Microsoft XP And Office 2003 Security Warning

Gman496

Super Moderator
Staff member
The data watchdog warns users of heightened security risks after Microsoft ends official support for the software on April 8. (That's next Tuesday by the way)

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Microsoft said it was ending support for XP as the system is now too old



Britain's data protection watchdog has warned owners of Microsoft's Windows XP and Office 2003 products of future potential security flaws.


The warning from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) comes as the software giant is set to end official support of the products on April 8.

Despite Windows XP being considered an aged operating system, it still powers nearly a third of all PCs worldwide, according to NetMarketShare.

UK software firm AppSense believes three-quarters of UK firms have XP within their networks, while Gartner says many businesses have up to 20% running on XP.

The ICO said once official support ends, no update release to overcome flaws will be issued, risking data breaches of machines used by businesses and private users.

The watchdog said the problem will get worse over time as more vulnerabilities are gradually discovered.

It said that will increase opportunities for attackers to exploit and potentially gain unauthorised access to systems.

ICO technology group manager Dr Simon Rice also warned that the issue is not limited to these two products.

He said: "Organisations regularly end support for their older products.

"And those with supported systems still need to be vigilant, as vulnerabilities will be discovered over time."

Dr Rice urged businesses to be prepared for the ending of support.

He said: "As a responsible data controller, it is your organisation’s responsibility to make sure you have the measures in place to keep people's details safe."

He added: "Where you cannot apply a (software) update, you may need to put additional measures in place to mitigate the risk."

Approached by Sky News, a Microsoft spokesperson said warning about the end of support was announced some time ago.

It said the user notifications raised the issue of potential virus and security risks.

:: Microsoft has given advice for users of both Office 2003 and Windows XP on its website.


Windows XP
Code:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows/end-support-help


Office 2003:
Code:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/support-is-ending-for-office-2003-HA103306332.aspx
 
im still using office 2000 premium with windows 7.i think that if you install the office 2007 compatibility pack it also installs security updates.i dont think ms intended it to work with older office versions but it does.i dont use outlook so any of my work is done offline anyways.
 
You would also think that after 11 years they would have gotten it airtight. Farewell, poor XP, you'll be missed.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
 
I have Xp on my system. I installed windows 7 to try it out installed ok all working fine till I shut it down for the first time, then it did a update of 128 updates in one go. that was it my computer wouldn't boot up in windows 7 again just kept blue screen so had to go backwards. microsoft cannot make any software that works first time without updated. We end up paying out the nose for it and trailing it for years. Xp 11 years and still not right. god help um.
 
Xp 11 years and still not right.

Actually it's 13 years old and is by far one of MS's most stable releases, that of course it probably due to the length of time its been in use.

The operating system was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and generally released for retail sale on October 25, 2001. Windows XP was a major advance from the MS-DOS based versions of Windows in security, stability and efficiency due to its Windows NT underpinnings.
 
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