“It’s not dead, just restin’.”
Really? I never understood the nostalgia… Blue screens, malware, rootkits, the hills of “bliss” and that damned jingle.
Good riddance.
“Hill of Bliss”? The story says that photo is from the Napa Valley in California…but we all know it was uploaded from Telly-Tubby Land.
Windows XP reaches EOL but since YEARS the SOPHOS Endpoint keeps the same oldschool UI. Great stuff 🙁
There are a number of curious ironies in your comment.
Firstly, I think calling our UI “oldschool” is a little harsh. The current version, which is hardly YEARS old (it is years at most) is at least as hip as Windows 7 🙂
Secondly, the thing that annoys many of the people who don’t want to leave XP is that they want the security enhancements from Win 7 and 8 under the XP bonnet, but they don’t want the “newschool” UI as they’re perfectly happy with the one that works for them.
MayI suggest you listen to the podcast? It might clear things up a bit.
Why did one accept leases which carry XP past the long-published end of support? The CTOs or CIOs who allowed that need to have their Cs stripped away.
The lease doesn’t necessarily lock you into XP…but the fact that the lease computer “will vanish automatically” within the next year or two can easily become an excuse not to bother switching.
So it seems some companies are used the ever-diminising pool of lease PCs running XP as a sort of organic retirement process. Instead of getting rid of XP in a timely fashion, let it get rid of itself, albeit behind schedule.
In the podcast, you listed products no longer receiving Microsoft updates as of 8th April 2014 and included Windows Server 2003. According to Microsoft, the end date for support on this product is 15th April 2015?
Just correcting my own post. That should read 14th July 2015!
How long will you be able to download XP updates though? Another way to pose this question would be to ask, “What will the last good day for a new install be?”
Today.